Dear God, please give us the right spirit.
Have Your Spirit flow through us.
It's amazing to hear and experience and be around people who are fluidly flowing in their gifts, where they are at least giving the majority of their self over to the filling of God flowing through them.
And they're being a blessing to the best of their effort with God's assistance.
They're being a blessing or they're at least trying to be a blessing to their community, to their immediate contacts, to their world.
And one key element where we can discern whether a person is under the influence, and they're being filled and they're being moved by the Holy Ghost to be a help to others is usually there ….
We can overlook their frailty.
Like we know,
They Don't Sound Great.
We know they are just a normal source. But we look right past them. Their shell or their human form becomes less and less visible because they are glowing with something that is coming from bigger and better and beyond them. Couple concepts here. Please enjoy the journey:
Number one, I think it's okay to be in tune with local events and even common news.
What people call “current events”.
And I know that's top-of-mind for many people.
It's classic news.
It's kind of old school.
It's looked down upon by us who are maybe fascinated by the spiritual. Or are fixated on higher topics. Or are into higher learning. Might be old news for us.
However, we have to be others minded, meaning other people are fascinated by current events.
Other people still do watch old school lame stream news.
They still plug into those channels.
They don't know any better.
They haven't been to the next level and so they are not quite awesome like you.
So what should I do when I become awesome?
Should I just glory in my awesomeness or should I be compassionate and turn around and try to use whatever tools are necessary to reach …
That Generation.
Or that group of people. Every one of us has a list of contact. And our contact list is fairly massive and ubiquitous. It flows. It’s not just the people that you can send a text message to. Which I don’t know what the average person has for contacts in their phone. Could throw out a number … its’ going to be way over 100. 300 to 500, who knows. Might be more realistic for contacts you have saved, just on your device. Actual names ad phone numbers. But then you have your social media presence, and that is not on one platform. You are not on just the old-school platforms.
And hopefully you're on some of the, what do you call it?
The “safer platforms” where you can speak and not have as much censorship; which because there's such control and manipulation on the big ones that you have to be present on some of the small ones.
Anyway, the scope of your influence needs to be evaluated from time to time.
Every once in a while you may come across a common news narrative, let's just say health or war or any of these things that cause fear in the hearts and minds of people, and the message itself may seem common.
It may seem, what do they call it, normie, like that's just normal.
It's for normies; and those of us who think that we're enlightened or we've reached some level of
Understanding God Better or We Have a Unique Perspective on the World.
Should we become prideful as we learn more information?
Or should we become more useful?
Right?
I don't want to be unuseful.
When I send somebody some content, I don't want them to go, oh,
The last time that guy sent me content, it was a little bit acidic, or it was a little bit toxic, or a little bit overpowering, or it was a little bit too intellectual.
I don't want to become that guy.
I want to be the guy where when people see a link or a text or something of communication outbound from me on any platform or any direct, especially direct connection, like if you're going to send a text message to somebody, say, “Hey, check this out.”
It better be compelling. On-topic. Something of interest to that person. Right?
We call it link-bombing. To link-bomb someone is to send them a link without an explanation or relationship established. Or send them some content without a personal invitation as to why you thought this would be of interest to them or value to them. we don’t want receivers asking themselves, “Did this go to ME? Or does everyone get this?” Make people feel uniquely special.
Anyway, how this ties into the gospel is we want to maintain our influence so that if people are ever curious about Jesus, they would see us a valid resource, as someone who is organically, intellectually …
excited about who Jesus is, right?
I mean, if you want to be known, you're going to be known for something.
If you could be intentional about what you want to be known for, would it not include God in some way?
Don't you want to be somewhat associated with God in a positive light?
I mean, that's fairly easy and simple to say.
All right, so sharing …
Well-choreographed, common, daily news events is not bad, but can be positive, especially if it helps people and compels people to think about their mortality, think about their standing with God, think about how they are living life, think about the value of their relationships, and it thinks about how am I growing as a person, right?
Because life is tough.
I mean life is a vicegrip at times.
Life is a clamp.
Life is a classroom with high pressure.
Feels like we are in a pressure cooker at times.
We’re all trying to learn, grow, advance, and God has a plan for us.
And the devil has a plan for us. Which is to do the exact opposite of whatever God plans. Just anything else.
All that to say, let’s preserve our …
I wish there were a better word than influence, but that is the word.
It's our connection, our cohesivity with our community, because each of us kind of imagine that we have value based upon our capacity to communicate certain key messages, topics, like that we could broadcast to a hundred people or maybe a thousand people or even more, an alert or something like, “Hey, did you realize that if this happens that we'll all be in a whole nother level.”
Now, we're not trying to spawn fear.
We're not trying to freak people out.
What we are trying to do is bring some [and That's another word that's been beat to death] awareness, you know, like there was this fella, you know God, okay.
Hmm Yeah, we'll go there.
All right God does tend to have a personality. That was sarcasm, but it's true.
It works.
I mean it delivered the bomb; it got in there; it didn't feel good, but it was …
that is true.
God does have a unique personality.
And His personality is … His.
It’s not always mine.
God is different. And that’s perfectly fine. Right?
But God does operate in patterns.
Now, a person with a personalty is a little bit predictable.
So when God wanted to show up the first time, He sent an entourage of … one.
He sent one guy in advance to say, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”
Behold, he comes.
He's gonna show up.
And He sent a spirit, a very strong spirit.
In fact, God was so intentional about this spirit showing up that He filled this child while it was still in the belly of its mother with the Holy Ghost because he wanted John, the proclaimer, to be …
On Fire, On Point, like the spirit of the declaration.
The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness, Make Straight the Way of the Lord.
Prepare.
Get the roads ready.
Get your life ready.
Just do whatever's necessary because you're about to meet the King.
He's coming, right?
So he sent before Him the power and the spirit of Elijah.
So God looked back over history, which He doesn't ever look back.
He sees all of it at one time.
And he selected the spirit of Elijah.
And he's like, Elijah, come on over here, buddy.
Hey, you remember how you never died?
Okay.
I’m going to use your spirit. Can I borrow some of your spirit?
Remember how I doubled your spirit on Elisha?
I took Elijah, and I doubled his spirit and put it on Elisha.
You know, buddy, I think you have an excellent spirit! I’m gunna … [obviously they are in Heaven. Because that’s where Elijah is.]
God said, “Elijah, I’m gunna take some of your spirit …
I like that attitude.
I like your vim, your vigor, your courage, how you speak truth right to authority, right in the face of Ahab.
I'm gonna take some of that.
I'm gonna blend it a little bit with this guy named John.
And I'm going to make him the forerunner, we'll call it, the introducer or the emcee to let the world know that my Son is coming to earth.
Okay, can we do that?
You want to go visit?
You and John work out a strategy.
We're going to kind of combine your personalities and we're going to do the Spirit of Elijah v2.0 is John Baptist.
That's what Jesus did right before he came to earth,
in the flesh as a child approximately 2,000 years ago.
Now don't you think that toward the end, if we're getting close to the end, which a lot of people freak out as soon as you say end times, like how do you know it's end times?
Well, number one, let's not be intellectually lazy.
Number two, you're not God.
Number three, what if?
It's possible.
Number four, it's okay, don't freak out.
Number five, just keep thinking about it.
Doesn't God want us to be excited about His return?
Yeah, but it's not coming till my grandkids graduate.
All right, well, dude, that's good, good for you.
All right,
I think that if God is coming, He would maybe, possibly He could [I could be wrong and I I'm up for discussion it's perfectly fine] He might send a spirit with the power of Elijah
and John Baptist to say, “Behold, He's coming”, right?
To get his people ready and to get his non-people ready because God does have compassion.
God did try to get the attention even of the Pharisees.
He spoke their language.
He talked tersely, bluntly.
He spoke to every body on every level of society.
He was all in on reaching everyone with His message.
And He wants attention. God deserves attention because if He doesn’t get it, then we end up in “detention.” [eternal detention in the lake of fire]
We are naturally on a pathway strongly, at high-velocity toward separation from God.
Most of this world is not on the Highway of Holiness. They are on the autobon … no speed limit. They are headed for separation. Thy are “living” in separation. They are in pain. They are in darkness. In whom the god of this world has blinded their eyes from the glorious gospel lest they should see the truth, hear with their heart, believe with their whole being, and be saved!
God wants people to wake up.
And we need to be part of that awakening spirit.
We should pray just like Elisha prayed for a double-portion of the spirit of Elijah. We should say, “God, if You are coming soon, or whenever You show up, if You want to use me to help get some people aware and awake and alert to the fact that the King might be coming in the morning … “
We Should Broadcast Boldly.
We should be fluid flowing.
We should be a vessel of honor used for some capacity to get ready for God.
Are you ready for God?
Oh, I'm ready.
Oh, I'm ready.
Who are you getting ready?
Oh, what do you mean?
Well, those who are ready should be getting other people ready, right?
If all your stuff is packed up and you're all good to go, you're like, I'm waiting for the “vacation” to begin.
We’re going to the Land of Rest. We’re goin to the 7-year Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Or whatever you want to believe we are going to … if you think we are going, … who are you helping to get ready?
Are you going to pack someone else’s ‘chute? [That means their parachute.]
This spirit of service …
You know, John the Baptist did not stay in the wilderness.
Now, he prepared in the wilderness.
He went out there and met with God, we presume.
He maybe went to “Bible college” in the wilderness.
He maybe spent some time alone.
But then he got the message in his soul, in his cranium, in his hair, which he had super awesome hair.
And he had all those locusts and honey and he was a wild man.
He was a crazy wild man with a camel hair coat.
And he, you know, people always assume he didn't smell good.
I think he was fun to listen to because it said all Judea.
They all went out to listen to him.
They all wanted a little bit of that spirit.
This guy's new.
He's different.
He's weird.
He's awkward.
Let's go hear John.
He's entertaining.
He's off the beaten path.
He's not like the boring people.
He speaks with authority.
He thinks he's got a message from God.
We're curious about God.
Let's go listen to this kid down by the river.
Let's go see him, right?
So ask God.
Number one, dear God, I strongly anticipate your return.
I want to be ready.
I want to be walking in purity and holiness and maturity.
And I want to be anticipating and looking up, beholding, ready for the return of God.
And I want to be helping other people be ready for that.
Now, how does this all tie together?
I know it's a little bit of a confusing stream of consciousness.
There are certain key events that are happening in our world that might appear on the surface to be mundane, boring, turnkey, politics, just, okay; this guy versus that guy, this country versus that country, a little bit of conflict over here, a little bit of control and manipulation, a little bit of losing of our rights, a little bit of, you know, lack of independence on this part.
But these messages, if properly choreographed, and if spoken in an intellectually compelling manner, and they will help people understand that they have a spiritual need.
So my goal is to help people become aware of their spiritual need.
Long pause.
Would you agree?
People have a spiritual need.
That spiritual need can only be fulfilled, satisfied, completely filled up by one Person.
It's not me.
I want to introduce them to Him.
And a person cannot see their need unless they feel needy.
You know, our pastor says that prayer is motivated by two things.
Number one, needs. [helplessness]
And number two, faith.
I'm motivated to pray because I have faith.
Well, if I see my need and realize I can't fix it, then I have to look for faith.
I have to look for something I can trust beyond myself because my need is too great.
Anyway, the world is a very complex mess right now.
And that mess should be helping people to look up; it should be helping people to wake up; it should be helping people to become alert to their spiritual needs.
Because if you have your finances in order, yeah, that'd be rare.
Right?
In today's world, you know, there's economic uncertainty, which makes a person look for certainty in Christ and he offers greater than gold.
He offers riches untold.
He offers wealth internally.
He offers something greater than your financial instability, my financial instability.
Number two, there's health.
Now, the oppressive world rulers; there's not rulers of this world, there's rulers of the underworld, and there's rulers of the next world, and those worlds, the spiritual worlds, they do exert strong pressure into this world.
I don't know how the whole structure works,
Maybe you have a theory that's fine but I just believe there's more than us and the more than us means there's an evil agenda.
I believe in evil.
And it's okay to look at evil and even take a step towards evil because as you explore evil the only possible reaction is to pull away, lean away, and go running to Jesus.
You have to have a solution for evil. And I'm thankful to know that I know what righteousness is.
He's the Lord our Righteousness.
And I am enamored more with God for being the solution to evil once I acknowledge the evil.
You'll find many people in your contacts refuse to acknowledge the evil in the world because they cannot reconcile it personally.
And the question is,
”Why did you think it was your responsibility to fix the world's evil … anyway, who are you?
Are you like a mini-god?
Are you like a fix-it-all?”
I mean, we can barely fix our bathroom.
How are we going to fix world hunger?
How are we going to fix, you know, tropics?
How are we going to fix injections?
How are we going to fix the pharmaceutical industry?
That's bigger than all of us.
But many people you will find, it's very curious,
They will not intellectually engage in the facts of evil.
They will not receive the data of the fact.
Why would God allow so much evil?
Well, because He wants our attention.
He wants us to trust Him for salvation.
This world is temporary.
This world is designed to fall apart.
This world is destined for fire.
This world is going to get a makeover.
This world is going to be destroyed, just the surface, and then rebuilt.
Anyway, all that to say,
How do we wrap it up?
You should be a collector of intriguing, compelling facts that are events that are happening in the world.
We should not be allergic to world events. And we should be curious enough to compile these events and align them with a spiritual perspective.
Not conflicting the two, not confusing the two; but we should be a resource to our contacts of somebody who's reasonable, not freaked out, not scared, not nervous, but who sees the progress in the Middle East and is not like, “O, I'm so freaked out.
I don't know what to do.”
Well, are you going to avoid the facts?
Is that how you respond?
So world war is coming.
No, I don't want to believe it.
Well, there is an intentional world war being triggered.
We don't know exactly when, but it looks like it's coming soon.
And that's way beyond any of our control.
So what should we do?
You know, if you have no solutions, do you know the Solver?
You know, God is the ultimate Source of peace and comfort,
reconciliation, resolution.
He gives us peace of mind.
There's this big trend out for, you know, mental health.
Well, I believe in mental health and spiritual health.
And I don't know if they're two separable.
I don't know if you can separate the two.
Because how are you intellectually stable and healthy and not spiritually stable and healthy?
Is it all about the mind?
Anyway, all that to say, it's okay to share,
and provide a spiritual perspective on current events because in the world of health, there is an agenda of evil.
I shared that article with everybody I knew earlier today and I got a little feedback like, “Oh, that is not related to Christianity.”
Well, I guess it is if you think about it because it helps people wake up to the awareness of the fact that evil exists in the world.
Number one.
Number two, there is a higher level of evil than any of us can imagine.
It's beyond local government or even national government.
It's beyond global government.
There is a god of this world.
And why would God, the real God, give authority temporarily to the small g-gods for them to try to bring about their will of oppression in this world?
Unless it were for a greater good to get our attention off this world and onto the Cross.
Oh wow.
Anyway, so I feel like I'm overreacting a little bit.
I need to pause to breathe.
But all of us can be sparking conversation with our contacts and our community about what is happening in the world.
You know enough about what's happening in the world on several levels that you should be able to:
Help Your People Navigate Through It Peaceably.
Help your people navigate through life with the Savior.
And they need to look to you as a spiritual, Spirit-filled, Bible-believing, calm, secure, joyful, exuberant, enthusiastic, Christ-like one.
If anyone ever should be accused of being a Christian, it should be when the Christian is under pressure.
When the Christian goes in for examination.
Are we not more ready to be associated with Christ now versus 10 years ago?
You know, readily identifiable.
Believers should be readily identifiable because we don't react to human events with
a lack of assurance, a lack of confidence, a fear-based mindset, a self-protection mindset, a I-gotta-fix-the-world mindset.
We don't explode like our dear liberal friends who don't have the peace of God, the presence of God, the awareness.
Who don't have the understanding of Scripture.
They've never read Ezekiel.
They have no idea how Daniel ties into Revelation.
They haven't read Thessalonians.
They don't want to read Matthew:
The declarations of Jesus about what's coming.
These people who are allergic to prophecy, maybe they got burned.
Maybe they have a misdefinition of prophecy.
Prophecy is not a human hearing the voice of God and proclaiming the future.
That's goofball, charismatic stuff.
What we're talking about is, there is a verse that says, “the spirit of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Meaning, let God
Determine the Future and the Path.
Even today, let Him walk side by side.
Let His presence and His abiding care give you the courage and love to exist and thrive and live the abundant life even while the world collapses.
Connecting Current Events to Spark a Gospel Conversation