Blog Info...

Greetings to all the PBC Voice readers. I want to share some information with you all concerning the blog. I will be out of the loop for a few weeks as I make preparations for a trip to Ukraine.

Members of PBC will be returning to Ukraine in just a few days. This will be our 5th mission trip to the region. We are asking that you remember us in your prayers as we trust that God will use this team in many wonderful ways. From the looks of our itinerary, it will be a busy time in country.

How to Pray:
1) Pray for protection, provision, and prosperity during our trip. International travel means that we will have to move efficiently through a lot of security. It also means a lot of time in the air and travel through a foreign land. We are asking the Father the watch over this team, provide all the necessary things we need, and for grace to minister.

2) Pray that we will be sensitive to all that God is doing. While our itinerary is set, we understand that flexibility is a major component of mission work. We do not know all the things that we will be asked to partner in. It is our desire to follow after the heart of the Father. May our eyes be open, ears attentive, and our hearts receptive to the move of the Holy Spirit.

3) Pray for the hearts of those we will be sharing with. This is a mission trip which means we are looking for ways to partner with the churches to proclaim the Gospel. We want to overcome language and cultural barriers so that we may communicate effectively. Ask God to soften the hearts of the hearers so that His kingdom will continue to expand in this beautiful country. We know that the Father has a heart for these people. May our hearts be as His.

4) Pray for a strong anointing to be upon the entire team. Much preparation has gone into this trip. We have prayed together, planned together, and committed ourselves to being God's vessels on this trip. Your prayer support will be a key ingredient to all that God does in the land. We recognize the importance of His Holy Spirit in all we do. You can trust that this team is committed to walk in all that God has for us.

5) Pray for the families back home. Most of these team members are leaving spouses and/or children at home. The responsibilities of a mission trip fall to those at home as well. We ask that the God of all comfort be with those left behind, partnership between families and friends to help with normal responsibilities, and more grace to the families during this time of separation.

These items are meant to guide you during your prayer for Team Ukraine. Allow for your own sensitivity to the Spirit as you think about us. We look forward to returning and sharing all of the wonderful things that we get to join the Father doing in Ukraine.

"Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere...and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel..." [Ephesians 6:18 NLT, 19 NKJV]

*I look forward to blogging again after the 1st of October. May God's richest blessings be yours in Christ.

The Driving Force

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." [2 Chronicles 7:14]

2 Chronicles 7:14 has long been used to stir our hearts to revival. However, I want you to look at this verse through a different lens. In the past, I have talked about the need for the followers of God to humbles themselves, pray, seek the face of God, and live a life of repentance. In other words, I taught the principles. My belief was that if we got the principles right then God would do all that He promised. Here's the problem with what I taught: It was focused more on the principles rather than His presence. Another problem is that I rarely focused on our identity in Christ.

While these are wonderful principles, the primary concern of a New Testament believer should be to seek the face of God. And the purpose of our seeking the face of God is so that we can be continually conformed into the image of His Son. The danger of religion is to be driven by the principles rather than by His presence. In this way, we have confused the normal christian life with duty over relationship.

Let me point out a few things:

#1 - We don't pray toward a temple, we are the temple of God.
The New Testament makes it very clear that God does not dwell in a temple made with human hands. He has chosen through the new birth to dwell in the temple that was made after His image. Our bodies are the temple of God. Therefore, seeking the face of God is not about gathering in a particular building at a particular time. Seeking the face of God is about communing with the Father wherever we may be.

#2 - These principles deal with a closed heaven and we live under an open one.
Much of the difficulties that Israel faced in the Old Testament was their own doing. Drought, devastation, and disease were all seen as the symptoms of their walking away from the Lord. In other words, the natural world around them was always testifying to where they stood in relationship with God. But we have been given the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God within us always guides us in the truth and continually reminds us of the truth in Christ. When Jesus spoke of prayer to His disciples it was always with the understanding that God would answer them.

#3 - These principles also focus on what God is going to do in response to what the people do. In Christ, we respond to what God has already done.
Since many of us have preached the principles of this verse without a focus on who we are in Christ, we have fostered Christian culture that sits and waits on God. It is my belief that God is waiting on us. Think about it: We have been saved from our sin, baptized in the Spirit of God, and made a new creation in Christ. Rather than waiting for God to bring revival to the earth, we should be the revival.

In Christ, we must learn to walk in the finished work of Christ. Our past, present, and future are secure in the Lord. And it is my belief that God did this so that we wouldn't be so concerned about our holiness but more concerned about His kingdom advancing in the earth. What am I saying? I'm saying that you have been made in the image of God, born from above through salvation, and made the righteousness of God in Christ. You are to take the divine nature that you have been allowed to be a partaker of and transform the world you live in. In this sense, we don't have to wait on God to move in a particular way. We simply join God in what He is already doing in the earth.

Do we need revival? I do believe we need revival in the earth. But the revival we need isn't about what God does to transform the world. The revival we need is a bringing back to life what has been missing in the church so that we can be the transformation. And what has been missing primarily in the church is a pursuit of His presence. This lack of pursuit is a direct result of being driven by the principles because we have failed to see ourselves in light of what Christ has already done. If I cannot wrap my faith around the finished work of Christ then I will always be trying to accomplish what has already been accomplished. I will always strive for victory rather than from victory.

Folks, we are called to live a life of faith. But it doesn't take much faith to believe we are sinners. It does take faith to believe in what Jesus has already done. Ask yourself this question: What am I going to allow to be the driving force in my life?

Choose His presence!!!

The Power of Peace & Rest

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder...Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end..." [Isaiah 9:6-7]

Typically, we only hear the above portion of Scripture around Christmas time. This is part of Isaiah's prophecy concerning the coming of Jesus. And...there's something here for you.

I was listening to a sermon by Steve Thompson the other day and he shared these verses. What he said next is worth hearing: "The reason we have difficulty in sustaining a supernatural life is because of the lack of rest and peace at the core of our lives." Isaiah told us plainly that the government would be upon His shoulder - not ours. He also said that the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. Religion is good at keeping us busy but it can never bring us rest.

Have you ever noticed that some of the most spiritual people are usually not the busiest people? They're not lazy; they have just figured out something that we have been missing. And what we have been missing is the power of peace and rest.

Most of us could testify to the fact that our busiest seasons are usually our less spiritual seasons. We may be getting a lot done, and burning the midnight oil but we are normally running on adrenaline. I think a lot of folks have taken the phrase "an idle mind is the devil's workshop" and created a business mentality. It's like saying if we aren't busy enough then the enemy will have his way in our lives. The fact of the matter is that it's quite the opposite.

When we learn to rest in His peace then we will be able to hear His voice. When we learn to be still and know that He is God, then we can experience His presence. I want to encourage you to look at your calendar. If it is anything like mine then it's full of appointments, ballgames, orthodontist visits, and etc. Is there time for rest? Is there time to collect our thoughts? Is there time to simply sit in the presence of God to hear what He has to say in our lives?

Think of the words of Jesus: "Come unto me all you who are burdened and heavy laden. I will give you rest." Doesn't sound like a man who is preoccupied with keeping you busy. Of course, He saw what the religious leaders had done to the faith. The people in Israel were under a heavy burden of dogma, activity, and tradition. Jesus came to set us free from anything that would get in the way of a love relationship with God.

Are you ready to rest? Would you love to simply enjoy His peace for a while? As you think about the answer to those questions, allow me to share a quote from Kris Vallotton that will take this a little further: "Sometimes God is more interested in what He is doing in you rather than through you."

...I Want to Provoke Action

I want to give you a series of quotes from Erwin McManus' book entitled "The Barbarian Way." This book has been on my favorites list for some time. I do not want to simply provoke thought. I want to provoke action in the Body of Christ.

"We build churches that become nothing more than hiding places for the faithful while pretending that our actions are for the good of the world. Or we choose political and secular vehicles to try to advance our culture values, strangely attempting to make unbelieving people act like civilized believers." [p. 109]

"I am convinced that even now there are multitudes of followers of Jesus Christ who are sick and tired of the church playing games and playing down the call of God." [p. 114]

"The most civilized churches have really no practical concern for people outside their congregations. The brokenness of a lost and unbelieving world is not enough to inspire the painful changes necessary to make the church relevant to the world in which we live." [p. 123]

Relevance - something relevant to a task. Increases the likelihood of accomplishing the goal. When we consider the relevance of the church then we must ask ourselves at least two questions: 1) What is our task? 2) What will allow us to accomplish this task?

The church has been left on the earth with the task of increasing the kingdom of God (i.e. - Evangelism). We are to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ so that the lost may be saved. With that being said, what will increase our chances of accomplishing this goal? As a whole, a lot has to change?

The church has primarily moved into the same mindset as the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus' day. We have tried to protect the faith of our forefathers. We have done this through legalism, social order, and traditions. Why then are we surprised to see the world in the shape that it is in? Why are we so shocked to see the darkness advancing? We have been called to be children of light in the darkness but we are primarily meeting in a lighted building shining our lights into each other's eyes.

Do you want to know what the primary form of evangelism is in most churches? It is inviting people to church. I'm not really sure why we do that because most of the time the people we invite are very uncomfortable in church. They see the church as dogmatic, political, and stuffy. They haven't encountered the unconditional love of God. Let's just be honest here. Most churches think that they are relevant because we have loosened up on the dress-code that was in place. In other words, we are casual and therefore we are relevant.

I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I have served as the pastor for PBC for 10 years now and I love what God has allowed me to do. We have made a lot of changes over the years. Some of these changes were made to ensure that we were following after the will of God. Others were made so that when those from the outside do come in that they feel welcome in our midst. However, there is much more that we could do to see the lost in our community saved. We have to remind ourselves of the task and ask what will help us accomplish the goal of covering the earth with the glory of God.

I'm not here to hand out bullet points on how to make the church relevant. The reason for today's blog is simple: I want to provoke the church to action!!! I want us to make the changes that are necessary. God wants us to do more than just gather in a holy huddle trying to encourage each other through the week. It is our "job" to go out into the world every day and destroy the works of the enemy.

Who's with me? Let's unchain our faith and believe God for the impossible. Let's impact our communities. The time is now!!!

Something To Stir Your Faith

‎"How much of heaven has God purposed to become manifest here on earth? No one knows for sure. But we do know through Church history that it's more than we have now. And we know through the Scripture that it's even more than has ever entered our minds." ~ Bill Johnson

What an incredible statement! This quote has stirred my spirit over the last couple of days. It tells us what is available (which is limitless) and what is missing (which is a lot).

I recently picked up a book called "Diary of God's General" which contains excerpts from the ministry of John G. Lake. Did you know that while he was overseeing the Divine Healing Institute in Spokane, Washington that the city was documented by the United States government as "the healthiest city in the world"?

There are other great men and women of God that I could mention. Others who believed that God could invade every situation and every heart. Many times we view the lives of these people and never realize that God could do the same things today. However, I believe that we are witnessing a generation of followers that are not content to read about the great moves of God. They want to be a part of a movement that brings heaven to earth.

What about you? Do you have a hunger to go deeper with God? Do you believe that everything we read in Scripture can happen today? Are you longing to see heaven invade your community? Are we willing to position ourselves to receive all that God wants to accomplish in our day?

Here's what I believe:
> Saying we are a "Bible Believing Church" is not enough. We must experience the Word.
> Strong doctrine is not enough. What we believe needs to be translated into how we live.
> What the Spirit of God is doing RIGHT NOW is as relevant as what He did in the Bible.
> The center of the church needs to be the Presence of God rather than the pulpit.
> The unconditional love of God must be the basis for all we do.

I want to share one of the quotes from John G. Lake to stir your faith:
"Our church had diligently taught us that the days of miracles were passed. Believing this, eight members of the family has been permitted to die. But now, with the light of truth flashing in our hearts, we saw that was a lie. A lie invented no doubt by the devil, and diligently heralded as truth by the Church, thus robbing mankind of their rightful inheritance through the blood of Jesus Christ."

Don't you think it's time to discover what belong to you?

His Love - His Fullness

Ephesians 3:19 from the New Living Translation: "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

You need to hear this: The secret to having the fullness of God is to know the love of God.

To know the love of God comes through experience.
You experience His love through salvation.
You experience His love through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
You experience His love through encounters with God.
You experience His love when His Word comes alive in you.
You experience His love when you operate in the gifts of the Spirit.
You experience His love when you draw into His presence.
You experience His love through worship.
You experience His love through prayer.
And every time you experience His love, you come into a greater knowledge of it. As you come into a greater knowledge then you enter into the fullness of God.

There is no other way to put it. We must be willing to draw into a deeper intimacy with the love of God. God wants you to go deeper in His love. He wants you to experience more. Why would we ever settle for less?

My prayer for you this weekend is that you will come into a greater awareness of His love. May you continue to go deeper into the fullness of God.

God's Kindness & My Repentance

According to Romans 2:4, God's kindness is what leads us to repentance. A verse which continues to overwhelm me to this day. It's because of the gratitude I feel that I do not want to "despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, or patience." I want everyone to experience His kindness.

If we don't share the Gospel out of His love and kindness then how are we going to share?
Will we shame people?
What about condemnation?
I know...judgement. Right?
Truth is folks that our message of good news falls way short if we cannot bring people into an encounter with His kindness. It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.

People need to understand that God has not grown tired of them. They need to know that He is patient, not willing that any should perish but wants everyone to come to repentance. If they could just understand all that He has done for them. If they could see God not only as their Creator but their Redeemer as well. If they could see Him as the God who loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son. If they could encounter a God who doesn't' want to condemn them. Do you believe it's possible?

When you and I walk in the love of God then this is possible. God's kindness led me to repentance. It allowed me to see that the wages of sin was death but the gift of God was eternal life. It brought me to a place where I could agree with His way of life. And to a place where I would change my mind about my own way.

Do you know somebody who needs to change their mind? Maybe you have talked to them about God. Maybe you have even shared the message of the Cross. But have they experienced the kindness of God through you? I want you to imagine the lives that were touched by Jesus when He was on the earth. They came into a physical encounter with the love of God. Can we offer the world anything less? Fill up on the love that God has for you and then release it on someone else. Remember...it's God's kindness that will lead them to repentance as well.