Passion For Jesus Ministries

As I interact with God’s people in the various streams of the many-membered, multi-faceted, Body of Christ, I have noticed several common dynamics that determine how we, as believers, define themselves and thus determine how we live our lives. These dynamics are correlated with how we interface with Jesus in relation to our past, present and future. All three provide significant keys that shape us and lock or unlock our heart.

We all encounter Jesus, not in a vacuum, but in the context of our past. How we relate to Him is determined by the places in which we are chained to the past, whether by negative experiences and wrong paradigms or by how well we discern how God’s grace was manifest to us in positive ways. We all encounter Jesus in the present as we grow in active intimacy with God (which includes various facets). We encounter Jesus related to our future as we believe the right things about our future and make godly commitments and quality decisions related to it.

Encountering Jesus related to our past

I am amazed how many believers let their past affect them negatively. Sociologists often emphasize that what we are today is a result of how we have been conditioned in the past. In other words, we are mostly a product of our environment. They emphasize how our past experiences have shaped and molded us to be the people we are today. They conclude that people are subconsciously controlled by their past. Thus, a person’s past experiences, whether positive or negative,are the primary factors that determine who they are, and to a large extent, who they will be in the future.

I recognize that there is some truth to that. We are partially the product of what has happened to us. If, however, that partial truth is taken to an extreme, then the result is that this “truth” deceives us, causing us to wrongfully believe that our past somehow relieves us of the responsibility of our negative responses. The actual truth is that we are both the victims and the agents of our problems; we are both the victims and the victimizers.

Holy Spirit wants to reveal to us the places where we are chained to the past by bitterness and shame, which is often based in confusion. He wants to transform our wrong paradigmsof God, of ourselves and concerning others, especially the others whom we view as significant to us. Holy Spirit wants to instruct us where we have misinterpreted the crisis events and the disappointments in our lives by believing lies instead of the truth as revealed by God’s light.

Beloved, even the negative aspects of our past can affect us positively in the present, if we choose to view our history redemptively. As we discern how God’s grace was manifest to us in our past history, whether personally or corporately, it can impact us positively in at least three ways. Let’s take a look at these.

First, we should look to see God’s goodness to us in our past related to His forgiveness and repeated times of provision and deliverance. How often have you complained about an uncomfortable situation by saying, “I deserve better than this?” Well, the truth is, we both know what we deserve, don’t we?

But if we look back and see how merciful God has dealt withus in the various seasons of our lives, it will have a positive affect on our heart; providing us with a foundation for a sustained attitude of gratitude. Weall need to purposefully remember specific times of deliverance as well as the general reality that once we were lost, but now we are found, we were blind, but now we see. We all share the testimony that we started out in a state of darkness and then were delivered by Jesus (Eph. 2:1-12). Both individually and corporately, we honor and celebrate what I call our righteous heritage.

Second, what God has done for us in the past gives us insight into what He desires to do for us in our future (Deut. 32:7). We can,based on God’s past manifestations of grace to us, have faith for the future; the past is evidence of future grace. By the way, this applies Corporately as well as individually. We as the Corporate Church can look back to see what God has done in history (revival) to give us insight into what He desires to do in the future.

Third, we wage war by our remembrance of God’s promises to us (1 Tim. 1:18). This is a very real and significant aspect of our day-to-day spiritual warfare.

Encountering Jesus in the Present: active intimacy with God

10 …the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God…Now we have received…the Spirit…that we might understand (through experiencing) the things freely given us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:10-12)

Not only do we encounter Jesus related to the past, we also encounter Him in relation to the present. God invites us all to experience the deep things of His heart. Those deep things include His emotions, desires, affections, and His thoughts about us. We enjoy active intimacy with Jesus through understanding and feeling His heart toward us. The Bridal paradigm is experiencing Jesus’ emotions, desires, and affections for us on the heart level.

18 (You) may have strength to comprehend…the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know (experience) the love (affections or emotions) of Christ…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:18-19)

An active intimacy with Jesus engages our hearts in God’s light, which is a very powerful dynamic. This proactive focus of our soul is what protects us from the inevitably of increased spiritual dullness and defilements. The foundation of spiritual intimacy begins in our recognizing our identity in Christ. Our spiritual identity is the way we define ourselves. In other words, it is the way in which we determine and measure our value, importance and success in life. We receive our value and worth from God’s passion for us.

We all ask ourselves identity questions such as “Who am I? Where am I from? Why am I important? What is my worth? What is my destiny? What makes our life meaningful?” Our identity must be established in our relationship to God or in our intimacy with God. Our intimacy with God is experienced as we encounter His heart for us. When we understand that we are loved by God and that we are genuine lovers of God, then we see ourselves as being successful, apart from our circumstances.

As an act of spiritual warfare, we must acknowledge and confess the truths of God’s Word against Satan’s lies (Mt. 4:4). The Word says that Jesus loves us in the same way that the Father loves Him (Jn. 15:9). As we become students of God’s emotions, we will find ourselves growing in the revelation of His tender mercies, His gladness and His affection. As this understanding of God increases, we find that it frees us up to run to Him with confidence, even in the midst of our weakness, instead of running from Him in condemnation and shame.

I can think of at least two by-products of this type of warfare. The first is that we experience exhilaration. We feel God’s affection toward us and that brings spiritual pleasure to our hearts. And then we experience confidence in the grace of God so that we run to God instead of from God when we encounter our own sinfulness and weakness.

Beloved, I cannot overemphasize the importance of intentionally pursuing the radical Scriptural paradigm in seeing our true identity. It is not easy; it takes time and concentrated effort to cultivate the ability to see our value and to measure our success by these dynamics.

Some secular sociologists propose that what the most important person in our life thinks of us has a significantly greater impact on us than what others think. If the one we value most thinks that we are successful, then we are apt to feel successful. If that is true, then that should spur us on to make sure that Jesus is that most important person. Get it? The other side of that coin is that an inferiority complex is the result of putting too much value on the opinions of others.

We talk a lot about the Bridal paradigm of the Kingdom of God. The word paradigm simply means perspective or view. When we refer to the Bridal paradigm, we are talking about the bridal perspective or the bridal view of the Kingdom of God. We see the Kingdom of God through the lens o fa wholehearted Bride with loyal devoted love. If we do not feel loved and in love, then we more easily compromise, we lack courage and eventually we will become spiritually bored. Boredom is always a warning sign that our hearts have disconnected from God.

We must relate to Jesus as a passionate Bridegroom. When that understanding comes, it will not be too long before we start to see ourselves in our role as a cherished Bride. Spiritual intimacy causes our hearts to be lovesick for Jesus. We will find ourselves inflamed, enraptured and overcome by His love. In that place of connectedness there is no boredom. We find ourselves crying, “Come, Lord Jesus” differently with the Bridal paradigm.We no longer cry out “Come,” based on our wanting to get out of bad circumstances, but rather we cry “Come,” based on a lovesickness that can’t stand the thought of living apart from our Beloved!

17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.”…(Revelation 22:17)

How we think and how we feel about ourselves is significantly determined by how we believe Jesus thinks and feels - about us. Therefore, the “Bridal paradigm” points to God’s commitment and desire for us and is foundational to our emotional health and well-being.The struggle that many have with an inferiority complex and areas of rejection almost always includes wrong ideas about what God thinks about us.

I am often asked the question, “How do I receive God’s love?” The answer is wrapped up in the fact that we do not understand how to discern the sensation of God’s love. We receive God’s love best in the context of having our hearts tenderized or swelling with pleasurable feelings and with the subsequent sense of responsiveness – which the puritan writers called sweet submission. 

We must see our primary value and success as spiritually before God, then in a secondary way we see ourselves as the one who God made us to be before men.  Our intimacy with Jesus is expressed in our pursuit of 100-fold obedience to God and in our meekness before people. The spiritual attainment that increases our greatness or success is in direct proportion to our degree of meekness. Meekness was the only character trait that Jesus proclaimed about Himself (Mt. 11:29). Beloved, we are more successful in God’s sight as we grow in meekness.

11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. (Matthew 23:11)

26 …whoever would be great among you must be your servant, (Matthew 20:26)

We are most steady when we are established in, and feel the power of being loved by God and of loving God and others in return, because this is Holy Spirit’s main agenda for our lives. To cooperate with reality is to have God’s sustained peace as the Spirit Himself powerfully bears witness to our heart inthis pursuit. To resist these dynamics is to strive with the Holy Spirit.

We are successful before God in direct proportion to our growth and maturation in the anointing of love and meekness. When we feel successful because of who we are in the love of God, then we have the foundation and strength to faithfully walk out our assignment before others, in times of honor and dishonor, prosperity and difficulty, without losing our intimacy with God, nor our meekness before men. This is a dynamic place of stability and fruitfulness that empowers us to not waver in prosperity or difficulty.

For example, King David, the man after God’s heart, felt the power of being loved and of loving therefore, he felt successful and thus he had a “clear perspective” even when his kingship was threatened. At the end of his life, after it was all said and done. He had glory, power, riches, authority,and achievements beyond the comprehension of most. Yet, when he answered the question, “David, what is the one thing that you would suggest to anyone who desires success in any arena of life?”, his answer was not what most would expect.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)  

Intimacy with God also includes experiencing the superior pleasures of the gospel. The greatest pleasure that we can experience while on this earth is when God reveals God to our spirit. He does this to the highest degree by causing the Word of God to become alive in us. Intimacy with Jesus includes the vibrancy that only comes by pursuing 100-fold obedience to God. This vibrancy of being wholehearted is the stage where we act out our devotion toJesus – it is how we give our love back to God. The Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7) outlines this pursuit. Many today are spiritually bored which leaves them vulnerable to Satan’s tactics. Intimacy with God includes experiencing God’s delivering power from darkness emotionally, physically and mentally, and is the pathway to knowing the excellencies of loving righteousness and hating sin.

There is a dynamic “spark” in our spirit as we experience these different dimensions of active spiritual intimacy with God. In other words, when we feel God’s affection for us, the pleasure of His Word being alive in us, the vibrancy o fbeing wholehearted and the freedom of deliverance, we come alive. This is the place where our hearts are exhilarated and fascinated with Jesus. It is our inheritance to live with a fascinated heart. The avenues that we utilize in order to be entertained, to meet our need for acceptance and to determine what we value is an essential part of howwe live today. If God isn’t our all-in-all, then, Houston, we have a problem. We use to sing a song that said, “Jesus, be the Lord of all, Jesus, be the Lord of all, Jesus be the Lord of all the kingdoms of my heart. For if You’re not Lord of everything, then You’re not Lord at all!” Get it?

EncounteringJesus in the future

The third dynamic we want to look at is encountering Jesus, not only in the past,and not only in the present, but also encountering Him in the future. Beloved, what we believe about our future and the commitments that we make towards the future has a dynamic influence on our present. You may have heard the axiom,“If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.” What we believe about where we are going forms how we live today. I have news for you, if you don’t change directions,you will get where you are headed. Think about it.

18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint (a disciplined God-centered life)…(Proverbs 29:18)

9 …she (Israel) took no thought of her future (destiny); therefore her fall is terrible…(Lamentations 1:9)

The absence of focus and commitment to the future always results in an identity crisis in the present. Our commitments define who we are. By commitments I mean how we spend out time, money and resources. We are not only to be concerned with where we have been, we are also to be concerned about where we are going. Hope is a key ingredient that spiritually transforms us. Hope is anchored in the future. The awesome power of this truth is neglected by many. What we commit ourselves to in the future dynamically effects who we are now.

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), was a psychologist  that was born in Vienna. Frankl rejected Sigmund Freud’s overemphasis on the past as being the primary force that formed us in the present. Frankl was a survivor of several Nazi concentration camps (Theresienstadt and Auschwitz). After the war was over, he analyzed holocaust survivors, categorizing them into two broad categories: those who were emotionally stable and those who were not. He found that the predominate factor was not what they experienced before or during the concentration camps, but rather what they believed about their future.

Our vision for the future includes our spiritual development, not just our careers and ministries. Hello! People with a vision or a goal to grow spiritually use their time and money very differently than those without such vision. The lack of clear vision for our future spiritual attainment is detrimental to our present spiritual condition. To be ambivalent about the future has adverse negative effects on us that lead us to passivity and spiritual lethargy. Without clear meaningful commitments, then the only other alternative is bitterness or self-centeredness. Indecision in this one thing is one of the major spiritual hindrances that afflict many today.

Let me ask you a question. What are your future goals for your spiritual development? 99 out of a hundred people that I ask this question usually have no concrete goals. I have news for you, without vision any road will get you there. Many cannot form a picture in their minds of what they want in the future. Those without a vision for their future are stifled spiritually in the present. What are you committed to? What are you determined to be in God, now and in eternity? What is your core spiritual desire that overshadows and determines everything else in your life? What do you believe about what you can be, where you can go spiritually? What are you non- negotiably committed to being? What do you want to be a part of in the future?

Paul prayed often that the saints would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will for them (Eph. 1:17-18; Col. 1:9-10; 4:12) because he knew the absolute necessity of having a prophetic vision for our future and a heart-felt commitment to it.

One foundational truth that is necessary to understand is that you will never arrive at the place you never started for. Deep, eh? Where do I start? If you don’t have a plan, let me suggest a plan that I have been using for a long time. In order to arrive at the place you want to be, you must start somewhere. Your plan must include time in the Word and prayer with regular fasting. If you don’t have a Bible reading schedule, I recommend reading 10 chapters of the NT everyday (you will complete the New Testament once a month, thus you will have read the New Testament 12 times in a year. Pray in the Spirit at least one hour a day and fast at least one meal a day two days a week.  

I know that there are many that are reading this that are involved in ministry in one degree or another. To you, let me say, that our future in the corporate sense is also a vast subject that is to form our paradigm, character and actions today. The scriptural view with which we view our callings includes the glory and difficulty in the End-Times (related toJesus’ Second Coming) as well as our eternal destiny, as the corporate Bride ofChrist.

The Book of Revelation is called the revelation of Jesus (Rev. 1:1) and it reveals His leadership at the end of the age. This is why the Revelation is not an optional subject for the Church. The Gospels (89 chapters) give us a record of Jesus’ miracle power at His first coming to accomplish redemption. The end-of-the-age (with over100 chapters in Scripture) tells us about Jesus’ miracle power in taking leadership over the earth.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting (looking for) for…the coming of the day of God…13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for (looking forward to) these (things), be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. (2 Peter 3:11-14)

Many believers foolishly dream of their future as though the Book of Revelation is not really true and that the Great Tribulation is not coming. In their future plans, they replace Biblical reality with the “common delusional fantasy” of life in this age that consists mostly of honor, comfort and ease without pressures.

12 Hope deferred (shattered dreams) makes the heart sick…(Proverbs 13:12) 

This common false thinking leads people to inevitable disappointment as their misguided dreams and expectations are shattered. One of the biggest setbacks in our lives comes when we mishandle our disappointments

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient (temporary), but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18))

To recap: our past, present and our vision for the future conditions and determines the way we feel and live today.

The Call to Forget and Remember: Understanding the Balance

13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

It is essential to “forget” and “remember” in a Biblical way. In Phil. 3:3-16, Paul was outlining his dedication to God concerning the personal sacrifices that he made to obey Jesus. He exhorted us to forget our personal responses both good and bad. To remember the good aspects of our dedication may tempt us to feel that we deserve better treatment from God in our ministry and circumstances. You do remember what we all deserve, right? This false view of reality undermines our attitude of gratitude to Jesus for His extravagant goodness to us. We are to remember that once we were lost being in the state of darkness before we were delivered by Jesus (Eph. 2:1-12).

Jesus was pointing out the danger of His servants relating to Him on the basis of how much they perceived that they served Him instead of on the basis of gratitude.

7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? (I think not – NKJ) 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ” (Luke 17:7-10)

Because of the grandeur of the finished work of Jesus’ cross, God doesn’t take into account our sin – in a word He “forgets” about it. Therefore, we are to forget our failures and sins, by repenting of them then refusing to allow shame to damage our heart in the present. Guilt points to our responsibility in sinful actions. Guilt says that our actions are bad. Shamesays that we are bad, even as we stand in the grace of God. Some easily confuse the issues by allowing guilt to become shame. God calls your sinful actions bad, but He never calls you bad!

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come…21 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 5:17-21)

We are to remember God’s promises to us and His wonderful works on our behalf (1 Chr. 16:12).

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them (the prophecies) you may wage the good warfare, (1 Timothy 1:18)

7 Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. (Deuteronomy 32:7)

I have good news for you, God forgets our sin and He remembers our obedience.

12 For I will be merciful toward theiriniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)

10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook (forget) your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. (Hebrews 6:10)

42 And whoever gives…even a cup of cold water…he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42)

Our past can affect us positively – remembering our history redemptively has a great impact on our hearts in the present tense. As we discern how God’s grace was manifest to us in our past history (personal or corporate), it  impacts us positively in three ways:

First, it is the foundation for sustained gratitude. To see God’s goodness in our past affects our heart today. It just does. We remember specific times of deliverance as well as the general reality that once we were lost being in the state of darkness before we were delivered by Jesus (Eph. 2:1-12). Both individually and corporately, we honor and celebrate our righteous heritage.

Second,what God did in the past gives us insight into what He desires to do in our future. This speaks of our understanding Holy Spirit’s activity in the past and then seeking God to do again what He did in former days. Thus, we have faith for the future as we recognize the past manifestations of grace as evidence, or a down payment, of future grace. As part of the corporate Church, we look back to see what God did in history (revival) to give us insight into what He desires to do in the future.

Thirdly, we are to remember God’s promises to us and wonderful works on our behalf (Deut.32:7; 1Tim. 1:18)

Beloved, Jesus wants to encounter you. It is not just a pipe dream reserved for the chosen few. Many are called to encounter Jesus (in fact all are called), but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). Do you want to know how God determines, out of all the multitude of humanity called to encounter Jesus in a supernatural, daily way? It is simple. The ones who recognize the call, and then drop everything else to answer the call, are the ones that are chosen t oreceive the promise. Get it?