AFTER THE REVOLUTION

by Ryan Rufus

Copyright © New Nature Publications

ISBN: 978-988-16029-8-5

Published in 2013 by New Nature Publications

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photocopying or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from both the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

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Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James version of the Bible.

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Printed in Hong Kong

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ENDORSEMENTS

“Ryan Rufus is a fresh new voice in this season bringing amazing revelation on the message of Grace. In his new book After the Revolution, Ryan helps us to understand how to be victorious by employing a well-balanced view on the true application of Grace. I highly encourage leaders and lay people of all denominations and walks of life to read this book as it serves as a much needed tool to lift the Church into a higher place of revelation and identity.”

JEFF JANSEN

SENIOR LEADER

GLOBAL FIRE CHURCH & GLOBAL CONNECT

GLOBAL FIRE MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL

KINGDOM LIFE INSTITUTE & GLOBAL FIRE SCHOOL OF SUPERNATURAL MINISTRY

“I am pleased to endorse Ryan Rufus’ new book, After the Revolution. It is brilliantly written while being grounded in both practical experience and biblical theology. This timely book is a critical message for the body of Christ in this worldwide movement called the Grace Revolution. Excellent!”

DR CHUCK CRISCO

PASTOR, AUTHOR AND PRESIDENT OF GRACE REVOLUTION SCHOOL OF MINISTRY

WWW.CHUCKCRISCO.COM

WWW.HISHOUSECHURCH.ORG

WWW.GRACEREVOLUTIONSCHOOL.COM

“I first met Ryan in Hong Kong 2008. His book Sanctification by Grace was a quantum leap into a fuller understanding of what happened at the Cross. His writing continues to be an inspiration to myself and many other pastors who find themselves at the coalface of church life. This book addresses many challenges that are current in grace preaching churches. It is clear, concise and biblical. A must read for anyone serious about keeping the Gospel the main thing.”

STEVE WHEELER

PASTOR AND AUTHOR

WWW.HIGHWAY.ORG.ZA

WWW.HIGHWAYTOGRACE.COM

“As I read and pondered the words of this timely book, things that were in my heart about the move of God in these last days were being confirmed. Truly, God is bringing his Church into maturity by giving us gifts in the body, people like Pastor Ryan Rufus, to put into the written page what is to happen next. After the Revolution is a relevant message for the times in which we are in. I highly recommend this book for every believer who desires to grow and mature in the revelation of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

PTR JOCEL EVANGELISTA

SENIOR PASTOR, NEW LIFE CHRISTIAN CENTER – THE FORT

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

WWW.NEWLIFETHEFORT.COM

“After the Revolution is an invaluable and highly recommended resource for the Church in this hour! Packed with wisdom and helpful insights, it is an absolute must-read for every leadership team and congregation who are committed to positioning their churches into catching the next wave of empowering grace!

For those who are, or have, labored under the ungodly tyranny of intimidation and confusion that the ‘grace-pharisaical’ spirit projects against leadership with its haughty superiority and undermining accusations, this book will set you free and instill a new found courage to lead with the strength and conviction God has put within you.

Ryan both masterfully confronts the disempowering deception of a counterfeit grace culture and provides clear and practical biblical application on how to steer your congregation out of the maze of confusion and into the next season of stability, growth & fruitfulness.”

GRAHAM JONES

LEAD ELDER, DWELL CHURCH AND FOUNDER,

SOUTH AFRICA GLOBAL GRACE MINISTRIES

“A strategic timely book that brings insight and wisdom at a critical juncture in this expanding revelation of grace. Jesus’ words, ‘go and make disciples’ is clearly explained with practical application. Both leaders and congregations will benefit greatly from this read.”

TONY IDE

PASTOR, FREEDOM LIFE FELLOWSHIP

PERTH, AUSTRALIA

WWW.FREEDOMLIFE.ORG.AU

“A grace book that we are all waiting for, it reveals the heart and the plan of the Bridegroom towards his Bride. It shows how Jesus loves the Church and gave Himself for Her. It inspires, instructs and imparts the essence of what grace does both into our lives and the Church. Indeed we are living in the era of the local church.”

PAUL P. HERNANDEZ

NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF F.R.E.E. MISSION PHILIPPINES INCORPORATED

WWW.FREEMISSIONPHILS.COM

“My wife and I have been close friends with Ryan & Kylie Rufus since our teenage years. Their passion for God’s presence, people and his sovereign purposes is nothing short of inspirational. We are eternally grateful to have mates in ministry like these, who strengthen, stir and stretch us. I trust Ryan’s latest book will serve you in this way.”

CHAD M. MANSBRIDGE

PASTOR, BAYSIDE CHURCH, VICTOR HARBOUR, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

I5812 MINISTRIES

WWW.I5812.ORG

“Ryan Rufus has hit the nail on the head with this new release. His chapter on ‘The Difference Between a Rebellion and a Revolution’ is in my estimation one of the greatest foundational teachings needed today. This is an important book for every leader’s library.”

STEVE SCHROEDER

PRESIDENT, THE CHRISTIAN MINISTERS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

WWW.CANADACMA.ORG

“Ryan Rufus gets it. With responsibility, wisdom, and passion, Ryan helps us discern the difference between rebels and revolutionaries, those who have only a concept of grace from those with a real transforming revelation of grace. After the Revolution is a must read for anyone who has experienced the paradigm shift of the gospel of grace and desires to grow in maturity in Christ.”

LUCAS MILES

PASTOR, OASIS GRANGER, USA

PRESIDENT, THE OASIS NETWORK FOR CHURCHES

WWW.OASNET.ORG

“I have a saying, ‘The fastest way to disciple the nations is powerful, potent, faith-filled, love-fueled local churches’. This book is a theological springboard into producing these kinds of churches. In this time, the enemy seeks to undermine the grace of God, local church and godly leadership, but After the Revolution is a powerful weapon against this attack! Whether you are a newborn believer or seasoned church leader, this book will leave you profoundly encouraged and strengthened!”

CRAIG GLENN

LEAD PASTOR, GRACELIFE CHURCH, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

WWW.GRACELIFE.CO.ZA

“Ryan’s book provides pastors and church leaders with the essential tools needed to build the Church on a foundation of radical pure grace. A lot of believers misinterpret the grace message as an excuse to do whatever they like, thus turning the grace revolution into a grace rebellion. After the Revolution equips church leaders to use the grace revolution as a powerful force that can change whole communities and draw multitudes into the kingdom.

Ryan’s book has really blessed me as a church leader as I can identify with his experiences on this subject. I urge every pastor to read this book, as it will help build the Body of Christ and produce true legitimate children of the kingdom. Thank you, Ryan, for sharing your wisdom on this matter.”

ADAM F. THOMPSON

AUTHOR OF THE SUPERNATURAL MAN

WWW.VOICEOFFIREMINISTRIES.ORG

CO-AUTHOR OF THE DIVINITY CODE TO UNDERSTANDING YOUR DREAMS & VISIONS

WWW.THEDIVINITYCODE.ORG

CO-PLANTER, FIELD OF DREAMS AUSTRALIA

WWW.FIELDOFDREAMS.ORG.AU

CONTENTS

PART 1

I

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

A REBELLION AND A REVOLUTION

II

A HIGH VALUE FOR

THE LOCAL CHURCH

III

DIVINE ORDER VS

THE HIPPY SPIRIT

IV

THE NEED FOR

SOUND DOCTRINE

V

DEALING WITH

THE POLITICAL SPIRIT

PART 2

VI

FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS

THROUGH DISCIPLINE

VII

DEVELOPING

A COACHING CULTURE

VIII

SEVEN ESSENTIAL TEACHINGS

IN DISCIPLESHIP

IX

BE FRUITFUL

AND MULTIPLY

X

KEEP KEEPING

THE GOSPEL CLEAR

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to pastors all over the world who have endured opposition, attacks, slander, unkindness and divisiveness, even from your own congregations, and have humbly and faithfully continued to love people and lead them into the vision that God has laid on your heart. You are my heroes. I take my hat off to you. I honor you, I love you and I commend you. Well done!

This book is also dedicated to congregations who have faithfully stood with their pastors through not only the good times but also through the hard times. You are precious pure gold!

FOREWORD

As far back as I remember Ryan had an uncanny ability to perceive the real issue that lay behind the appearance of things. He has become highly developed in this through frontline exposure. In After the Revolution, Ryan has identified a pivotal stage that the global grace revolution has sequenced into, describes what must come next, and points out some of the dangers to avoid that lie ahead. With precise insight he accurately and systematically targets distorted and warped beliefs that an anti-grace spirit has tried to sneakily insert into the foundation of grace in order to undermine its true power, beauty and effectiveness. It is as if the Holy Spirit has given Ryan a special laser-like scope to comprehensively detect every discordant sound that has tried to disguise itself as the authentic representation of grace, and he effectively dismisses these parodies and postures of pseudo grace with astonishing directness.

This book has the power of activation in it and a call to summon God’s precious people out of any confusion and into clarity. It will inspire people to step out of the camouflage of passivity and into initiatives of courage that invest with servant hearted passion to see local churches thriving as agents of Kingdom advancement. It will bring a divine order and position churches to possess their inheritance and bless nations!

Well done Ryan, I salute you. The signature and the fingerprints of God are all over this book! May God use it to mobilize a fresh wave of zeal, courage and sacrifice in the Church for the purposes of Christ!

All my love,

Rob Rufus (Dad)

INTRODUCTION

The Church has arrived at the next stage of the grace revolution and there are two ways we could go from here. We could camp around the foundation of grace or we could now begin to build on it and see the Church coming into its finest hour!

Radical pure grace is the only foundation for the Church so to build on this foundation with the Law would be an absolute disaster. To not build on it though would be an even greater disaster! The purpose of a foundation is so that a building can go up. God is not bringing the Church into grace so that we can just do nothing. He is bringing the Church into grace so that we can do the “great works” he has prepared in advance for us to do through Christ Jesus!

There is opposition to this next stage as I am sure you are already aware. The purpose of this book is to arm you with wisdom and courage to boldly embrace this next season of grace and to stand against the intimidation and crafty schemes of the enemy.

After the Revolution is all about what must happen after there has been a grace revolution in a church and in a person’s life.

It was written for pastors and for faithful church members who believe in the local church and desire to see their churches growing unified, strong and effective.

This book will give you courage and strength. It will ignite vision and passion. It will give you wisdom and insight on how to navigate through the ungodly pressures being put on you by the demonic realm through certain people opposing local churches, leadership, divine order, divine purpose and building on the foundation of grace.

How this book will specifically help:

- To identify the difference between a true grace revolution and a counterfeit grace rebellion.

- To develop a high value and passion for the local church in people.

- It will give you discernment into the difference between fatalistic grace teaching that paralyzes Christians and sound grace doctrine that mobilizes and empowers Christians.

- It will help you against unhelpful cultures that are developing within grace communities.

- It will provide insight on how to deal with the independent, political and hippy spirit that is trying to creep into churches today and will establish God’s divine order and purposes in your church and life.

- This book will assist congregations into the administration of grace and ensuring that people not only discover who they are in Christ but also what they can do in Christ.

- It will stir you, equip and challenge you, to see your church and yourself fulfilling God’s purposes.

- It will reinforce your foundations of grace in order to build higher and healthier into the future.

I

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REBELLION AND A REVOLUTION

What is the difference between a revolution and a rebellion? A rebellion is defined by what it stands against, whereas a revolution is defined by what it stands for. A rebel is just interested in fighting against something, whereas a revolutionist is fighting for something. A rebellion seeks to disrupt, bring down or destroy a bad ideology or system of government. A revolution seeks to transform it into something better. In simple terms, a rebellion seeks to destroy, while a revolution seeks to build something better. If you think you’re a revolutionist but find yourself only destroying and never building, I hate to tell you this, but you’re nothing more than a rebel! This book is not for rebels, it’s for revolutionaries who want to see the Church becoming what Christ intended for her.

What happens after a revolution is even more important than the actual revolution itself! In fact, if people do not go into what the revolution was there to position them for, then the revolution could end up being more destructive than the bondage they were previously in. If people never move on to rebuild something the right way, then they never had a revolution, they only had a rebellion.

If you’re in a prison surrounded by a vast desert and you happen to break out and gain your freedom, you will be worse off in the desert than you were in prison! You will die in the desert. A revolution is not just about gaining your freedom, it is also about going into a better place.

The nation of Libya was recently liberated from an unjust, murderous and oppressive government. A rebel army rose up all over the country and fought against the government. The rest of the world helped the rebels to bring down the government and gain their freedom. Suddenly, the rebels are now the new government and have the responsibility of taking care of the nation. Their new cause has to be building infrastructure, schools, hospitals, a good judicial system, small business, big business, trade, the economy and a nation founded on better values. If they don’t build a better government but just live to celebrate their freedom and how they brought down the old government, the country will be worse off than it was under the old government. The country will collapse. Infrastructure like clean water, electricity, waste removal, hospitals, the police force, education, transportation and road systems will all break down leading to a collapse in manufacturing, business, agriculture and jobs. Famine will sweep the country. Disease, thirst, violence and anarchy will break out as people fight for survival. Eventually the whole country will become impoverished and destitute leading to mass deaths. You can see the dangers of a rebellion without a proper revolution.

This can also happen in the Church world. Many people and churches are stuck in a religious legalistic structure and theology that’s oppressive, crushing, abusive, slavish and driven by performance to please God. It’s a system of motivating people to live right by guilt and fear and keeping them in a “falling short/never good enough” mentality. Now you can break people out, but breaking out is only half of the revolution! You have to take them into a better place – a kingdom of God government and intent for his Church. You need to build and establish people on the foundation of Christ and on his divine order and purpose for the Church.

The Church is at a critical juncture in this gospel revolution. The revolution has been breaking the Church out of bondage through a mixture of law and grace, but what happens after this is of utmost importance. It will be the difference between dying in the wilderness or walking into inheritance.

There is undeniably a gospel revolution taking place in the Church today that is bringing people out of legalistic bondage and dead religion and back into the glorious inheritance of the New Covenant. This is a wonderful thing that God has instigated and is fully backing. Because of this we are seeing individuals and churches breaking free from:

- Guilt, shame and condemnation

- Religious dead works

- Human effort and self-righteous performance to please God.

- Trying to earn God’s love and blessings, and avoid his judgment and punishments.

- Legalism and law based Christianity.

- Abusive, manipulative and controlling styles of church government and leadership.

- A confusing mixture of the Old Covenant with New Covenant.

- Being motivated by fear and manipulation.

Unfortunately, I see a grace rebellion that is also taking place where “free” people cast off all leadership, divine order, godly government and sound doctrine and tragically fail to go into the purpose of that freedom. This has sadly begun to discredit the pure and authentic message of God’s grace. It has caused some leaders and people to view grace as a destructive and rebellious teaching that leads people to reject divine order, sound doctrine and the value of the local church. Unfortunately, this is causing some to reject the transformation that God wants to bring about.

Most revolutions have a fanatical fringe that has lost sight of the true cause and are now merely rebels leading a rebellion, even while thinking they’re still leading a revolution. Because of these “trouble makers” many people in the Church mistakenly assume that the whole revolution is nothing more than a rebellion. This is a shame because it’s slowing down and hindering churches from coming into the fullness of grace.

It was a revolution that set Israel free from Egyptian bondage in order that they may enter the Promised Land. That “free” generation, however, did not enter their inheritance, but suffered in the wilderness unto utter destruction. One of the most common events occurring with Israel in the wilderness was breaking out of rebellion.

If all you do is break free from bad leadership and bad beliefs but fail to go into what God is building, you get stuck in a rebellion that will continue to manifest unto total destruction. What starts out as something good has the potential to end up in something terrible if you don’t have the next phase in mind!

The wilderness is not true freedom. It is a place, which if you spend too long there, leads to confusion, disillusionment, rebellion, a return to bondage, self-destruction and ultimately, death.

People who do not sequence with God at this crucial stage will end up just preaching rebellion and helping people to rebel against what God is actually doing.

The grace revolution must not be confused with the grace rebellion or mistakenly associated with rebels. God is very serious about bringing his Church into the fullness of New Covenant life and freedom and is using true revolutionaries who honor and value leadership to do this. These are people who do more than destroy or just set you free. They are people who are building what God is building while destroying the religious trappings that hinder people from true New Covenant life.

It’s great to be free from bondage to illegitimate things, but now we need to build on the right foundations and let grace empower and lead us into what God now has for the Church.

This includes:

- Divine order established in the Church with grace-filled empowering leadership.

- Powerful, influential and fruitful local churches everywhere.

- Establishing people in sound doctrine of the Gospel of Grace.

- Supernatural fruitfulness, growth, increase and multiplication in individuals and churches.

- Victory over bondage, addiction and temptation.

- Living stones being built together in love and empowered in gifting.

- A generation of faithful, loyal, church honoring, committed, hard working, servant-hearted, generous, powerful, lovers of God arising!

- Heaven coming to earth!

So, what is the state of the revolution?

Right now we are seeing a divide growing between those who were just with us for the rebellion, and those who are moving forward in the revolution. Perhaps the question is, what are you involved in – a revolution or a rebellion? It is time to get behind what God is doing next on the planet. He is raising up influential local churches all over the world that are governed by strong, grace-filled leaders who empower the Church to display to the world what heaven looks like when it comes to a community of people here on earth! A community of people who walk with God and others in love, joy, peace, liberty, divine order, favor, health, prosperity, honor, and purity. Who live in victory over sin, curse, fear, condemnation, sickness, poverty and all manner of evil.

This grace revolution will not be finished until we see this happening all over the world! If we never see this happening, then all we had was a grace rebellion! I’ve committed my life to this grace revolution and I’m going to see it through until the day I die! I’m a part of an incredible local church in Hong Kong that is building and establishing the Kingdom of God here on earth through Christ’s plan A for mankind – the Church! I’m also connected in working relationships with other churches, pastors, and five fold ministry gifts all over the world who have a passion to see churches planted and established in grace and the Gospel of Christ impacting mankind.

II

A HIGH VALUE FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH

Satan is so aware of the potential force of the local church and what happens when it gathers, that he constantly targets it and tries to stop it. The book of Acts displays what local churches look like when they operate according to what Christ intended. Across the earth today there is a move to undermine the gathering of the local church. How does satan do this? By sowing the lie that “gathering corporately is not that important or biblical and that there’s a better way to do church”. But the corporate gathering of the local church according to Acts reveals a powerful force that can change whole communities and see multitudes coming into the Kingdom, being healed and set free. I delight in being part of a church that gathers on Sunday mornings, and from house to house during the week, to hear grace based teaching, to pray together, to fellowship with one another, to give financially, to care for others, to worship God, to get equipped, to evangelize, to healing the sick and to just love people!

We want to take the message of grace to the body of Christ and see her come into New Covenant liberty and empowerment. There are numbers within the grace community, preaching grace, who themselves are not part of a local church, but instead attack churches and pastors and think it’s their job to bring correction to the Church. This discredits the Gospel of Grace and gives the impression that grace makes you a rebel and therefore that it cannot work in a local church context. Unfortunately, at the same time, many of these people have left the Scriptures and are divisively promoting what they would call “a better way of doing church”, which is:

- “Organic” and not “organizational”

- “Spirit-led” and not “leader led” or “institutional”

- “Unstructured” and not “structured”

- “Small groups where everyone can have a say” and not “corporate gatherings where everyone listens mostly to just one person”

- “Reaching people” and not “Gathering behind four walls”

Often you don’t hear much grace coming from these people as they trumpet their untested idealistic theories with arrogance and superiority. They’re mostly just revealing what is truly in their hearts, offense, rebellion, independence and jealousy. What they do does not build the Church, it hurts the Church. They may have started in a revolution but they ended up in a rebellion.

What they can’t see is that if you want to be biblical, the true New Covenant model for Church is actually an inclusion of all the above things and not an exclusion of any! Church is both organic and organized; Spirit-led and leader-led; instituted by Christ on the day of Pentecost and is a balance of being unstructured while having structure; it meets publically and from house to house; it reaches the lost and gathers regularly.

Paul would be turning over in his grave at what some are saying these days with their anti-local church talk. These people take biblical words and concepts and turn them into swear words and sow seeds of doubt into the minds of immature, naïve Christians. Their intent is to turn believers’ hearts against their leaders. They put a undermining spin on words and concepts like: large churches, corporate gatherings, strong leadership, elders, apostles, submission, discipline, authority, sacrifice, commitment, confrontation, financial giving to local churches, full-time leaders and so on.

A word to the wise: be careful of who you read and listen to these days. Are you feeding from people who correctly build on Scripture and have a love for what is most precious to Christ, his church? Or are you feeding from independent people who attack the local church, who twist Scripture and who rather build on their own opinions and experiences? Be careful of people who are wise in their own eyes and yet have done very little. They are usually hurt, offended, frustrated and bitter people who run around stirring up unnecessary trouble and are trying to turn everyone into what they are!

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

ACTS 20:29–30 (ESV)

Who are you feeding from and basing your values on?

Anyone can use social media to post their opinions for all to see. No matter how much confidence and wisdom they appear to have, we can’t be naïvely captivated! What do you see when you look over their shoulders? Do you see experience and success in what they are promoting, tested faithfulness, consistent effective building, honoring of the Church and leadership, successful church relationships with love and sacrifice for the Body of Christ? Or do you see no proven track record or real tested experience in what they’re promoting? Lots of ideas, ideals and theories, but no working models. Broken relationships, fall outs, no commitment to a local church, a lack of faithfulness, no real accountability to anyone, a law to themselves, dishonor towards leaders and lack of genuine love with honor and sacrifice towards the body of Christ?

Anyone would be crazy to follow someone of the latter! Have a look around on people’s blogs and ministry websites before you get too captivated and see if you can find any information on:

- Their history

- Their relationship to the local church and leadership.

- Do they honor leadership and churches?

- How are they serving together with the local church and the leadership?

- What model and examples do they give of their success in what they’re talking about?

- What experience have they had?

- What examples of consistency, faithfulness, longevity, endurance, accountability and sacrifice do they have?

- What reality is there in their ministry relationships or are they basically just independent and a law unto themselves?

- Is the flavor of their words full of humility, graciousness, honor, love, positivity, wholeness, team mindedness and empowerment or is the flavor of their words mostly arrogant, ungracious, dishonoring, unloving, full of offense, negative, independent and destructive?

- Is what they’re promoting biblical or mostly just their opinions and conclusions based on experiences?

- How have they handled confrontation, challenge and disagreement? Did they work through it all or do they just keep avoiding it and moving on in the name of being “Spirit led”?

Organic, unstructured, Spirit-led, small group churches and the biblical model?

It seems that this kind of “more biblical” organic church structure has come around again and people are trying to promote it as the latest move of God and the best model for doing church. But this kind of structure has been cycling through the Church for a long time. Its generally prompted by a reaction to bad experiences in a local church, and is therefore often led by hurt, offended and frustrated Christians who have had fall-outs in larger more structured churches. These leaders are often people who are full of untested ideals, theories and opinions, and who operate with a spirit of offense and independence. They generally try to avoid all structure, leadership, accountability, commitment, authority and so on. What they promote, though, is certainly not new and it’s definitely not biblical. They appeal to and attract many ex-church Christians who have all the same baggage and they usually end up biting and devouring each other or in some strange type of Christianity that is a sad substitute for what Christ intended. These kinds of “organic churches” usually don’t grow, last very long, or have any true effectiveness.

I’m not referring to the house churches of China and other countries that have to remain small and unregistered and usually meet in homes, offices and factories. These churches are not the same thing. All of these unregistered small house churches are led by elders who hold people accountable (probably a bit too much though) and who do most of the teaching, encourage the giving of finances, are quite structured and value corporate gatherings.

I’m referring to those that claim they have the “real” and “more biblical” model for Church: Small group meetings that are leaderless and unstructured, and who oppose and undermine anything that is organized, structured, governed by leaders, meets corporately, becomes large, confronts and holds people accountable, receives finances, and so on.

Many of these people not only disagree with “institutional churches” but also would be happy to empty every “institutional church” and are actually trying to do so with all their blogs, tweets and negative seed sowing.

By “institutional” I simply mean a church that regularly gathers corporately to worship, hear teaching, receives finances and which has a clear defined leadership and purpose. In other words: the kind of church that was instituted by Christ and reproduced by the apostles in the New Testament. I’m not referring to nor endorsing churches that are unbiblical in structure and have over organized the Holy Spirit right out of their midst. Churches that run according to liturgies, rigid programs, constitutions, elections, hierarchies, laws and Old Covenant principles. I believe these churches do need to come into grace and a more biblical model.

Unfortunately, reacting to these kinds of churches with a rebellion only brings destruction and not the true and better model that Christ intended.

Now, I know that there are those who have come out of truly abusive churches and hurtful situations. What happened to them was unfair and has caused deep pain and suspicion towards leaders or any authority and a reluctance of entrusting themselves to other people again. Healing needs to come and grace needs to restore. The way that people process through though, is very important and is usually the difference between becoming a rebel or a true revolutionary who is part of something great and significant in the earth today!

What is the true biblical model for church?

- Strong, growing local churches that gather both publically and privately, that are led by elders who are in partnership with five fold ministry apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

- Where the people honor and are submitted to the elders.

- Where the elders bring doctrine, direction, discipline and protection and who love, lead and feed the people.

- Where the body is empowered for works of service to build up the local church and to go out and establish more local churches all over the world.

- It’s a body of people in covenant relationship with one another who gather corporately and from house to house to devote themselves to Apostolic teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer, financial giving, healing, evangelism, praising God and much more.

- A church that can grow very large and remain unified, caring and fruitful.

We have one life to make a difference and impact in this world. Let’s be part of the solution. Let’s be someone who supports, builds and demonstrates what Christ intends for his Church. When the church gathers, be there with all your love, gifting, humility and servant-heartedness ready to give, add and bless!

If people would stop attacking the Church and stop promoting rebellion and independence and begin to invest in and build the Church up to what Christ intended, we would see the gospel revolution accelerating around the world with Churches and whole communities discovering how good the Good News really is!

Here is the biblical basis from the Book of Acts that reveals what a true New Testament church looks like and will build your faith, love and value for local churches:

- Acts 2:40–47

- Acts 4:29–36

- Acts 5:12–16

- Acts 5:41–42

- Acts 6:1–7

- Acts 11:19–30

- Acts 13:1–3

- Acts 14:21–27

- Acts 15:1–4, 22, 30–31

- Acts 15:35–36, 40–41, 16:4–5

- Acts 19:8–12

- Acts 20:17–20

- Acts 20:28–32

And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44Now all who believed were together, 45and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

ACTS 2:40–47 (NKJV)

“Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. 32Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

ACTS 4:29–35 (NKJV)

And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. 14And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

ACTS 5:12–16 (NKJV)

So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

ACTS 5:41–42 (NKJV)

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. 7Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

ACTS 6:1–7 (NKJV)

Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 20But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 22Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. 27And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

ACTS 11:19–30 (NKJV)

Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

ACTS 13:1–3 (NKJV)

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 23So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 25Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed. 27Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

ACTS 14:21–28 (NKJV)

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. 3So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 4And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.

22Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

30So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. 31When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

ACTS 15:1–4, 22, 30–31 (NKJV)

Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

36Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”

40but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. 41And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

16:4And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

ACTS 15:35–36, 40, 41, 16:4– 5 (NKJV)

And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

ACTS 19:8–12 (NKJV)

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, 19serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,

28Therefore 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. 29For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.31Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. 32“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

ACTS 20:17–20, 28–32 (NKJV)

III

DIVINE ORDER VS THE HIPPY SPIRIT

DIVINE ORDER

God’s desire for the Church is to have Kingdom covenant communities under his divine government and not leaderless hippy communes of chaos and division!

By divine order I mean living submitted to Christ and his intended government and leadership structure in a local church.

Elders are God’s divine order and intended government for a local church. They are commissioned by Christ to shepherd the flock and to oversee the affairs of the church. According to Scripture, elders are the highest governing authority in a church under Christ.

“Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.18And when they came to him, he said to them: 28Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God…”

ACTS 20:17–18, 28 (ESV)

“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”

1 TIMOTHY 5:17 (KJV)

Elders should lead lovingly, graciously but also strongly, passionately and unapologetically in grace and truth. They are set in place by God to keep a church healthy and on track with Christ’s purposes.

When necessary they confront, challenge, hold people accountable, correct, discipline and admonish (2 Timothy 3).

They are there to love, lead, feed and protect the people of a local church and they are responsible for the doctrine, direction and discipline of the church they are leading in.

When people come to cut across the heart, DNA and vision of the elders of a church, then the elders are well within their rights to, and in fact should, exercise authority and discipline to restore divine order. This is God’s way of protecting the Church and creating boundaries of safety and environments of empowerment to flourish together as a church.

The devil hates divine order. He always has. He always tries to bring down godly leadership in order to bring chaos and upset the purposes of God in a local church and ultimately destroy that church.

Christ’s intent for the Church is to demonstrate to the world what it looks like when his Kingdom comes to a community of people here on earth. Churches are God’s embassies or consulates all over planet Earth that represent the culture, dominion and purposes of the highest governor and king, Jesus Christ, and to demonstrate what he intends for mankind! Every local church is supposed to be a representation of the Kingdom of God here on earth to display his glory, wisdom, love, truth, authority and lordship to this world.

When God’s will and Kingdom comes to this earth it comes through Christ’s body – the Church. Christ is the answer to all of humanity’s needs! In the hearts of all mankind is the desire for meaning and significance, to worship something, to belong to family, to be loved, to be valuable, to have relationship, to be pure and innocent, to find safety, to be empowered, to be victorious and so on.

When you take God out of the picture then the best you can hope for is the counterfeit of all these things that will ultimately never satisfy the strong human desires for these things.

Mankind needs to see the powerful authentic culture of Heaven being lived out in communities of people all over the world. The Church is a living articulation of what mankind longs for, yet has been unable to find. When the Church is the Church, it demonstrates to the world the true meaning of worship, family, purpose, love, selflessness, honor, relationship with God, community, purity, victory, empowerment, safety, healing, wholeness and peace.

Christ places such a high value on his Church, and those who have his heart should too. He laid his very life down for his Church to see her become a radiant bride. She wasn’t perfect before he did that. But while She was still imperfect he did it! Imagine if every believer around the world, instead of finding fault with the Church, actually laid their life down for Her, imagine how amazing the Church would become and the kind of impact it would have on this world?

Ephesians 5 says that Christ laid down his life for the Church to cleans her and present her to himself as a radiant bride. He didn’t lay his life down for conferences, ministries, or even just for individuals – but for the Church! That’s why Christianity is not an individual journey lived out in independence and in the personal preferences of picking and choosing whatever suits a person. It’s a shared journey lived out in a covenant community with others called the local church which is under the divine order of Christ and his way of governing his Church through leadership. It’s not supposed to be under leaderless chaos and unbiblical egalitarian ideals! Christ is bringing back divine order to his Church!

THE HIPPY SPIRIT

You’re the leader of a church and a while back you discovered the glorious message of grace. It revolutionized your life! You realized how terrible legalism and religion was. You began to transition your church into grace. Most loved it and a few left because they still wanted the law. Suddenly, your whole church was caught up in a gospel revolution and joining ranks with many others around the world. People were coming to your church because of pure grace and to take part with you in a grace revolution. You were all fighting together against dead religion and legalistic theology and talking the same language of love, freedom, peace and joy and how terrible controlling legalistic leadership is. It seemed like such a great sense of unity and purpose and together you were all going somewhere as a people.

You stepped up in your leadership and led with authority, passion and vision. You spoke about the need for everyone to serve together to see the church expanding. You stirred and challenged people to a higher level of commitment and service. You even adjusted some of your service structure and focus to facilitate and administrate growth and to lead people into the future that God has for the church.

You began to notice that there were some people who didn’t really like that and were beginning to have issues with what you were doing. They started to pull back, even fight you on some of these things. They would passively protest and be indifferent. They didn’t like words like commitment, serving, organization, excellence, structure, growth, accountability, authority and leadership. “Oh, we’re going back to works are we?” some of them complained. “Gee, he’s becoming a bit controlling don’t you think?” They didn’t hold back in sharing their complaints with other people either. You saw some of these other people taking on that stance and beginning to have the same issues and conflicts. It seemed a number of the people who first supported you were now turning against you and causing division in the house. A group started forming that would meet together privately and openly discussed all the issues they were having with the church and the leadership and what they would prefer to see. They began to influence more and more members. Church attendance went down and people’s giving also went down. You began to labor under a cloud of “I’m not doing anything right”. It felt like many scrutinized and disapproved of your leadership at every point. And this just kept growing worse. You couldn’t understand this because it seemed like you had all originally been after the same thing.

So what happened and how did it happen?

The “Spirit of Hippy” is what happened! It came into your church through certain people and attached itself to others and was not shut down. It came to undermine divine order in the house and to get people to rebel because it hates leadership. How did it come in? It came in piggy backing off the message of grace! This is because grace revolutionaries and hippies have a lot in common!

This chapter is about empowering the leaders and the people of a local church to move bodly forward in God’s divine order and purpose and to protect their church from the hippy spirit that is intentionally and aggressively trying to destroy churches today.

This demonic hippy spirit must be recognized and dealt with. It’s a counterfeit grace and an anti-Christ spirit that wants to make churches impotent by challenging divine order and authority. It’s bent on making every church wishy-washy, leaderless and ineffective. This is why if grace is not married to divine order it will empower rebels and hippies to run riot in your church and bring division. I can guarantee that when God’s divine order is rejected in a church, what will soon follow is chaos, rebellion, divisiveness, protesting and the forming of factions and church splits.

The hippy spirit is finding a foothold within the grace movement and it’s no surprise why. It deceptively sneaks in, camouflaged as part of the grace revolution. It looks and sounds just like grace and that’s why it’s so hard to recognize. Many Christians are operating under this spirit and don’t even realize it. They think they are in a gospel revolution but are actually supporting a gospel rebellion.

This spirit has been operating right from the start and all throughout history. The word hippy was only coined in the mid sixties, but the spirit has been showing up all throughout history in various forms. It’s not an innocent thing that merely presents an alternative lifestyle. It’s an anti-Christ spirit that wants to bring destruction. And once again, it’s trying to show up in the Church and it’s popping up in “grace churches”. The reason it can do this is because the grace movement and the hippy movement have a lot of similarities.

The hippy movement of the Sixties and Seventies can be characterized by two things: what it stood against and what it stood for. It was firstly a counterculture movement that stood against the “establishment” and urbanized society, and secondly it was a “love” movement that stood for love, peace, joy, freedom and a returning back to nature.

It was primarily a youth movement that encouraged people to rebel and fight against the establishment, against organized and urbanized society, materialism, corporations, war, and basically anyone telling you what you can and can’t do. It sought to expose the “lies” of the government and “free” society’s mind. The hippy code was: “Do your own thing, wherever you have to do it and whenever you want. Drop out. Leave society as you have known it. Leave it utterly. Blow the mind of every straight person you can reach. Turn them on, if not to drugs, then to beauty, love, honesty, fun.” (July 7, 1967, Time Magazine.)

The ideology promoted an alternative culture and lifestyle of living free. To leave society and return back to nature. Hippy communes where common in the Sixties and Seventies but usually didn’t last very long. The movement however still lives on today.

Hippies are known for being “free-spirited” and always talk about “freedom”:

- Freedom from the “establishment”, corporations, government systems and urbanization.

- Freedom from societies enslavements of materialism and working for “the man”.

- Freedom in your mind through drugs known as the “psychedelic experience”.

- Sexual and moral freedom in doing whatever you want with no boundaries.

- Freedom to choose your own beliefs.

It propagates its counterculture ideology through music, art, poetry, movies, books, fashion, protests and various publications.

Ironically, the grace movement is also a counterculture movement and a love movement! Those in the grace movement can also be characterized by two things: what we stand against, and what we stand for. We’re against religion and legalism and their structures that abuse, control, crush and slowly kill people. We are a counterculture movement because we seek the culture of the Kingdom of God and oppose the culture of humanism and man-centered performance driven religion.

Coincidentally, like the hippies, we also stand for love, peace, freedom and joy! But it is important to define these words correctly or the hippy spirit will define them for you in your church! These words must be defined biblically and find their context within Kingdom order or they will become self-centered, humanistic and destructive.

Watch out for the “free spirited” people who come into your church but are not genuinely accountable to anyone and who do whatever they want. They are actively looking for followers to influence and “free their minds!” They play down leadership, authority and accountability and often say things like, “Well aren’t we all just part of one big family anyway? We don’t need to belong to any one church.” And as soon as a leader stands up to exercise authority and challenges and holds people accountable, these people always perceive it as controlling. When a leader exhorts the church to service, commitment, faithfulness, giving, attending meetings consistently, and reaching the lost, it’s always construed as going back to works and “Oh, we’re getting legalistic again.” These people are happy as long as you’re not bringing divine order to the church but as soon as you do, they react. They’ll fight with you when you want to bring down government and they’ll fight against you when you want to build it.

In the church, these people love grace because it lets them get away with murder and the hippy spirit loves them!

Christians under the hippy spirit employ the same language as us, but they mean vastly different things. They want grace but without divine order. They want the Kingdom but without the King.

- They talk about love but they don’t want it with commitment or covenant. They want “free love”. Unfortunately, it’s free from truth and reality.

- They talk about rest. “Hey, just chill out, man”, “Stop striving, man”, “You’re getting into works, man” but their rest is at the expense of other people and it ignores their responsibility as soldiers, servants and sons in the house of God.

- They want peace but without a fight. They want the promised land but don’t want to fight for it.

- They want freedom but without boundaries or having to be under anyone’s authority, “We’re not under man’s control, we’re led by the Spirit, man.”

- They want Father’s love but not Father’s discipline.

- They want joy and a buzz, but they don’t want a sense of duty or responsibility. “Don’t kill my buzz, man, with your ‘do’ religion!”

- They want influence without responsibility.

- They want intimacy without covenant.

- They want to do whatever they want, whenever they want and will keep leaving any society that tries to put any boundaries around them.

Their “free-spirited-hippy-Jesus” just loves and accepts everyone and everything. No, he speaks the truth in love! As did Paul, Peter, Jude and many other New Testament writers. They didn’t just tolerate everything or everyone. Sometimes they were very aggressive and that was because of love!

In the Sixties and Seventies, hippies had underground publications and presses that distributed their counterculture ideologies and which incited as many as possible to protest, to resist, rebel and to cause anarchy. Today’s equivalent is social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, blogs and personal websites. They will also show up in your churches from time to time and they seek to turn people’s hearts against leaders and towards themselves. They are trying to lead an alternative move in the church that is a reaction to divine order. They’ll end up splitting a church if they are not dealt with, and build their own thing with those people who will resemble more of a hippy commune than a church.

Hippy communes usually backfire. It stands to reason that when you get a whole bunch of people together who are used to rebelling, fighting the system, protesting, not conforming, and whose very ideal and code is “Do your own thing, wherever you want and whenever you want, drop out and leave society…” they are just going to end up doing that to each other! When the leaders of the commune try to exercise some order it will feel like the very commune has now become a system or establishment that needs to be fought against!

People operating under a hippy spirit will do this very thing in the Church. In your church! They were with you when fighting the system. They said all the same things you did about love, peace, joy and freedom. You all sought to build a commune together – a Kingdom community. But when you started to exercise divine order within the community, all those hippies saw it as another establishment, protested and left. They also tried to free the minds of others who were under the “lies” of the system and get them to leave.

How do you deal with the hippy spirit in a church?

If you’re the senior leader, exercise divine order. Take up your leadership and lead strong. Try to hear the concerns of good people in the church who do honor you, but don’t pander to the hippies.

God appointed you as leader to lead the people. Recognize that the enemy wants to intimidate you and take away your leadership so don’t lay it down! This is your biblical and God ordained calling to do. Don’t react in frustration or anger but re-establish your leadership, even if some people don’t like it and leave. The truth is, most will like it, and love you for it!

Pray for yourself and for your church. Stand against the hippy spirit and break it off people and shut it out your church in the spirit realm. Also, getting into the secret place with God will help give you perspective and wisdom on how to deal with it.

Preach the Word of God concerning leadership and God’s divine order and build a value and faith for the local church, leadership, and partnering together for unified effectiveness.

Stay happy! Don’t go on a witch-hunt or get over focused on dealing with troublemakers. Keep on course with the vision of the church as though everyone has bought into it. Be surprised when you find those that haven’t. Don’t pander to them. If they don’t like it, then perhaps they’re on the wrong ship.

Don’t be afraid to lose people, especially those who you know were never really with you in the first place! Accept that when you do this you will lose some people.

Don’t be manipulated by grumpy, unimpressed people who make you feel like you’re doing everything wrong and if you just did things their way the church would be so much better off. Stick to your course. If people don’t trust you or believe in you by now, they never will. Don’t be on a performance treadmill where you have to earn people’s trust anew every week. If people don’t trust you or believe in you then they can’t walk with you and you definitely can’t entrust them with anything in the church. It might be time for them to leave.

If hippies have positions of influence in your church, you need to work towards getting them out of those places. They will only influence people against you and the purpose of the church. That may get ugly and you may not do it perfectly but it needs to be done either way so you’re going to have to have some guts!

Reinforce the leaders who are on board with you. Invest in them and empower them to help you lead the church. Arm your leaders and your people to watch out for divisive people and to protect the church from them. Leaders must deal with divisiveness not ignore it.

The bottom line is that you need to re-establish your leadership and those leading with you, and clean the house of everything that actively or passive-aggressively opposes the leadership, the vision and the DNA of the church.

Stay on course with the calling God has given you. Don’t get caught up in the wrong battles and distracted. Lead with the vision God has given you. You won’t please everyone, so don’t try. Hold the reigns tight when you need to. Pull back on some people when it’s necessary. Others you may need to give a little “giddy-up” in order to get them going! Grace does not produce weak leaders. It should produce strong leaders who know their authority and know how to exercise it appropriately.

If you’re a member of a church, you can also help deal with the hippy spirit. First support, encourage and honor your leaders. Pray for them and support them in the spirit. Release a culture of honor in the church with your words and actions. Speak highly of the church and the leaders. Deal with any frustrations and disappointments you have appropriately. Focus on what God is doing and what the leaders are doing right, rather than on what is not happening yet. When others dishonor, lovingly confront and correct them. Help them to see the bigger picture and to always be part of the solution and never part of the problem. Basically, run the race that is marked out for you and the church and don’t let anything cut in on you, and keep your eyes on Jesus!

IV

THE NEED FOR SOUND DOCTRINE

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:10–11 (ESV)

I believe there is a fresh wave of grace coming upon the Church. The first wave was a foundation of grace. The next wave is building on grace. The first was foundational theology – “What we believe”, the second is administrational theology – “What we do”. The first wave broke us out of a bad foundation and established the right foundation, which is Christ, and nothing else, and this next wave is about building on that foundation. Not moving on from grace but moving up in grace. That’s exciting!

The first wave brought us into a security in our identity and position in Christ and our relationship with God. It cleared up our motives. No longer are we motivated by that Old Covenant, law-based system of earning God’s blessings and avoiding his punishment through our performance. Instead, we are motivated by the New Covenant way of love, faith and hope! The first wave took off the “have to’s” and allowed the “want to’s” to arise in us. And this is what we have been seeing – the “want to’s” are arising in the Church! Believers want to do good works instead of being manipulated into them. They feel the life, passion, nature, calling and destiny of God rising up on the inside of them and they want to go for it! All this is on the foundation of grace. For example, I don’t just want to hear the foundational truth that I am set free from sin. I want to live in the administrational reality of living free from sin!

Unfortunately, there are people in the grace move who see this and would say that these people are now getting back into works, striving and self-effort. But they haven’t recognized the state of the revolution. And that is that now the building is finally going up on the foundation! Yet, it’s this foundation that many would just prefer to camp around and have no grid for building on.

There are dangers to just camping around the foundation of grace without building on it. Things will start feeling old, stale, confusing, not right and like something is missing. People become disillusioned and bored. They may, and probably will, start straying off into some strange doctrines. Some will end up in sin, rebellion, independence and isolation. But those who catch this next wave are going to come into a greater level of their destiny and calling and move into high level fruitfulness.

People around the earth are going to see a greater rising of the sons of God who are not motivated by fear, insecurity, unbelief and other wrong motives but rather by faith, the love of God, eternity, Kingdom vision, and the Spirit of God. These people are going to come into a greater effectiveness and demonstration in prayer, warfare, evangelism, prosperity, generosity, character, overcoming sin, manifest glory, maturity, miracles, encounters, and greater exploits in impacting the Church and the world around them!

Religion is what’s left over once God has moved on. And God is taking us on – not away from grace but further into grace. Not away from the foundation of Christ’s Gospel but now building on it. Building on the foundation of grace is not works, it’s great works! But some can’t see that and so they’ve turned “resting in Christ” into nothing more than just fatalism and passivity. They’ve stopped praying, going to church, giving, serving, evangelizing, worshiping God, fighting for others and resisting sin. And they pretend that this is so spiritual and that they’ve reached a higher level in grace.

I worked harder than all the other apostles. But it was not I really; it was God’s grace that was with me.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:10 (NEW CENTURY VERSION)

Grace should never be an excuse not to work hard or push ourselves, but rather it’s like a performance enhancing drug which gives us supernatural and unfair advantages in life to go further and do more!

Grace should lead us into great exploits, not fatalism where we do nothing because our theology doesn’t allow for it! If the fruit of your grace message is fatalism, where people are basically paralyzed from doing anything for God for fear of striving, and dead works and law then you’re not preaching true grace. You may have started out good, but somewhere along the line you went askew. It’s time to come back to sound doctrine.

Oftentimes the problem is that some people start with the revelation of grace and then develop the rest of their theology based on a deduction of grace, rather than what the Scriptures actually say. This is called an “over extension” of grace. Grace is radical, but we need to make sure we’re not ignoring Scripture and paralyzing Christians in the process.

Here are some examples of these unbiblical and paralyzing ideas and teachings that are creeping into the grace camp:

- We don’t need to resist sin because we are already forgiven.

- We don’t pray because Jesus did it all at the cross.

- We don’t seek God because he already found us.

- We don’t evangelize because God has reconciled the world to himself at the Cross.

- We don’t give financially because we already have every blessing in Christ.

- We don’t develop our character because we have God’s character.

- We don’t submit to authority and leadership because we are led by the Spirit and free from control.

- We don’t build the Church because Jesus is building his Church.

- We don’t serve because we’re now sons of God not servants or slaves.

- We don’t fight because we already have the victory.

- We don’t hunger or thirst for more of him because we are already filled.

- We don’t desire his manifest presence because his glory is inside of us.

- We don’t contend for healing because we already have been healed.

Can you imagine Jesus or Paul telling believers not to resist sin, pray, seek God, evangelize, give financially, develop your character, or submit to authority and leadership? Not to build the Church, serve, fight, hunger or thirst for more of God, desire his manifest presence or contend for healing? I can’t. In fact, Scripture is full of them doing the opposite! That is what we need to build our theology on concerning any topic. Before you come to a conclusion about prayer or any other doctrine, make sure you’ve read what the Scriptures have to say about it! Don’t just assume you know it because you’ve made some deductions based on grace, or listened to a preacher who made some conclusions using “logic”. It’s fine to use logic and make deductions but always make sure they don’t contradict the Scriptures or you will get yourself into trouble and lead people astray. Some Christians make deductions based on grace and then try to discount any other scriptures that contradict their conclusion. This is just irresponsible and you should be quite cautious of these teachers.

As we move into the building phase of the grace revolution, it is so important that we build with sound doctrine. It’s the Word of God that establishes people’s lives and helps them to step into God’s purposes for them and the Church. Fatalistic teaching will make people feel like they’re being really spiritual for God by doing nothing, when in reality they will be missing their true calling and purpose in this life.

The enemy is very sneaky. He sees the potential of what will happen when the Church rises up on the foundation of grace. People get free from sin, pray powerful prayers, have transforming encounters with Christ, the lost get saved, churches grow larger, great wealth is released into the Gospel, demons go fleeing, sick bodies get healed and nations get discipled.

So what does Satan do? He attacks key areas in Christian’s lives and tries to paralyze them. One of his best tricks, that he seems to be very good at, is influencing people through bad doctrine. I guess he gets away with it because so many Christians have low biblical literacy! The remedy? Build on the foundation of Christ with the Word of God in context.

Here are a number of scriptures concerning the topics I have been referring to that the enemy likes to target, especially in grace camps. Use them to help others and to make sure your own doctrinal conclusions are based on Scripture and not just deduction and logic.

Resisting Sin

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

ROMANS 6:12–14 (ESV)

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

ROMANS 6:15–16 (ESV)

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.8But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

COLOSSIANS 3:5–10 (ESV)

Prayer

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

ACTS 2:42 (ESV)

…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

EPHESIANS 6:18–19 (ESV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

PHILLIPIANS 4:6 (ESV)

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.

COLOSSIANS 4:12–13 (ESV)

- Acts 12:5

- Acts 4:29–31

- Acts 10:1–5, 30–31

- Romans 1:9–11

- Romans 10:1

- Romans 12:12

- Romans 15:30–31

- 2 Corinthians 1:11

- Philippians 1:18b–19

- Colossians 4:2-3

- 1 Timothy 2:1–3

- 1 Timothy 5:5

- James 5:16

Seeking God

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

HEBREWS 11:6 (ESV)

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

COLOSSIANS 3:1–3 (ESV)

Evangelism

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

MATTHEW 28:19 (ESV)

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

MARK 16:15–16 (ESV)

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

ROMANS 10:14–15 (ESV)

Financial Giving

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

ACTS 4:32,35 (ESV)

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

2 CORINTHIANS 8:1–5 (ESV)

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

2 CORINTHIANS 9:6–8 (ESV)

Developing Your Character

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

ROMANS 5:4–5 (ESV)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

JAMES 1:2–4 (ESV)

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.

1 TIMOTHY 4:7–9 (ESV)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 TIMOTHY 3:16–17 (ESV)

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

1 TIMOTHY 3:1–5 (ESV)

Submit to Authority and Leadership

...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

EPHESIANS 5:20–21 (ESV)

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

HEBREWS 13:17 (ESV)

One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

1 TIMOTHY 3:4–5 (KJV)

These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

TITUS 2:15 (KJV)

Building the Church

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

EPHESIANS 2:19–20 (ESV)

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…

EPHESIANS 4:11–12 (ESV)

The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:4 (ESV)

So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:12 (ESV)

Servant/Serving

And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.

ACTS 2:18 (NKJV)

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

ROMANS 1:1 (ESV)

...how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

HEBREWS 9:14 (ESV)

- Acts 20:19

- Romans 6:22

- Romans 12:1

- Romans 12:11

- Galatians 5:13

- Ephesians 6:6

- Philippians 1:1

- Philippians 2:30

- 1 Thessalonians 1:9

- Titus 1:1

- 1 Peter 2:16

- Revelation 2:19

- Revelation 22:3

Fighting

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

EPHESIANS 6:10–12 (ESV)

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

2 CORINTHIANS 10:3–6 (ESV)

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 TIMOTHY 6:12 (ESV)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

1 TIMOTHY 4:7 (ESV)

Hunger and Thirsting

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

REVELATION 21:6 (ESV)

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

REVELATION 22:17 (ESV)

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

PSALMS 73:25–26 (ESV)

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! 2My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

PSALM 84:1–2 (ESV)

Desiring His Manifest Presence

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

ACTS 4:31 (ESV)

Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

ACTS 6:3 (ESV)

When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.

ACTS 11:23–24 (ESV)

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

ACTS 7:55 (ESV)

Contending for Healing

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

ACTS 4:29–30 (ESV)

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.

JAMES 5:14–15 (ESV)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

JAMES 1:2–4 (ESV)

CONCLUSION

It’s important that we don’t move on from the foundation of Christ by building with the law but that we move up in grace by building on the foundation of Christ with the biblical applications of grace with divine purpose and action. At the very same time we must not forget to continually be reinforcing the foundation as well. We must always revisit the foundation of grace or it’s possible our building could become works and performance driven rather than love and faith driven. The last chapter of this book is all about seven foundational grace teachings to help us keep keeping the message of grace clear so that we don’t build with the law but build with grace – true grace. Grace that is not paralyzing but grace that is empowering!

V

DEALING WITH THE POLITICAL SPIRIT

If you’re a leader of a church or ministry and you come into the revelation of grace, you need to make sure you’re prepared to nail your colors to the mast and to be bold with your convictions. You’re going to have to decide if you want to transition your church or ministry into grace or not, but you cannot stay in between to try keep everyone happy. You’ll have people who will fight you because they want to keep the law and are fearful of grace. They will threaten to leave and take others with them. You know what that will mean, finances will go down and your church or ministry will seemingly shrink. But if grace is in your heart, don’t compromise out of the fear of man, the fear of persecution, the fear of lack or the fear of losing people.

Don’t give into the political spirit and try to keep everyone happy. You won’t be able to. Grace does split things down the middle. It presents you with a decision. It’s a fork in the road. One path is taking your church and ministry into a culture of grace, the other path is staying in a mixture of law and grace. You have to choose one way or the other. You cannot choose both. You cannot choose pure grace as well as a mixture of law and grace.

You have people who are discovering grace and want to embrace it and grow into it. If you stay in a mix you may lose those people. You have others that will not want to let go of the law, and believe the church still needs fear and condemnation and the threat of punishment to keep people from sinning, as well as heavy handed controlling leadership to make sure people do the right thing, and so on. The political spirit wants you to keep both because it knows the chaos this will cause. The factions, the splintering, the constant locking of horns, the stress and the wear-and-tear it will have on the leaders and the people. Introducing pure grace is dangerous to churches and ministries whose leaders are not willing to choose one way or the other.

You cannot have Egypt as well as the promised land. If you try to have both you’ll end up living in between, in the wilderness! You’ll keep going around the mountain. Any land you take for grace will soon get lost to the legalists who grumble and complain that the church is getting too free and you need more fear, judgment, punishment and threatening.

In the past, I have tried to work with churches whose leaders had given in to intimidation and were not willing to be bold. They tried to keep both sides happy. It was a waste of time investing into those situations because ground that is taken always gets quickly lost and the church just ends up fighting. I actually choose not to work into situations where the leader is still undecided. I only go to situations where the leaders have caught grace, who know that it is the way to go and have made a bold decision to fully transition into grace no matter the consequences. Those situations work out well. We’ve seen it over and over again.

This is my advice to leaders that have come into contact with this grace revolution, who have seen grace and want to fully transition their church or ministry into it:

1. You need to make a bold definitive decision and have the guts to not go back.

2. You need to develop a deep conviction of grace and preach the Gospel with boldness.

3. You need to resist the religious and political spirit. (The religious spirit demands human effort in order to undermine the Gospel and the political spirit wants to keep everyone happy in order to make room for his friend the religious spirit.)

4. Be prepared for opposition and persecution.

5. Be prepared to live with the consequences.

6. Don’t be intimidated or moved by fear.

7. Continually feed from people further down the road than you.

8. You need to get grace mentors and coaches in your life.

9. You need to get an internal picture of what a culture of grace looks like in your church or ministry.

10. You need to expose your congregation to other grace preachers who are the real deal.

11. Don’t throw out divine order, strong leadership and the purpose of the church in seeing people saved and discipled while transitioning through.

When Bill Johnson took over the leadership of Bethel church in Redding, California, many years ago, he had a deep conviction of becoming a Book of Acts church with a culture of the miraculous. He made a bold decision that this was the kind of church they were going to become and he just began to lead that way. Many people know the story, that there were hundreds of people in the church who became very unhappy with him and a steady stream of people started to leave. Instead of being moved by fear and intimidation, Bill kept preaching the vision and values in his heart without compromise. I believe it was something like a thousand people who ended up leaving. No doubt finances would have taken a huge slump and many would have been terribly worried, but Bill kept preaching a Book of Acts culture. Thank God he never gave in to all the various pressures he was facing, and now, many years later, Bethel is a thriving church of thousands of people and has a Book of Acts culture. Every year, thousands of leaders come through their doors to learn how to develop that culture in their own churches and ministries. Thank God for revolutionaries like Bill Johnson who make bold decisions to build a certain way and never back down!

The religious spirit is that Pharisaical spirit that wants to keep people in bondage to control and keep them from being free. It wants to keep people under the Law so that it can control them through a system of guilt and fear manipulation. It ultimately seeks to paralyze the church so that it doesn’t discover it’s true identity as sons of God and in turn begin to manifest Heaven everywhere.

The political spirit is the “crowd pleasing” spirit. To please everyone you have to compromise and water truth down so that no one gets offended. The Kingdom of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be watered down or be fit into mans preferences. Jesus is the rock of offense, and man must bow the knee to the King of the Kingdom! The message of grace is: “Give up all your self-righteousness, self-confidence, boasting in the flesh and submit to the righteousness of God through faith in Christ”. This message cannot come if we are trying to keep everyone happy by watering everything down to the most common denominator of mans preferences.

Dealing with a religious and political spirit in your church or ministry must come from the most senior leader who holds the place of authority and final decision-making. If they are not willing to do that then it’s going to be very hard to break the church or ministry free from these spirits. If the leader is willing then they need to be bold and decide that legalism is over and pleasing everyone is over. They need to lead strongly and never back down. They may have to step other leaders within their church or ministry down who fight them on grace and who still want Law. The religious and political spirit will soon find no ground to operate on. The rest then is just helping people to renew their mind to the New Covenant and bringing their understanding of Scripture and its outworking all into grace. This will take time. It’s good in this time to be gracious and patient with people and help them through. Be open to their questions and get them reading and listening to good materials that can help accelerate the process. Where to start? That’s easy, www.newnaturepublications.com – shameless!

The leader who decides to transition fully into grace needs to be prepared for opposition and persecution. Do not be surprised when it comes. It will come. People will accuse you of all kinds of things and you will begin to doubt yourself and wonder if you’ve made a big mistake. You haven’t! All the opposition is normal and to be expected. Jesus faced it, Paul faced it, Peter faced it, all the apostles faced it and the Early Church faced it. They all faced persecution for preaching the Gospel of the gift of righteousness, unbroken relationship with God, blessings, forgiveness, miracles and authority all through faith and not Law. Through certain people, the religious and political spirit opposed these great men and women of God. Why do you think you would be any different?

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

MATTHEW 5:10 (KJV)

The moment you start to doubt yourself and think of pulling back, consider Jesus, Paul and the others and compare your life and message to theirs.

It’s also good to have mentors and coaches in grace that you can go to and talk about what’s happening. You actually need these people in your life so that you are not facing the opposition alone. They can help you spearhead a gospel revolution in your church or ministry that breaks out into your community with the ever-glorious good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Look for spiritual fathers and apostles and covenant yourself to them to walk together in this great journey of grace.

I’d encourage you to continually expose yourself to great teachers and preachers of grace and feed on their ministries. Go to conferences. Host conferences. Expose your people to these ministries. Get them to help you transition and continually walk into your inheritance of blessing. Go visit their churches and ask God to help you develop an internal picture of what a community established in grace looks like. A picture of what happens when people get so free, so in love with Jesus, so secure and aware of their Christ like identity, so full of love for one another, so generous, so caring, so bold, that miracles are common place, and people walk in victory and where all of that is highly contagious and attractive to the world around! Now that’s something worth giving your life to and fighting for!

VI

FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS THROUGH DISCIPLINE

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

EPHESIANS 2:10 (NIV)

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25All 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. 26So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27I 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.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:24–27 (NLT)

Have you ever seriously asked yourself the question, “What do I want?” and then taken the time to answer it? What do you want in your personal life and through the church that you are a part of? The question that has to follow that is, “What am I prepared to do to get it?”

Are you satisfied with the measure of success you’re having in your life? Are you content? I’m not! I’m unsatisfied! I’m not content! I know there’s much more and I’m not going to be content or satisfied until I’m seeing it. Of course I’m satisfied in the Lord, but in my own personal level of walking in all that God has for me I’m not satisfied! I want to become a better preacher and writer, to see more people being saved through my life, experience more miracles and move in a much higher level of the gifts of the Spirit. For the church that I pastor in, I want to see greater growth, more people getting saved, more finances, better discipleship, leaders and ministries coming through, greater miracles, more influence in the city and the world and even more!

Now the religious parrot says, “Praise God, I’m content. I don’t need anything more, I am fully satisfied.” That is such garbage! It sounds noble but it is actually apathy, laziness, mediocrity, and an excuse to be average!

It’s time for Christians to get a little more unsatisfied and discontent and stop accepting the ceilings over their lives that are hindering them from walking in the fullness of their calling and fulfilling all the dreams that God has put in their hearts!

When it comes to the church I pastor in, I have many healthy frustrations! There are numbers of limitations on our growth and our breakthrough into the next level of success and fruitfulness. It’s good to be frustrated! I wish more Christians were frustrated, rather than just accepting second best! Now, if God said to me, “Ryan, this is all that I have for you. You’ve reached the top. There’s nothing else. This is your full inheritance – a relatively small church that is just making it financially, that sees a few people getting saved once in a while, a few miracles here and there, people coming and going but never seeming to sustain growth beyond 130.” Well then I would have to say, “Thank you, Lord” and just accept it and be satisfied and content in that. But I know he has more for us, way beyond what we’re experiencing! And therefore I cannot be content or satisfied in what we have. I am thankful, yes, but frustrated until we breakthrough to our next level! Some people think this is a bad thing and unhealthy but actually it’s very healthy and very normal.

If you have a little tree growing in a small pot eventually the roots are going to fill the soil and the tree will not be able to grow anymore. The tree is supposed to keep growing but there is a limitation that is hindering it. The tree is being frustrated. It’s not supposed to just accept the limitations, it’s supposed to grow! You have to take it out of the pot and put it in a bigger one. Once you do that it will instantly begin to grow again until it hits the next limitation and frustration. You will then need to solve that frustration before the tree is able to grow again. This is what it’s like in your life and in the church you’re in. You may have been enjoying growth and increase for a season but then you stopped because you hit a ceiling. Perhaps you’ve been frustrated about this for a while. Perhaps you’ve just tried to manage your frustration by telling yourself you’re supposed to be content and satisfied and not be ungrateful or dishonoring to God. But you’re not supposed to manage your frustrations you’re supposed to solve them in order to experience growth and go to a greater level of success! Frustration is your friend and a good indicator that you are hitting a ceiling that is the floor to your next level. What does the next level in your life or church look like? It’s where all your current frustrations and limitations have been solved.

I was frustrated for a long time that we didn’t do discipleship very well in our church. As a result we would see numbers of people coming in the front door of our church and later leaving through the back door. I’m not talking about frustration that you project towards your pastor, I’m talking about frustration you project towards yourself, that says, “What can I do to solve the problem?” In our church we recognized this frustration and how it was limiting our growth and we have been going about solving it. We are investing heavily in our Integrate Groups (home groups), we have started a discipleship course, we’ve produced a booklet entitled What to do after you get saved? and another booklet all about our church to help new members and those looking in. We’re developing and building a stronger culture of community, a culture of coaching and a culture of caring for one another. All this is beginning to result in sustained growth and we are on our way to go to the next level of increase and fruitfulness.

We’re looking at all the areas in our church that are causing frustration to growth and looking at how we can solve the frustrations and go to our next level. Some people think this is just fleshly and performance driven, but actually it’s a partnering with God and being faithful, smart, diligent and full of passion for Jesus and his Church!

So, what are the things that you want in your life and in your church? And what are you prepared to do about it? It doesn’t matter how many desires you have, if you are complacent and apathetic, you will go to your grave with unfulfilled dreams and wasted talents! Until you allow yourself to be unsatisfied and discontent, you’ll never feel the frustration you need to feel to provoke you towards breakthrough. You’ll just keep accepting mediocrity and anesthetizing your frustrations. You’ll convince yourself that the level you are stuck in right now is God’s will and that he is in control and all you need to do is just “rest”. Some people’s idea of rest is do nothing and just expect God to do everything. But those who are successful in the Kingdom of God know that they are in a divine partnership with God and there are things that God needs to do and there are things that they need to do in order to fulfill their dreams.

The Key to Fulfilling Your Dreams

Recently, God has been speaking to me about discipline and hard work. If I want to fulfill the dreams for my life and the church I’m in, I will need to develop discipline and be prepared to work hard! Some Christians have got big dreams but small discipline. And for some people in grace now the idea of working hard is seen as legalism. But the reality is no matter how big your dreams and desires are, or even how great your passions and talents are, you will take them all with you to the grave unless you develop discipline and are prepared to work hard!

A young child proclaims they want to be a sports star one day – a great athlete, a world champion! But no matter how passionate or talented that kid is, unless they develop great discipline and work really hard they will never become a sports star. Many Christians proclaim they want to be great in the Kingdom of God and do amazing things for God. This is a wonderful and legitimate desire. But if these Christians are not willing to develop great discipline and work very hard, they will go through life frustrated, disappointed, dissatisfied and disillusioned – no matter how passionate or talented they are! Sometimes great talent can lull people into laziness and end them up in mediocrity and unfulfilled dreams.

One of my favorite quotes is, “Hard work beats talent, especially when talent refuses to work hard”. Great athletes know it’s not just about talent, it’s about hard work and discipline too. Raw talent and passion on it’s own won’t guarantee success, but coupled with discipline and hard work it will! This does not dishonor grace. In fact, it honors Christ, by taking everything he has given you and made available to you, and putting it to use!

What are your passions and desires in this life? What are you talented with and gifted in? What things are you good at that you wish you were operating in at a greater level? Writing, preaching, healing ministry, worship, music, evangelism, prophetic ministry, operating in the gifts of the Spirit, teaching, leading, parenting, hospitality, administration, generosity, caring, prayer, intercession, deliverance, church planting, missions, and so on? Are you developing these talents and passions? Are you practicing them and being coached by someone in them? Are you being intentional and working hard in these areas with discipline? Or are you being lazy with your gifts and just hoping that someday it will all suddenly happen by accident?

Some people say they only want to live out of passion, and that living out of discipline is dry and lifeless. Well, that’s all well and good if your passion is driving you to succeed. But perhaps you’ve lost your passion and have settled for unfulfilled dreams. If you have lost your passion, I can guarantee you this, it’s because you have lost your discipline! Get your discipline back and you will get your passion back! Passion and discipline actually compliment each other. They don’t compete and we shouldn’t think we have to choose one or the other. They are both vitally important and must have their place in our life. Passion drives discipline and discipline nurtures passion. Every sports star and athlete has both!

Discipline in itself is a great accomplishment. Discipline for the sake of discipline is a crowning achievement for anyone!

Imagine if we as Christians applied the same kind of discipline that a top-level athlete has to our spiritual life? Imagine if you applied this kind of discipline to your prayer life, to studying the Word of God, to fasting (extended prayer), in developing and using your talents and gifts, in evangelism, in serving your local church, in giving finances, in loving others and in resisting temptation? What transitions would you go through and what levels would you begin to break into?

Imagine how it would benefit others around you as you apply discipline to other areas of your life as well like: spending time with your family, working hard in your job, budgeting well in your spending and saving, with your priorities and time management, with rest and recreation, in saying no when you should, in setting boundaries in your life and so on?

Why be Disciplined?

1. For God

- So you can bring glory to him through the great things you do for him.

2. For Yourself

- For personal achievement as you fulfill the dreams in your heart.

3. For Others

- So you can reach people for God through your talents and passions.

How Do You Develop Discipline?

Well, you need to recognize that discipline is not a desire, it’s a decision. It’s not a coincidence, it’s a commitment. You can’t pray for discipline. It’s not something God, or anyone else, can do for you. Discipline is something you have to do. How do you develop discipline then? Well you have to stop making excuses and just make a start. And commit to following through.

Discipline multiplies and overflows. You don’t have to try to develop it in every area of you life. You just need to start in one area. If you get a value for discipline in that one area and begin to develop it, you’ll find it overflows to other areas of your life without you having to try very hard. You will find you want to bring discipline into those areas because it’s having such a good effect in the first area.

I believe the best place to start is with physical discipline for your body through exercise and nutrition. Establish dominion over your body first and you’ll find it easy to exercise that dominion in other areas of your life. Begin small and slow and work your way up.

- Start some weight training. Buy some dumbells and start lifting!

- Take up running, swimming or cycling.

- Perhaps start playing that sport you’ve always wanted to play.

- Along with this is also your nutrition. It goes hand in hand with exercise.

- Overcome your junk food and sugar addiction and start eating much more simpler and healthier foods like fruit, vegetables and lean meats. Eat less carbohydrates and fats.

- It may be hard at first but if you do it properly you’ll actually find it’s hard to go back to the junk. You won’t want to!

- Throw away all your “special” pills, powders and potions and just get back to basic exercise and eating healthy. There’s no substitute!

Not only is physical discipline a great place to learn all round discipline, it has so many other great benefits for you. Fitness, weight loss, muscle building and strength, more energy, longer life, it helps clear your mind, feel good about yourself. It boosts your confidence, develops coordination, releases positive hormones in your body and can be good times of social interaction and developing friendships.

A motto I like to use when training is: “Pain is just weakness leaving my body!” Try it out, it helps!

I found that as I develop discipline in this area of my life, it is having an overflow effect on my prayer life. I find it easier to be disciplined about praying now. When I pray, I find I can do it for longer and it is more enjoyable! Prayer was always a bit of a struggle for me, but since developing discipline physically I find it is really helping in this area of prayer! I’m becoming more passionate about prayer as a result and this only fuels my discipline in it even more. I’m becoming more passionate about exercise too which I have never been in my life! It’s amazing that developing discipline actually awakens passions in our life!

What are those areas in your life that you used to be passionate about, that you know God has called you to and gifted you in? Perhaps it’s time to get that dissatisfaction and discontentment back and allow yourself to become frustrated about the limitations hindering you. So much so, that it provokes you to begin developing discipline in those areas and to begin working hard in them. It won’t be long before you breakthrough and go to the next level. So, get off you butt, stop making excuses, stop going on your feelings, stop being lazy and get inspired again, get motivated again and just make a start! Oh, and you can thank me for this later!

Some Motivating Scriptures

Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.

1 TIMOTHY 4:8–9 (MESSAGE)

Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin, for their hands refuse to work.

PROVERBS 21:25 (NLT)

Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.

PROVERBS 12:24 (NLT)

Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.

PROVERBS 13:4 (NLT)

A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.

PROVERBS 18:9 (NLT)

Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.

PROVERBS 20:4 (NLT)

The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!”

PROVERBS 22:13 (NLT)

As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed.

PROVERBS 26:14 (NLT)

Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors.

PROVERBS 26:16 (NLT)

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:14 (NLT)

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:6 (NLT)

For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:7 (NLT)

Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:11 (NLT)

Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.

ECCLESIASTES 4:5 (NLT)

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

ROMANS 12:11 (NLT)

VII

DEVELOPING A COACHING CULTURE

Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors.

PROVERBS 26:16 (NLT)

If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

PROVERBS 15:32 (NLT)

He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.

MARK 3:14 (NIV)

There are so many Christians today who are frustrated and disillusioned because they know the calling that’s on their life and the potential they have, but are not seeing it manifest. They want to prophesy, heal the sick, evangelize effectively, preach the Gospel, help people come into grace, pastor, lead worship, lead a church, move in the gifts of the Spirit, write, act, sing, dance, design, draw, paint, play music, teach, administrate or find their ministry in business, politics, media, and so on. Perhaps this describes a frustration in you? You look around and see so many others having success in these areas and wonder how you can too. Well, in the previous chapter we discussed the need to develop discipline and work hard, but there is something else as well – you need coaches in your life!

If you look at all the great sports stars around the world you’ll notice one thing in common, they all have coaches. Even those that are the best in the world at what they do have a coach. I watch a lot of MMA cage fighting and one thing I consistently notice, even amongst the greatest world champion fighters, is that they all still have coaches and trainers around them, continually pushing them to work hard and to bring the best out of them! One of their sayings is, “If you want to be the best you need to train with the best.”

The professional world understands this need for coaches and mentors. The world’s most successful singers, dancers, actors and sports stars usually always still have coaches and mentors that they continue to learn from. In fact they have little chance of getting to, and staying at, such a high level of success without them.

The world has agencies where people go to get help, such as consulting agencies, life coaching agencies, public relations agencies, image consultant agencies, counseling agencies, coaching clinics and more. All these are there to help people become their best and reach their full potential.

Why is it that when it comes to the Christian world we don’t think we need a coach? We want to go and do powerful things for God, but we don’t want a coach telling us what to do or pushing us to work hard. We think because of grace we don’t have to work and anyone telling us what to do is just controlling or legalistic. “We can just rest and God will do it all”. How ridiculous! This is why many Christians are frustrated and disillusioned. Grace doesn’t let us off the hook from hard work. In fact, it’s because of grace that we can truly work hard!

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:10 (ESV)

Grace should never be an excuse not to push ourselves, but rather it's like a performance enhancing drug that gives us supernatural and unfair advantages in life!

Paul, that amazing apostle of grace, worked extremely hard and is a great mentor for all of us grace people. Listen to the great coaching advice he gives to the believers in Rome:

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

ROMANS 12:11 (NLT)

As Christians, though, we don’t want someone speaking into our life pointing out our faults and correcting us when we’re going wrong. We also don’t like to admit that we need help. But if you don’t think you need a coach you are in trouble. You’ll either get nowhere, or if you do get somewhere you’ll probably blow it! You see it happen all the time in the Christian world. Either people don’t get anywhere because they refuse to have mentors, coaches, spiritual fathers and apostles speaking into their lives, or people get so big and powerful on their natural gifting but then go off into sin and error or burnout. “I’m to big and above everyone else to have someone coaching my character and holding me accountable!”

Coaches help you go further. They also help safeguard your life from failure. It’s when you think you don’t need them that you head down a dangerous path. Bottom line, as long as you’re in any kind of ministry for God, you need a coach. And not just a hero, but also a coach!

A hero is someone who inspires and envisions you, but a coach is someone who trains you. A hero can be someone that is far away or that doesn’t even know you, like your favorite preacher in the world or sports star. A coach is someone who is actively in your life and has regular contact and access to you. They observe you and speak into your life. In the Christian world they can be people like pastors, apostles, spiritual fathers/mothers, spiritual brother/sisters, small-group leaders, close friends and even your spouse.

If you read through the Gospels you’d notice a pattern of how Jesus coached and trained his twelve disciples:

- He first taught them something.

- Then he demonstrated it to them.

- He then gave them opportunity to try it.

- He corrected them when they failed.

- He then repeated the process over and over again, until they were finally doing what he was able to do.

He would teach them about healing and then demonstrate it. He would then send them out to go and heal the sick. They’d fail – he’d explain why. Then he would teach them again, demonstrate again, send them out again and give feedback again, until they finally got it and were healing the sick and raising the dead on their own. In the Book of Acts we see Jesus entrusting the future of the Church to these few disciples. Well, they were ready for it! You see them healing multitudes and getting many saved. They even trained and coached these new disciples and with increased numbers of trained ministers of the Gospel they turned their towns and cities right side up for the Kingdom of God!

Many church leaders and ministers mistakenly think that discipleship is about keeping people accountable so that they don’t sin or do the wrong things. Well, it’s not! It’s about helping to bring the best out of people. It’s about building people’s confidence and helping them to believe in themselves. It’s about helping people to recognize their potential and to keep seeing the big picture and to never give up even when things get tough.

Coaches help you make the right decisions and avoid unnecessary mistakes. They challenge you to not take the easy road and not to make excuses. They confront you when you’re giving into lies and help you see the truth. They push you. They don’t let you get comfortable and they refuse to see you settle for mediocre. But all because they believe you have greatness in you and they know they can bring it out.

You need coaches in your life. You won’t always like their advice. Sometimes, you may hate them for being so honest with you, especially when they’re making you confront your true inner character. But you need them. Human nature always wants to get comfortable and settle for what’s easier. But you’ll never conquer mountains that way. Coaches awaken the spirit of adventure in you, they show you a world where you conquer mountains and then push you to do that!

It’s important to recognize that no matter how successful you are, you still need coaches in your life. Not just token coaches to maintain appearances, but for real. Most people know the potential that’s in them and want to excel, but pride gets in the way because they can’t handle having their faults pointed out or being told that what they’re doing is wrong. It is pride that says, “I can do it all on my own”. But that is not going to get you very far. You have to swallow that pride and see that being corrected doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re interested in growing, getting better, getting wiser, getting stronger and more successful in your calling.

Most people don’t have coaches in their life because, firstly, they don’t value them, and secondly, they don’t realize it’s up to them to invite coaches into their life. You have to invite a coach into your life. Coaches don’t normally force themselves in. They need an invitation. And you need to submit yourself to them and stay accountable to them once they are your coach. You also need to give them permission to confront, correct and challenge you and to chase you down when you want to run away! You need to let them “get up in your face”! Most Christians can’t handle this, especially those in the grace camp. They think it is too controlling or performance driven. They would see these coaches as abusive people who just put pressure on them and expect too much from them. The reality is that those Christians are not going to get very far and will be continually running away all their lives. Their idea of “rest” and “not striving” is actually just an excuse for mediocrity and an average life!

I thank God for my father, Rob Rufus, who has been a spiritual father, mentor and coach to me. When I went through my rebellious phase from fifteen to seventeen years of age, he was always there to confront me with truth. It seriously kept me from straying too far, and I am eternally grateful for it and for him. At seventeen, he led me to the Lord in dramatic fashion. I had just gotten into trouble with the police for shoplifting and had to come home and face my dad after the police had phoned him. I was obstinate, angry, embarrassed and resisted him at every level. He confronted me with eternity – heaven and hell. He showed me how lost I was. As he spoke, the Holy Spirit was shooting arrows of conviction and love into my heart until I finally broke and could resist no longer. I went downstairs to my room, got on my hands and knees in true repentance and surrendered my heart to Jesus. That day I got radically born again. Addictions in my life broke instantly as I came alive to Christ. I started out on this greatest journey a person can take and my dad has been there for me the whole time, inspiring, mentoring and coaching me.

He taught me how to pray. I would often wake up in the morning to him praying intensely in his office next to my room. I would get up and go out for a few hours and come home to him still praying with the same intensity. That affected me and still does!

He taught me commitment and how to fight and held me to it. I have literally never seen him give up at anything. He imparted to me a passion for the Church, for the supernatural, for people and them walking in freedom, for the lost, for the Word of God and for preaching. He showed me what a real man is and what it is to honor and love your wife. He has taught me authority and leadership. He has taught me how not to give in to manipulation, how to be bold and lead strong, how to face persecution and attack and not retreat or react in the wrong way. He taught me how to stay focused, passionate, to work hard and so many other things. I would never be doing what I am doing today if it were not for my father. He has helped enrich, strengthen and mature my life and ministry. Today we are best friends and work closely together in ministry. Our gifts compliment each other and synergize together. We have a deep honor and respect for each other and inspire one another to go further and higher. We’ve had to work through differences and conflicts at times of course, but it has only served to strengthen our relationship and enhance us.

I know I have also been an inspiration to him and in some ways coached him in areas where I’ve seen things clearer. Nowadays, we’re at a place where we bring out the best in each other. We check our theology with each other, keep each other balanced if we’re going into any unhelpful extremes, and help give each other needed direction. I’ve needed his coaching in my life and I pray I have it for as long as possible.

I’ve have noticed something about this grace movement, and that is that some people are throwing off correction and accountability and walking away from spiritual fathers, mothers, coaches, pastors and leaders, and are becoming less teachable. I think this is dangerous. I get concerned when I see people operating in isolation and independence without proper spiritual parents or coaches speaking into their lives. Some of them are becoming loose cannons that are causing destruction. The sad thing is that they are often big capacity people who have great potential but are trading it in for independence so they can have instant ministry and avoid confrontation.

As long as you’re in any kind of ministry, you need a coach! I don’t care if you’re the best in the world at what you do, you need someone speaking into your life, offering perspective, correcting you, showing you where you’re going wrong and what you need to be tweaking. You need people who can challenge you when you’re losing the plot and going off into weird stuff, or wanting to compromise and settle or give up, and you need to be able to hear them by being humbly submitted to them.

What should coaches be holding us accountable to?

- Fulfilling the destiny and calling on our life.

- Using our God given talents.

- Staying spiritually fit and on fire for God.

- Keeping our hearts pure.

- Living in grace and not going back to the Law.

- Reaching out to others.

- Our calling in our local church.

- Taking care of our family.

- Major life decisions

- Not wasting our life.

Areas of discipline we need to work hard in, be coached in and coach others in:

- Prayer

- Studying the Word

- Fasting (extended times of prayer)

- Purity

- Commitment to our church

- Serving in our church

- Financial commitment to our church

- A life of generosity

- Sharing our faith

- Praying for the sick

- Caring for others

- Developing our talents and gifts

Okay, so you realize how much you need coaches in your life. Your next question is, “How can I find a coach?”

Firstly, deal with your pride and learn how to take criticism and be humble. Learn how to ask for criticism. When people see you have potential and want to grow and can handle advice, they are more likely to try and help you.

Secondly, find people who are ahead of you in a given area and learn from them. In church there’s usually a range of ages from young to old and it’s a good place for finding coaches and mentors as well as being a coach and mentor to others.

Thirdly, become a person people will want to coach. Listen to your pastors. Ask them for advice on major decisions in your life – before you have made the decision! Check your theology and any sermons or articles you write with coaches before you put it out there. Give people permission to speak into your life and make yourself truly accountable to them even if it feels a bit awkward. It’s actually very refreshing to take a humble stance and admit you need other people’s help. It releases you from the pressure to have to be perfect all the time!

Fourthly, admit faults and apologize if necessary when you’ve made a mistake, have been wrong or done something wrong. Keep admitting that you’re still growing and need to learn from others. Get a reputation for being teachable, open to constructive criticism, willing to adjust and not a “know it all” who is arrogant and above everyone else!

Finally, just ask certain people if they would be willing to coach you.

Giving Back

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:14 (NLT)

Not only do you need mentors, coaches and spiritual fathers, but you also need to become these to other people to help them into their potential. Remember, coaches don’t have to be world champions in order to help. You don’t have to be more talented than the person you’re trying to help – just a little more experienced and with a measure of some success. You are someone who can offer perspective, hold them accountable to their destiny and talents and put a little loving pressure on them!

This is where we are in the grace revolution. We need to bring the next generation through and help them to go further than we have been! When you decide to invest in someone’s life you are beginning to create a better future for them and are leaving a legacy for yourself that others can be inspired by.

See yourself as a mentor and coach and feel the responsibility. Look for potential people you can coach that are like you. If you’re in a church, then make sure you’re coaching people in line with the heart of the leader and the vision of the church and not cutting across that or taking people away from that. Submit your desires to coach people to the leaders and ask them if it’s ok. If they say no, then respect that and stay humble. If they say yes, then go for it!

If you are not sure who you can coach, start with your own kids or even some of your friends’ kids or your kids’ friends, employees at work, younger people in your church or even unsaved people that you recognize great potential in. A word of wisdom though: it’s wiser to stick to your own gender in most cases, unless it’s your spouse and yourself mentoring someone together or if it’s a very professional situation. Basically, find people who you can make a generous sacrifice to invest into.

Avoiding Bad Coaches

For the grace revolution to stay on track and spread worldwide into every church and ministry and overflow into society it needs strong leaders, mentors, coaches, spiritual fathers and apostles leading the way and bringing others through. Otherwise, this move will get high jacked by rebels and by bad theology.

There are numbers of hurt people, who were abused in legalistic churches and in religion, discovering grace now and breaking free. Some get healed in the process because they open themselves up to coaches. Some stay hurt and insulate themselves because they won’t trust people anymore. These are the kinds that are dangerous to the Church. They’ve lost all ability to submit to and honor leaders. They have caught something of grace in regards to freedom and usually want to influence others, but they are not interested in divine order and the purpose of the Church. Unfortunately, they often end up becoming unaccountable rebels that attack leadership, dishonor local churches, and move into all kinds of strange doctrines to justify their ministries. They use social media to spread their hurt. They sound like grace people because they attack religion and legalistic leadership and speak about freedom. However, their version of grace lacks the other half of the true Gospel – God’s divine order and purpose for the Church! They may have come out of Egypt but they have never gone into the promised land. They are literally leading a rebellion in the wilderness while thinking they are great in the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of them these days.

These people are not good coaches or mentors to have in your life! My concern is that many believers can’t tell the difference between a true revolutionary and a rebel and therefore end up feeding from the toxic ministries of rebels and often ending up in the wilderness just like them. I see it happening all the time. Good people get corrupted and shipwreck their lives because of it. One of the safeguards against going off into error and feeding from the wrong ministries is having good coaches in your life. These are always men and women who honor the local church and its leadership.

It’s easy to spot rebels if you have some discernment. Rebels are defined but what they stand against, while revolutionaries are defined by what they stand for. A rebel only fights against local churches, but a revolutionary fights to build the Church up and is therefore properly invested in local church.

Leaders need to protect the Church from rebels. They must never give them profile or influence in their church as they will only abuse it. They will gather people to themselves and then turn them against the leadership. No matter how charismatic and gifted they are, don’t give them any authority or influence in your church! If they’re hanging around and want to get involved, get them serving in the church. Give them responsibility but without authority. Have them come and set the hall up, or clean, or work in areas that don’t involve influential profile. This will soon reveal their hearts.

Usually, they want to target the people of influence in your church like the pastors, worship leaders and ministry leaders to try and make friends with them. They want to have dinners and coffees and hang out. But they have an agenda and that is to build the church toward themselves and the way they want it to be.

Some of these people are teachable and it is possible to mentor and help them out of their hurt and get divine order back in their lives. They may rise up to become great people and a blessing. Others you cannot help, no matter how hard you try.

If you are one of these people that I’m describing and you have made it this far into my book, well done! There’s hope for you. It’s time for you to have a break from trying to influence people and become a student again. You need to allow coaches back into your life and give them permission to go to work on you. You need to get out of the wilderness, get healed from your past, and go into the promised land. You’ll know this has happened when divine order is operating again in your life and you can honor the Church and its leaders and submit to their authority; when you can allow coaches and mentors and spiritual fathers or mothers back into your life without being insecure about the advice they give you; when you find yourself taking responsibility for the consequences of the advice you have given to people and when you can form covenantal relationships with people and your church and not run when you’re getting offended or hurt.

I’m not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I’m writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God’s Message to you that I became your father. I’m not, you know, asking you to do anything I’m not already doing myself. 17This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and true to the Master. He will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the churches on the way of Christ. 18-20I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don’t think I’ll ever show up in person. But I’ll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we’ll see if they’re full of anything but hot air. God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life. 21o how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you toe the mark? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide.

1 CORINTHIANS 4:14–21 (THE MESSAGE)

VIII

SEVEN ESSENTIAL TEACHINGS IN DISCIPLESHIP

What kind of people would you love to have in your church? I’m sure most people would like those who are faithful, committed, humble, loyal, generous, servant hearted, sold out for Christ, big capacity, influential, soul winners, momentum creators, miracle workers, initiative takers and nothing-is-too-hard kind of people right? Well, these sorts of traits don’t usually just develop by accident. They are the product of good discipleship. You can spend your life hoping for these kinds of people to join your church or you can get people saved and disciple them into these kinds of people.

The first few days, weeks, and months following someone giving their life to the Lord are crucial for discipleship. It’s important that we shape new believers’ thinking and values right from the start before they have the chance to develop bad habits and patterns that are harder to change later on.

Discipleship must not be left up to chance. Jesus never did that, nor should we. He spent time training his disciples to becoming the kind of people the Church and the world needed them to be. He was very strategic and intentional about this, and unless we become like that too, we will not produce the kind of big capacity men and women who impact the world around them.

Here are seven foundational teachings I believe every new believer needs to hear and be grounded in immediately after they get saved. Of course, there are many more, but I would consider these the fundamental ones to start with.

1. Follow after Christ

2. Be baptized in water

3. Be baptized in the Holy Spirit

4. Be added to a church

5. Devote yourself

6. Generosity and care

7. Reaching out to the lost

1. FOLLOW AFTER CHRIST

You just made the greatest decision of your life! You’ve put your faith in Jesus and invited him into your life. It may not look like it on the outside, but on the inside a miracle has taken place and everything has changed! You have passed from death to life, darkness to light, out of the kingdom of this world and into the Kingdom of God. Your spirit has come alive to God. You are now a child of God, born-again to live a new life – a great life in the hands of almighty God!

If God is for us, who can be against us?

ROMANS 8:31 (NIV)

God is for you and has a great plan for your life! He knew you before you were even born and had already planned great things for you.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

EPHESIANS 2:10 (ESV)

The good news is, your life is no longer your own, it belongs to Christ. And that is the best possible place you can ever be in as a human being!

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

GALATIANS 2:20 (ESV)

In the New Testament of the Bible, believers in Christ are called “disciples”. A disciple simply means a believer, a convert or a follower. When someone gives their life to the Lord Jesus they become his disciple to follow after him and live their life for him. There is no such thing as believing in Jesus but not being his disciple. If we receive him as savior we must also receive him as Lord. By the same act of believing in Jesus you have also become his disciple.

Therefore, as a new believer, you have now become a disciple of Christ to live the glorious life he has for you to live. You are no longer living for yourself. You have died to that old way of just living for yourself. Your new life is so much better because, not only are you alive to Christ but, he is alive in you and wants to live through you in all his glory and power.

- Ephesians 2:4–6

- Colossians 2:6–7

Let him take a hold of your life and live through you. The first act in making Christ King in your life, is surrender. We are no longer the king or queen of our life – Jesus is the King and he gets to rule over us. The best thing about that, is he is a good king that has good things for your life and he loves you so much.

Learn how to let Christ be king in your life. Learn how to surrender to his will and be obedient to him. Let him teach you and guide you through life.

2. BE BAPTIZED IN WATER

The first act of obedience as a disciple of Christ is to be baptized in water. This is a very important thing for you to do and the first step in your spiritual growth. Baptism is an outward declaration of what has taken place inside of you.

What did take place inside of you?

You were united with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection! Everything that happened to Christ physically happened to you spiritually because of your faith in him. Your old life died and was buried, and you were raised up into new life!

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

ROMANS 6:3 – 4 (ESV)

Baptism is a public declaration to you, to God, to your family and friends, and to the devil that this all has taken place!

Baptism is where you go down into the water, which symbolizes being buried with Christ. Your old life of sin and believing you could save yourself by your own efforts, was crucified with Christ (died) and is buried. As you come up out of the water you are leaving that old life behind in the grave and rising up into new life. Just as Christ rose from the dead, your spirit has come alive to God so you can now walk in newness of life in him! Baptism doesn’t make this all happen, it just shows that you believe that it all happened as you declare it publically.

The only thing you need to qualify for baptism is to be a believer in Christ! If you believe in Christ and haven’t been baptized, it’s now time to do it. It may feel a bit strange and it may take some courage, but it’s an important thing to do and will be a defining moment in your life that will significantly help you grow as a disciple of Christ.

More scriptures about baptism:

- Matthew 28:16–20

- Acts 2:41

- Acts 8:35–38

- Acts 8:12

- Acts 18:8

If you have not yet been baptized in water then speak to someone at your church or even a good Christian friend about it. Let them know you would like to be baptized and then just take the plunge! You’ll notice the spiritual difference it makes in your life straight away!

3. BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

How can we get to know God better, know how much he loves us, know his will for our lives and be empowered to live a life for him? It’s simple – we need to be filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Just after Jesus’ resurrection and right before he was taken up to Heaven he told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to stay there until he sent the Holy Spirit to them (Acts 1:4,5,8). We then see this powerfully taking place in Acts 2:1–4.

Being baptized in the Holy Spirit is a wonderful and important thing. It’s where the spirit of the living God comes and takes up residency inside of us so that we can walk in the love, power and wisdom of God.

There are many reasons why God wants you filled with the Holy Spirit:

- To help you: John 14:15–17

- To teach you: John 15:26

- To guide you in his truth: John 16:13

- To reveal Jesus to you: John 16:14

- To fill you with his power: Acts 1:8

- To reveal that you are a child of God: Romans 8:15–16

How do you receive the Holy Spirit?

There are a few different ways this can happen.

- Sometimes, it happens as you believe in Jesus. (Acts 2:38 and Acts 10:44–48)

- Sometimes by the laying on of hands: Spirit filled people can lay hands on you and impart the Holy Spirit to you. (Acts 8:14–17 and Acts 19:1–6)

- Sometimes you just need to ask the Father to fill you with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 11:9–13)

There is so much to learn about the Holy Spirit. The first step is to just be baptized in him. After that you can begin the wonderful journey of discovering more and more about him.

If you haven’t been baptized in the Holy Spirit yet, then speak to one of the leaders in your church or a Christian friend. This is something you don’t want to miss out on. It will make a huge difference to your spiritual growth and your life in general. Don’t see it as a weird thing. It’s actually one of the most important and wonderful things you can do!

4. BE ADDED TO A CHURCH

What did the very first church on earth look like?

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

ACTS 2:42–47 (NIV)

In the New Testament, when people became believers in Christ they were instantly added to a church. When we come to Christ, we also need to become part of a local church. This is a community of believers who meet together regularly and walk out their Christianity with one another.

- Acts 2:41

- Acts 2:47

- Acts 5:14

- Acts 16:5

There is no such thing as independent and isolated Christianity in the Bible. Christianity is all about walking together with other believers. This is because God wants us all to be in a church community made up of people who love each other, care for one another, encourage each other, build each other up, worship together, grow in the Word of God together, use our talents to serve others and reach out to the world together.

Church should now become a very important part of your life. Not only for you to grow in Christ-like maturity, but so that you can also serve and bless others by using the talents and gifting that God has given you. The Church is where you live out your Christianity and walk in your destiny. You need the Church and the Church needs you!

Here are a few different pictures or metaphors of the Church in Scripture:

The Church as a Body

Significance: Every believer, though an individual, is a part of the Church and has a specific and important role to play. We need each other and everyone is needed! 1 Corinthians 12:12–20, 27 and Ephesians 4:11–16.

The Church as a Flock of Sheep

Significance: Sheep that are isolated are vulnerable to wolves and other dangers, and therefore need to be part of a flock that is cared for and protected by shepherds – pastors of a church. Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5:1–3.

A Spiritual House made up of Living Stones

Significance: We’re all being built into the Church together with God’s people for a purpose – to proclaim the greatness of God to the world. 1 Peter 2:1–5; 9–10

If you’re not already part of a church, then start looking for a good one now. If you were recently saved in a church, then a good place to start is there. Otherwise, look for a church that honors Jesus, loves people and preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his grace. Also, be aware that there are some unbiblical and bad churches out there so let the Holy Spirit help guide you to a good one!

5. DEVOTE YOURSELF

If an athlete wants to become great at their sport, they need to devote themselves to it. If they are casual and half-hearted, they will only be average at best. To become great and successful it requires focus, discipline and commitment. If we want to become good at our life destiny in God and great at loving the world around us with the love of God it’s going to require devotion and commitment to God, his Word, his Church and prayer. This is what the people of the very first church did.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

ACTS 2:42 (ESV)

No one can force you to be a committed Christian, you simply have to devote yourself. God won’t even force you. You have free will. The Early Church Christians saw the importance of living a devoted life to Christ and his Church and therefore committed themselves to walking in covenant relationship with Christ and with each other.

There were four main things the Bible says they devoted themselves to:

a) The Apostles’ Teaching – the Word of God

It’s the Word of God that builds our faith and brings us to maturity so that we can walk in the authority and faith of Jesus and impact our world. Every believer needs to grow in his or her knowledge of the Word of God. In order to exercise the wisdom of the Word, we first need to know the Word. Therefore devote yourself to studying the Bible and getting it into your heart. It will powerfully transform your life.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 TIMOTHY 3:16–17 (ESV)

Scriptures for further reading:

- Ephesians 6:16–18

- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5

- Hebrews 4:12–13

- John 1:1–5

- Romans 10:17

- 1 Thessalonians 2:13

b) Fellowship: Whole Church Gatherings

The original Greek word for fellowship is the word koinonia. It refers to the Church regularly meeting together. But not just in a superficial and impersonal way but rather a much deeper and meaningful way of actually sharing life together. Where we care for each other, build each other up and partner in the purposes of God together.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

ACTS 2:46 (NIV)

All the believers were one in heart and mind.

ACTS 4:32 (NIV)

c) The Breaking of Bread – Home/Smaller Group Gatherings

This refers to smaller group fellowship where it is more practical to get together and celebrate the communion meal (the breaking of bread). The Early Church met corporately as one community as well as from house to house, in smaller, more intimate settings. This is where you can develop closer relationships with other believers, be discipled and disciple others, encourage each other, pray for each other, discuss the Word of God together and grow in it, worship Jesus together and celebrate his grace in each others lives.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…

ACTS 2:46 (NIV)

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

ACTS 5:42 (NIV)

d) Prayer Meetings – and a Life of Prayer

The Early Church actually met together every day to pray. It is clear from Acts 4:23–24 & 29–31 that the life of a believer is one of prayer. Prayer declares our ultimate trust and need for God. Not praying is a sign we feel we can do it all on our own and don’t need God. But prayer brings God into our situations and allows him to rule in them. Prayer is us partnering together with God to see Heaven coming to earth all around us and God’s purposes being fulfilled through our lives. The Bible is full of references to prayer and testimonies of the powerful things that happen when people pray!

Scripture for further reading:

- Romans 12:12

- Philippians 4:6

- 1 Timothy 2:1–3

- Romans 15:30–31

- 2 Corinthians 1:11

- Ephesians 6:18–19

- Philippians 1:18b–19

- Colossians 4:2–3

- Colossians 4:12–13

God has four main things he wants you to devote yourself to in order to see you growing in spiritual maturity, walking in your destiny and becoming an effective part of his Church. To devote yourself to: studying the Word of God, to your churches corporate gatherings, to your churches home group gatherings and to the prayer meetings (and a life of prayer).

6. GENEROSITY AND CARE

There was a grace upon the Early Church to take care of each other and to see the church growing up strongly so that many would be reached by the Gospel. This grace of giving is an ability and faith from God that trusts that God is our ultimate source and that he owns all things. It’s an ability and faith to go beyond our natural means and limitations and get into God’s ability and means. It’s a trust in God and a love for other people that releases generosity through us to see the Church being taken care of and the Gospel being preached.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

ACTS 4:32–35 (NIV)

Four powerful points from this scripture:

1. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but shared everything they had: The Early Church had a revelation that nothing they owned actually belonged to them but all belonged to God and therefore they were unafraid to give. This is a beautiful revelation to have. People who believe that God is their source and that everything they have belongs to him are not afraid to give. They were moved by the love and generosity of God to go beyond themselves and bless others. This was purposeful giving to build the church up to see many people being saved and cared for.

2. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: When everyone in the church gives generously it enabled the leaders to get on with the work of the ministry. As the whole church carries the financial burden for the church, the work of the ministry is accelerated!

3. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them: God doesn’t necessarily want us to just sell everything and give it away right now. but he wants us to live a lifestyle of generosity and care for others. This involves doing extremely generous things at times. This is something that should become a part of our normal lives. Regular giving to God through the church to reach and care for others is a new lifestyle we should practice.

4. And put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need: The apostles were the leaders of the church. People brought the money to them and they distributed it. This is simply God’s management system. Our giving should be to God first through our church and then administrated by the leaders, who are called by God to govern the affairs of the church. When this system works well, the church is cared for and the Gospel of Jesus Christ reaches many people!

Some further scriptures about giving through the church:

- 2 Corinthians 8:1–5

- 1 Corinthians 16:1–2

- 1 Corinthians 9:13–14 and 1 Timothy 5:17–18

- 2 Corinthians 9:6–11

Become a generous giver and pray about your financial commitment to support the church with regular giving that helps to carry and fund the mission of the church you’re in. Do this in accordance with your income. Once you’ve decided, ahead of time in your heart, it’s usually much easier to keep your commitment even when times are tough. Develop a lifestyle of generosity that represents God and his nature in you.

7. REACHING OUT TO OTHERS

God’s heart for lost mankind:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

JOHN 3:16–18 (NIV)

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 PETER 3:9 (NIV)

Now that you are saved and have come into a relationship with Christ and eternal life, God wants to use you to reach out to others and see them getting saved and added to the Church. Your life now has an eternal purpose! Reaching out to the lost is not an option for us, it’s something we must and should do. God loves this world and wants to see it saved. He partners with us in this divine purpose. Snatching others from the flames of hell and seeing them come into a revelation of Christ and eternal salvation is one of the greatest things you can do! Here are some scriptures about Jesus commissioning us to reaching the lost, how to do this and also some examples of the Early Church doing this:

Christ’s Great Commission to Us:

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

MATTHEW 28:18–20 (NLT)

- God helps us to reach the lost: Acts 1:8

- We must preach the message of Christ to see people saved: Romans 10:12–17

- God’s wants to see people saved and his Church growing: Acts 2:41, Acts 2:47, Acts 4:4 , Acts 5:14, Acts 6:7, Acts 8:6-8, Acts 9:35, Acts 9:42, Acts 11:20–26.

You have a great purpose in life now, to be part of a vibrant church that has a passion and a strategy for reaching more and more people! Throw yourself into that and see God do great things through you and the church you’re in!

IX

BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY

The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

ACTS 11:21 (NIV)

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

ACTS 2:47 (NIV)

If you’re a “grace person” then by now you would have realized that our identity isn’t in numbers. With that settled, it’s time to move on to the realization that our purpose is! We are here to know God and to make him know to the world. We’ve been commissioned by Christ to disciple the nations. The Church is called to grow! Local churches all over the world are called to increase. This is not just God’s responsibility it’s our divine calling and purpose in life as we partner with God to see the lost saved.

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:5–7 (ESV)

Many Christians abdicate their role in actively seeking to see the lost saved and added to a local church because they erroneously believe that it would be getting back into works or the flesh. They believe if they just worship God and seek his presence then God will do the rest. Not only is that misguided and foreign to Scripture, it’s also an excuse for laziness. In Scripture we are called, commissioned and sent by God to preach the Gospel to all people.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”… 17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

ROMANS 10:14–15, 17 (ESV)

Some Christians won’t get involved in evangelism until they can regularly produce miracles. Their mental grid is that preaching the Gospel is just fleshy or ineffective unless they can work miracles. Often, these Christians don’t end up working miracles or evangelizing because their mindset is paralyzing them. Of course we want both as much as possible, but many Christians won’t get involved in evangelism unless it involves miracles. This sounds very spiritual but actually it’s just immature and it causes people to put the brakes on in churches and fight against the leaders if the leaders are not focusing on miracles. Our primary focus is always supposed to be the Gospel. The power is in the Gospel! We don’t preach miracles, we preach Jesus Christ. People don’t put their faith in miracles, they put their faith in the Savior who died for their sins so they could come into forgiveness and the gift of righteousness. Miracles simply endorse and back up the message but in order to get saved you have to hear a message. Of course we want the miracles but don’t sacrifice the message because you’re so focused on the miracles. And don’t think that miracles are just outward or have to do with healing. The Holy Spirit confirming the Gospel in someone’s heart is a miracle! Now, I like all kinds of miracles that back up my message and I go after them but my main focus is always getting the Gospel into people’s hearts so the Holy Spirit can confirm that and do it however he wants to. So, even if the church or evangelism team that you’re involved in doesn’t go after miracles in the way you would like, still invest yourself and focus on the Gospel. Worry about the miracles later. The power of the Gospel is not in miracles, it’s in the Gospel! Don’t be paralyzed because you’re not moving in miracles. Preach the Gospel and you may find miracles breaking out a lot more effortlessly through your simple preaching of the Good News!

The first phase of the grace revolution was about identity and establishing the foundation of Christ. The second phase is about purpose and now building on the foundation of Christ.

The first revival in your life is always about you. Getting you whole and alive and excited about Jesus. The second revival is always about purpose. It’s about getting others whole and alive and excited about Jesus. Have you had the second revival yet?

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

MATTHEW 9:35–38 (ESV)

You hear people say, “We’re not after numbers” and you have to wonder why not? Why aren’t you after numbers? Don’t you care about the lost? Don’t you care that over four billion people on this planet are literally on their way to hell? That’s a big number! Where did this “We’re not after numbers” thinking come from? Surely not from the heart of God! Numbers matter to God because people matter to God. Are we after God’s heart or not? If so, then it’s impossible to chase after God’s heart and not be concerned with numbers!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

JOHN 3:16 (ESV)

We are called to reach numbers of people! Churches are called to grow! If we want to be like the church in the Book of Acts then we need to be about getting people saved and added to the Church. Look at all these scriptures concerned with numbers receiving the Gospel:

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

ACTS 2:41 (NIV)

But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

ACTS 4:4 (NIV)

Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

ACTS 5:14 (NIV)

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

ACTS 6:7 (NIV)

When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.

ACTS 8:6–8 (NIV)

All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

ACTS 9:35 (NIV)

This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

ACTS 9:42 (NIV)

Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.

ACTS 11:20–26 (NIV)

At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.

ACTS 14:1 (NIV)

So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

ACTS 19:9B–10 (NIV)

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

REVELATION 7:9–10 (NIV)

Our ministry and message is reconciliation between man and God through Christ Jesus. God, through us, is imploring lost planet earth back into relationship with him. Why? Because he wishes that “none perish but all come to a knowledge of the truth!” This is the primary purpose of the Church.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:18–21 (ESV)

The reason why the Church should never have another dull, aimless or passionless day ever again, is because everyday of our lives we have a God given purpose to reach the lost! There are two reasons why God is bringing a grace revival to the Church today. The first is to awaken people and the Church to the incredibly good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that we get free and revived! Secondly, it’s so that we can get back on track with our primary purpose here on earth – to seek and save the lost! Grace is so wonderful that it would be a crime to just keep it to ourselves! We’re supposed to give it away! The first phase of the gospel revolution was to bring the Church into divine identity. The second phase of the revolution is to bring the Church into divine purpose!

We all know we’re called to reach the lost anyway. Most of the time we feel guilty because we’re not really doing it very well. My encouragement to local churches in this grace revolution is to now recognize that a shift has taken place. The wind has changed and if we don’t turn our sails, our boat is going to slow down and the crew is going to get aimless and bored. But as you turn the sails, fresh wind will fill them and begin to accelerate the boat. The crew will find new purpose and inspiration and begin to work as a team again, highly motivated and excited about the journey! It is time to shift our churches into seeing the lost saved. It’s time to relook at everything we do and ask the questions, “Do we have faith for growth and are we therefore preparing for it?” and “Are we doing everything with the lost in mind?”

There are many secondary purposes that take place in the life of a church that are extremely important, but they must all find their true place and reason for existence within the primary purpose of the Church. Otherwise, you’ll have many visions competing against each other instead of complimenting each other as you seek to achieve one ultimate goal – winning the world around you for Jesus!

It’s not a crime to want to grow as a church. In fact, something is seriously wrong with those who are not thinking about growth, and even more so despicably wrong with those who preach against growth or preach a theology that paralyzes churches in going after the lost.

Some people want a small church. They fear losing that family feel if their church gets too big. But that’s an unbiblical mindset. It’s not the size that makes it a family, it’s the heart! I’ve been in small churches that have no family feel and I’ve been in big churches that have an amazing family feel. The Early Church was a large church and the Bible says they were all together with one heart, one mind and as one body, and that there were no needy among them! That sounds like they really looked after each other like a family. One big family! (Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:4, Acts 4:32-35)

“Well doesn’t everyone just get ‘spiritually fat’ in a large church and sit around doing nothing but listening to sermons?” That’s another ridiculous mindset as, again, it’s got nothing to do with the size of the church it has to do with the heart. I’ve been in small churches where no one but the pastor does anything and I’ve been in large churches where so many people are doing so many wonderful things for the Lord! Again, consider the Early Church, they were large and yet it says that there were no needy among them and that continually multitudes were being added to their number. That means, though they were large, that everyone must have been doing something!

Anti-large church mindsets condemn people to hell! They say, “To hell with the lost, we just want a church that caters for our needs.” It’s time to lay down our preferences and agendas and serve the primary purpose of Christ and his Church!

It’s time for leaders to decide what the primary purpose of their church is and then run after that vision without being restrained by those who have another vision for your church. People in the church need to recognize that the primary vision of the church is reaching the lost, and find their role in supporting it. Changes and restructuring will need to happen in order to break through to the next level. Don’t fight those changes, support them.

Some Keys for Seeing Your Church Grow

- The leader of the church needs to be able to lead and everyone needs to get behind his vision without fighting it or pushing a different agenda. If you are the leader, you need to have guts and wisely re-establish that you are the visionary leader and everyone else is not! If you are in a church you should help the visionary leader to be the visionary leader and encourage others to do the same. It will be the best thing for your church!

- The right leadership team must be put in place to support the leader and the vision of the church. These must be people who are proven loyal to the leader, servant hearted towards the vision and fruitful in their gifting.

- You need to get better organized as a church. A loose structure may work for a small church but cannot work as the church grows. There are no large churches in the world that are loose and have no organization. Learn from those who are further down the road than you. You’ll find they have gems that will transform your thinking. Good leaders are good learners! Most churches stay small because the leaders and the people still have a small church mindset and therefore only think small. Some people are experts in smallness! But those mindsets don’t work when it comes to large churches. That’s why you need to expose yourself to people with large mindsets.

- You need to introduce some excellence in your meetings that gives importance to the message that you are preaching. If everything is sloppy it will communicate that you have a sloppy message.

- Get better at catching and keeping people as a church team. That means focus on and improve how you do evangelism and discipleship. Improve the atmosphere of your services and get good at welcoming and hosting people. Help disarm visitors so they can receive the Gospel. Train your ministry team and home group leaders to go after the lost in the meetings. Run membership classes, discipleship classes and get people integrated in the life of the church through home groups and serving as soon as possible.

Here Are Some Things We Try to Aim for in Our Church:

- Excellence that gives importance to the message and presence.

- Atmospheres that help people relax and open them up to the Gospel.

- Miracles that reveal God’s love, and endorse his message.

- Prophecy that builds the church and reveals God to the lost.

- Hospitality to connect with visitors.

- Serving together to see the lost saved and the church built up.

- Integrate Groups that integrate people into the life of the church.

- Children’s ministry that draws the lost and raises soul winners.

- Pastoring that gets people Christ dependent, upward and outward looking.

- Discipling that trains and empowers people to play their part in the church and their life mission.

Don’t ever let anyone make you feel bad for wanting to reach the lost! Let the churches of grace arise around the world and take this Gospel to orphan planet earth and bring them back into the Father’s house. It’s time to gear your church for reaching the world around you. It’s time for increase, multiplication and growth!

X

KEEP KEEPING THE GOSPEL CLEAR

As previously stated, it’s important that we don’t move on from the foundation of Christ by building with the Law, but that we move up in grace by building on the foundation of Christ with the biblical applications of grace and with divine purpose and action. At the same time, we must not forget to be continually reinforcing the foundation as well. We must always revisit the foundation of grace or it’s possible our building could become works and performance driven rather than love and faith driven.

This chapter has seven foundational grace teachings to help us keep keeping the message of grace clear so that we never build using the Law but always build with grace – true grace. Grace that is not paralyzing but grace that is empowering!

1. Total Forgiveness

2. The Gift of Righteousness

3. Open Access to God

4. Freedom from the Law

5. A New Nature

6. A New Identity

7. A New Family

1. TOTAL FORGIVENESS

The Gospel is the Good News that those who come into Christ come into total forgiveness of all their sins and that God will never count their sins against them ever again!

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

HEBREWS 10:12–14 (ESV)

Jesus offered one sacrifice for all of sin, for all time. That’s every sin from the start of time to the end of time. Every past sin and every future sin was put onto Christ as he hung on the Cross. God then poured out the full weight of his wrath and punishment upon him for our sin. Once you come into Christ you come into full forgiveness of sins. Every sin you’ve ever committed and every sin you could possibly commit in the future was dealt with in Christ!

Now, if all your sins were punished in Christ do you know what this means? It means that God will never ever punish you for those sins.

Where is the safest place to be in a bush fire? It’s where the fire has already burned. Why? Because it can never burn there again. Where is the safest place for sinners to be? In Christ, where the fire of God’s wrath has already fully burned! Why? Because it can never burn there again! If you are in Christ, then all of your sins have already been punished and dealt with, from the start of your life to the end of your life. God will never hold your sins against you because they were taken away and dealt with in Christ!

The Cross looked ahead at every sin that would ever be committed and it dealt with them right there. We live after the Cross. So, if the Cross didn’t deal with future sins, then everyone born after the Cross could not be forgiven and are still in their sins. No, the Cross looked ahead and dealt with every possibly future sin. It’s hard for people to accept, but the truth is, all your future sins have already been forgiven!

Does that mean we should just run out and sin? Of course not! But the fact is, even if you did, those sins have already been forgiven! We must accept this truth first, before we even look at overcoming sinfulness in our lives and walking in victory.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses…

COLOSSIANS 2:13 (ESV)

Knowing that you are totally forgiven of all your sins and that God will never count them against you ever, will seriously affect how you live your life and the relationship you enjoy with God. It will free you from a whole lot of lifeless rituals that are based in trying to get rid of guilt and release you into a new and living way of serving God and being fruitful because of faith that you are totally forgiven and God will never hold any sin against you ever!

How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

HEBREWS 9:14 (ESV)

2. THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Four major points about the gift of righteousness:

A) Righteousness is a gift we receive not a reward we achieve.

If it’s a reward for good performance then our righteousness is always based on our performance. If it’s a gift then our righteousness is never based on our performance but always on the quality of God’s righteousness – which is perfect. Therefore our righteousness is always perfect! Anything other than perfect righteousness is really no righteousness at all!

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

ROMANS 3:19–22 (ESV)

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

ROMANS 5:17 (ESV)

B) There are only two kinds of righteousness.

There are only two kinds of righteousness and only one of them is true righteousness. There is self righteousness, which is man’s attempt to be righteous through the works of the Law, and God’s perfect righteousness, which is a gift we receive by faith. Our self-righteousness is like filthy rags to God and can never make us truly righteous. Not even slightly. It’s an absolute offense to the Cross to believe that we can earn God’s righteousness. The only thing that can make us righteous is the gift of God’s righteousness and it is only received through faith and never works.

For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

ROMANS 10:3 (ESV)

...and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

PHILIPPIANS 3:9 (ESV)

C) We haven’t received a form of righteousness, we’ve become the very righteousness of God!

Do you know that you are not more righteous than God and God is not more righteous than you? How is it possible to say that God is not more righteous than you? Simple! You and God both have the same righteousness – his righteousness! By faith you received the gift of God’s righteousness.

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

ROMANS 5:19 (ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 (ESV)

D) Nothing can make you unrighteous!

If God has made you righteous, then nothing can make you unrighteous. Not even if you mess up and make a mistake and do something stupid. There is nothing you can do to make yourself any more righteous and there is nothing you can do to make yourself any less righteous! Our ongoing state of righteousness before God is never based on our performance. It is always based on his perfect righteousness. He has made us perfectly righteous with his righteousness for all of time and eternity, and nothing will ever change that!

...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

HEBREWS 10:10 (NIV)

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

HEBREWS 10:14 (ESV)

3. OPEN ACCESS TO GOD

Four major points:

A) We were created by God to be his children and enjoy unbroken fellowship and intimacy with him.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

EPHESIANS 1:4–5 (NLT)

B) Mankind lost relationship with the Heavenly Father through first Adam, but is restored back to fellowship through last Adam – Jesus Christ.

Before the fall, Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day in fellowship. Then when Adam sinned against God by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, it brought death to mankind’s relationship with God. Man was cut off from intimacy with God and unable to be in God’s presence because of sinfulness. No matter how hard man tries in himself he can never make himself worthy to be in God’s presence, or restore himself back into right relationship with God. The role of the Law Covenant was to reveal to mankind how futile it is to try and relate to God through our own self-righteousness. It’s only by receiving the gift of righteousness that we are restored back to that high place of close relationship with God. We can now enjoy intimate fellowship with him!

And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

ROMANS 5:16 (NLT)

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

ROMANS 3:23–24 (NLT)

C) We have peace with God and open access to him.

We have peace with God and there are no obstacles to us drawing near to him.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

ROMANS 5:1–2 (NLT)

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

HEBREWS 4:16 (NLT)

D) Sin cannot break your fellowship with God anymore!

In the New Covenant, even if you mess up and sin, it doesn’t cut you off from God or break your access to him in any way! In the Old Covenant it did. That’s because the Old Covenant was a covenant cut between God and man. It was a covenant where your relationship with God and the blessings or punishment you’d receive from him were all based on your keeping of the Law of God. The New Covenant is a covenant that God didn’t make with man but between the Father and the Son, Christ Jesus. That’s why it’s not reliant on our performance but on Christ’s perfect performance. God brought us into Christ and that’s how we come into this New Covenant. This is a much better arrangement!

The good news is that now God relates to you through Christ’s perfect righteousness, and not your performance, whether good or bad! Therefore, you can have perfect and unbroken fellowship with God 24/7.

The proof of this is that the Holy Spirit does not leave you when you sin. If your sin made you unholy, the Holy Spirit would have to leave you until you were made holy again. Then you’d have to be re-baptized in the Holy Spirit. This would have to keep happening every time you sinned! No, Jesus said in John 14:16, that the Holy Spirit will never leave you. This demonstrates that we don’t have to be fearful ever again of being separated from the love of God, but can walk in boldness in our relationship with him no matter what!

4. FREEDOM FROM THE LAW

We have to understand that there is a specific purpose for the Law. It was not given to mankind to try and earn our righteousness through it, but to see how unrighteous we are before God when compared to it!

The Law was not given to make us righteous or better but to expose our fallen and sinful state. It was given so that we would see our need for a savior and receive Jesus Christ through faith.

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

ROMANS 3:20 (NLT)

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were.

ROMANS 5:20 (NLT)

Once we see our sinful and lost state and receive Christ as savior, then the Law has done its job. We then come out from legalism and there is no longer any place for it in our lives. We are no longer under the supervision of the Law of God. We are now under a new supervision – faith!

Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

GALATIANS 3:23–25 (NIV)

Law is about trying to perform well in order to earn God’s righteousness, love and blessings, and avoid his judgment and punishment. This puts the focus on yourself and how good you must be. Now, it’s not wrong to want to be good and do the right thing, but it’s wrong to put your confidence or your faith in yourself, thinking that by your own performance you can be like God. This is called human effort, works, performance, self-righteousness and confidence in the flesh. It does not impress God, and no matter how hard you try you will always fall short. As long as your confidence is in yourself, you are saying you have no need for God and his gift of righteousness. You are also saying that Christ died for nothing!

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

GALATIANS 2:21 (ESV)

Living under the Law was never God’s intention for your life. His intention was that through the law you would see how futile it is to try and have a relationship with him based on your law keeping performance. This was so that you would submit to the righteousness of God by having faith in Christ and then come into the new grace-life! There is a new life of faith in Christ that is far better than the life of the works of the flesh.

Grace is about receiving God’s nature, his Spirit and his empowerment to live the life he has called us to live. This is the life of faith, love, hope, truth and being led by the Spirit. It’s impossible to live this life through the Law. It can only be done through grace. Grace is what causes us to access God’s ability and strength and reign in this life.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

ROMANS 5:17 (NIV)

Further Reading

Galatians 3:23–24

Colossians 2:13-15

Hebrews 7:18–19

Hebrews 8:6–7

Ephesians 2:13–16

2 Corinthians 3:6–9

Galatians 3:1–6

5. A NEW NATURE

For the believer, there is now a new force inside of them that is far more effective than that old external law! It’s called the new creation nature!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 (ESV)

Do you know that when you were born again, a powerful miracle took place inside of you? God recreated you! Your old self, which was dead to God and under the power of sin and death, died and passed away! God then recreated you as a new being in Christ! You have been supernaturally transformed on the inside. Your spirit is now alive to God and has a new nature – God’s nature!

…put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

EPHESIANS 4:24 (ESV)

Or in other words, live according to your new nature!

That old inferior way of trying to be restrained by the Law has given way to the superior way of the new man! No longer do we need the Law telling us what to do and not to do. Now we have the life force of Christ on the inside of us. He just wants to live through us!

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

GALATIANS 2:19–20 (ESV)

The shadow of an airplane may look a little bit like the real thing, but it is powerless to take you anywhere. The substance of an actual plane, however, can take you across oceans and continents. The Law was just a shadow of the true substance that was to be imparted to us through Christ (Colossians 2:17 and Hebrews 10:1). What the Law was powerless to do, Christ has done for us (Romans 8:3–4). In other words, the Law represented God’s nature but it could not impart God’s nature to us. The Law was powerless to get rid of our old fallen nature and give us a perfect nature. But in Christ, our old self dies and passes away and we are raised into new life as a brand new person – full of God and full of his perfect nature!

Inside your re-born spirit you have all the fullness of God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control and so much more (Galatians 5:22–23). God is no longer trying to get you to live up to a certain set of rules. He is simply trying to get you to be yourself, your true self!

Your new nature doesn’t want to sin. It wants to do everything that’s in God’s nature. Sin is foreign to your new nature. Your new nature wants to live for God in total righteousness, love and obedience. It’s not even a sacrifice for your new nature. It’s now your new natural tendencies and desires.

God’s nature in us is the reason we do things for him. It’s our new motivation. That’s why we love, give, and are passionate about the things he is passionate about. It’s why we can have true joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It’s the reason we don’t lie, cheat, steal, gossip, slander, lust, covet and so on.

Our new nature is our new inner moral guide. It’s far greater than the Law. Under the Law, if you could get away with something you’d do it. But when you have a new nature you don’t want to do it, even if you could get away with it!

6. A NEW IDENTITY

When it comes to ourselves, what is most important is not what others perceive of us, but how we perceive ourselves. You will generally act according to what you believe about yourself. If you believe you are unloved and pathetic, you won’t try very hard in life. If you believe you are loved and are great, you will move towards greatness in life.

So, how do we perceive ourselves, and what is the right way to think about ourselves? The truth is, there is only one right answer to that, and that is to see ourselves the way God sees us! Our true identity is based on what God says and thinks is true about us and not what anyone else or anything says or thinks about us. Not even what we say or think about ourselves. God is the one who gives us a new identity in Christ and this is what we need to align our heart beliefs and thinking with.

When we came into Christ, our old identity was crucified and a new identity was given to us. A new creation identity! We cannot continue believing the same old things about ourselves because everything has changed! You have changed. God has changed you whether you feel it or not. Your identity used to be based on your morality, your actions and your sinful state, but you have passed from death to life, darkness to light, old creation to new creation, orphan to child of God, and sinner to saint.

When you see Jesus you see what you have become!

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 (KJV)

Why a mirror?

“...beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are changed into that same image...”

Because when we look into that awesome glorious image of Christ, it’s like looking into a mirror, for it’s then we see what we have become! Our identity is found purely in the image of Christ. It is not found in our performance or our morality. It is not found in our past experiences. It is not found in the bad things that have happened to us, nor in the good things we have done. Those things have nothing to do with our identity! Our identity is found in the image of God. When we see him we are looking into a mirror to see our true selves.

You may look at yourself in the flesh and think of all your shortcomings and form your identity out of that, but when God looks at you he sees you in the spirit as a new creation. And when he sees you it’s like he is looking at himself! He is righteous, he is loveable. You are righteous, you are loveable, worthy, beautiful, clean, acceptable, pleasing and perfect! All this is your true identity.

The more people see the truth of how perfect they are on the inside, the more they will become that on the outside.

These truths are all revealed in the New Testament. When you read them, they produce faith in your heart to believe what God says about you. As you do this, the old ways of thinking will be challenged and put out. And once these truths are in your heart you will find yourself naturally moving towards them and acting according to them. This will have an effect on your whole life. It will help you to walk in the purposes of God and your destiny. It will empower you to be who God created you to be!

7. A NEW FAMILY

We were not created for isolation or independence. We were created to be a part of a family – God’s family. God is not some strange religious deity. He is a father who wants relationship with his children. Inside the hearts of all humanity is a deep longing to be part of God’s family, even if people don’t realize it. God put that longing there when he created us. We want to belong. We want to have relationship. We want to be loved and to love. We want relationships of love that go deep. God, the heavenly father, longs to bring all mankind into an intimate relationship with him and shower us with his love and goodness.

Humanity lost intimacy with God in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned and mankind was cut off from God. Since then, mankind have been orphans on this earth, searching for meaning, significance, value and ultimately what they lost in the Garden – relationship with God.

God’s cry over all mankind is that we would be reconciled back to him. That’s why he sent his only begotten son, Jesus, to die for humanity’s sins, that we could receive forgiveness and be reconciled to the Father and into that which our hearts long for – to be God’s children.

Adopted into God’s family:

In love 5he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.

EPHESIANS 1:5 (ESV)

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

EPHESIANS 2:18 (ESV)

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…

ROMANS 8:15–17A (ESV)

Further Reading

Luke 3:21

John 17:20–26

1 John 3:1–2

Acts 2:37–47

Acts 4:32–35

Ephesians 5:1–3

1 John 4

Colossians 1:3–14

Philippians 3:17–21

Colossians 1:15–20

And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

ACTS 20:32 (NLT)

BOOKS BY RYAN RUFUS

Do Christians still Have a Sinful Nature?

Sanctification by Grace

Extra Virgin Grace

Living Grace

What to do after You Get Saved

The Clear Message of Grace

After the Revolution

Table of Contents

Endorsements

Contents

Dedication and Foreword

Introduction

I - The Difference between a Rebellion and a Revolution

II - A High Value for the Local Church

III - Divine Order vs the Hippy Spirit

IV - The Need for Sound Doctrine

V - Dealing with the Political Spirit

VI - Fulfilling Your Dreams through Discipline

VII - Developing a Coaching Culture

VIII - Seven Essential Teachings in Discipleship

IX - Be Fruitful and Multiply

X - Keep Keeping the Gospel Clear