Can a house be divided against itself and stand?

Following a statement I made during the Message yesterday on the “Idol” of “Moralisms,” one of my members asked a question for clarification. It was a great question and I thought more people could benefit from it and the answer than just she and I. So here is the scope of it:

Hey, I was thinking about this, and kinda confused about it.  Jesus tells the Pharisees that “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splentered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive….”  Then you said yesterday, that people can cast out demons, yet not have power from God.  I’m not sure how both of those fit together, but I know they must.  Any thoughts on what I’m missing? 

 Thanks,

First of all…let’s remember the context of my comments…at least as they were intended. My point wasn’t restricted to casting out demons; rather, it was that there were two sources of supernatural power operating in the world. I used the example of the rods becoming snakes before Pharoah as the specific example. (The text is in Exodus 7:8-15). While there are two sources of supernatural power, there is not an implied equality between the two, since God is always presented as Supreme in every regard.

I applied this to the text from the message in Matthew 7:21-23…specifically in the area of “did we not prophesy in your name,, and in your name cast our demons, and in your name perform many miracles?” I implied that from this text, we might conclude that the power used to cast out demons, perform miracles, and prophesy came from the enemy. This implication led to the question.

There actually are a couple of ways of handling the problem theologically that are faithful to the Scriptures. As such, neither of these solutions are definitive…since the Scriptures doesn’t tell us exactly how these supernatural feats were accomplished. The point of the Matthew 7 passage is that the standard for righteousness with God is not our activity, but whether He knows us as His own. Here are the best solutions I have discovered:

• Perhaps God is the source of the power and worked through the false believers…using them as an instrument of His grace toward others. It is not unusual for God to work through an evil person (or people) to accomplish a greater purpose. An example would be Pharoah. God provided for His people through Pharoah. God also used evil nations to oppress His people (see Judges) so that they would repent and turn to Him for deliverance. God is not limited to acting only through believers. He is unlimited and can use “unregenerate ( i.e. unsaved/lost) people” as instruments of His will to accomplish His purposes.
• A second solution may be that there “appeared” to be a miracle of casting out a demon. This is a logic argument. Perhaps the enemy oppresses a person demonically and then pretends to cast the demon out through the ministry of a false teacher (while subversively only ordering the demon to stop oppressing. To the person oppressed, it would seem as though they were delivered by the false miracle worker, when in reality, Satan simply stopped oppressing the person at the time.
• As for prophesy, there are severalexamples where God used evil people to prophesy His will. This is not too unusual. Also, we know that the demons have information that we do not (see Mark 5 for a prophetic confession by the Gadarene Demoniac as to Christ’s identity…something that other people did not fully grasp). When they reveal that information…it is, by definition, prophetic.
• As for miracles or other supernatural occurrences…I think we can safely accept that these occurred (see Acts 19:11-20, et. al) and were recorded in biblicaltimes. Some of these supernatural occurrences occurred at the hands of non-believers (Jewish Exorcists).

Ultimately, there are a number of ways of explaining how someone can do a miracle or prophesy or free someone from demon oppression and still not be known by God as one of His people. We are called to discern. We should examine all people and all claims of people who assert that they have a word from God. A good rule is…if it isn’t in the Bible…it is suspect.

 

Thanks for the question and for allowing me to share an answer that will hopefully clarify some things that I maybe left undone in the message.

Weekend Reflections, May 31, 2009

Wow! We had a good weekend at church. A couple of significant things stood out to me.

• We baptized two more people on Sunday. I have been intimately involved in the journey of both of these folks, so it was very cool (personally) to watch them get to this point of their journey.
• We had at least two people indicate decisions for Christ during the morning service. Praise God. it never gets old!
• Vincent and the band did a song that Vincent wrote based on Psalm 1. I liked it the first time I heard it. I wish we had put the lyrics on the screen though. I think we can become lost in the music and miss the message sometimes. (Just thinkin out loud).  
• Sunday Afternoon, we had a team meeting for children’s leaders. We are working on some big and exciting things together…not the least of which is shaping the “vehicle” for discipling children in the coming months.
• Sunday night…our church planter, Scott Blanchard, brought the heat! He was incredible and we are so blessed to get to partner with him and Karen as they lead a team to establish a new church in the Detroit area.
• We commissioned our short-term team to NY. We leave on Saturday.
• I was a little surprised at the “low” attendance on Sunday evening. A number of leaders were conspicuously absent. Surprising to me since we were hearing from one of our church planting partners and commissioning a short-term team. Maybe I missed the memo. Something to pray about….
• AND FINALLY…after church I had a Wendy’s Coffee toffee twisted frosty. It was worth it!

God is doing some really cool things in our midst. I pray we see it and join Him in it. He is worthy and the task is worth it!

Grace,

Weekend Reflections: May 24, 2009

Here are just a few observitaion I had based on our weekend together.

• Had a good time today at church. The attendance was down a bit…pretty much as I have come to expect on a holiday weekend. For many of our servicemembers, this is a 4 day weekend and they travel home. I don’t blame them. Very thankful for those who came out this morning.
• We had five in Calvary LIFE today. Good discussions.
• Worship team did a good job today. Proud of them. They handled the task well.
• Pastor Jonathan baptized Jason today. God is working in his life and is working through the situation with him and his family. Proud of the Dean family… God is doing cool stuff in their family. I will be in the baptistry next week. We have 2 or 3 scheduled for then. As of today, we are already beyond the total number of folks we baptized last year. This is about more than the numbers…it is about God moving in our midst and allowing us to see fruit as we go out and connect with our neighbors, friends, and members of community in order to share the gospel.
• Preached this morning on influencing through sacrifice. I shared from 1 John 3:13-22 with special focus on v.16.  By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we too should (ought/ are obligated to/are duty bound to) lay down our lives for the brethren. This was a difficult text for me to get my hands around. The implications of the text stretched me personally. I would be interested in your take on the text and how the message may have impacted you. If you missed it…it will be up on the website in a few days.
• No services tonight since it is Memorial day. We just encouraged folks to spend time with family. However, if the weather holds, we will be hangin’ out with the students and playing a little flag football at 5PM.

Peace,

Weekend Reflections, May 17, 2009

This weekend was really cool at Calvary. It is one of the busiest times of our church calendar because it is the wedding season, graduation season, and almost the start of the vacation season. We have camp coming up, mission trips around the corner, and there is still “life” (of course). Here are some highlights from the weekend:

• Thursday I had the privilege to marry a couple. I baptized Jessica several weeks back and she and her boyfriend decided that their lives needed to reflect their faith in every area. So, I married Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Peake. I look forward to our continuing relationship.
• Saturday, our deacons and pastors came together to conduct an Ordination Council for Gerald Kirby. After 4 hours of visiting, sharing, and praying…the Council unanimously recommended that Gerald be licensed and Ordained to the gospel ministry in view of his call to Beulah Baptist Church in Cedar Springs, GA.
• Saturday afternoon, I had the privilege to marry Justin and Heather (Barnett) Jones. It was a beautiful wedding and God held off the weather. You may recall that I baptized Justin a couple of months back. They too wanted to align their lives more closely to God’s plan for them.
• Sunday was great. We had several families in Calvary Life for week 2.
• Bill Barnes began a Sunday AM LIFE Group (making this the third new group begun in the last few weeks.) Glenn Thrower is doing a great job at leading our discipleship program. Pray for Bill and Sandy as they grow this group…along with Bob and Gina Hodges and David and Karen Nixon…who began their groups a couple of weeks ago.
• Worship Team did a great job this week. I liked the integration of one of my favorite hymns (I have decided…). Great work arranging the music. You guys rock. Kelly is doing a great job leading in this area.
• We honored five graduates during the morning service. We are so proud of the commitment displayed by these folks in pursuing excellence in their studies. Thanks to Pastor Jonathan for making this possible and doing such a great job with Students!
• We baptized two men on Sunday. John (the dad) and Richie recently gave their lives to Christ and were baptized together. John is part of Calvary Life and also dedicated his other children to God last week during the child dedication.
• I continued with the series on “Cultivating Influence.” God blessed the message and I am aware of at least one decision for Christ following the service.
• We survived a lightening storm on Sunday afternoon (sort of). No one was hurt but it hit our computer network pretty hard. We lost several switches, printing functionality on our network printer/copier…and at least one computer (mine). (fried the Mother Board). Must have affected the alarm too, since the kind folks there called me this AM at 4 to say good morning and make me aware of an issue. (Been up ever since    A special thanks to Billy Ohl who spent much of the afternoon working on the network to get us back up and running for Monday. Billy…you ROCK!
• Many of our folks attended the Meet the Church training at ECCC. We want to fine-tune our outreach ministry and focus with MTC. Thanks for investing your time in this important expression of Christ’s heart.
• Sunday evening we voted in conference to license and ordain Gerald Kirby to ministry. Two of his deacons from 3 hours away drove in to be with him during the Ordination. We then prayed over and Commissioned Gerald and Darlene Kirby as our first family sent out from Calvary as part of Vision 2020. We love them and are thankful to God for His hand in their lives and on our church…for allowing us to be part of His Kingdom work.

These are just a few of the highlights. God is giving us the privilege and opportunity to be part of some cool stuff. PRAY with us this week. On Thursday, we host the Baccalaureate Service for West Florida High School. It is a big day and one of the largest reaches into our community for the year.

Thanks as always for your dedication to the Kingdom and for allowing me to serve you as your pastor!

Grace,

Weekend Reflections: April 11, 2009

We had a good weekend. On Saturday, Chris Stokes and Curtis Lloyd hosted the men’s ministry at Chris’ home. It was a cookout and skeet shoot. More than 30 men came and more than half were guests. Good work Chris and Curtis!

Sunday was fun. Here are some highlights:

• The Worship Team did great. Thanks for everyone’s hard work.
• The children sang and it is obvious that they had fun. Thanks to David and Team for your labor of love in working with children.
• We had 340 plus people in services and I began a new series on “Cultivating Influence.” If you missed it, the Podcast should be up today or tomorrow.
• We also recognized moms with a special gift…(thank you Jodi for picking out the “perfect” one).
• We had five families involved in child dedication. This is always a special time in the church family. Very Exciting Stuff! A special thanks to Tracy Carpenter, our Preschool Ministries Director for making this happen! YOU ROCK!!!!!
• Calvary Life was overflowing this week. We had many new families who are in process of exploring God’w will for their lives in church membership. A couple of families shared that Easter Sunday was their first visit. Praise God for a church that cares enough to intentionally share God’s love with their neighbors.
• No Sunday evening services this past week. As a result, the boys and I took Jodi to her favorite spot in the afternoon (the beach) to hang out. Sunday afternoon naps are fun with the surf in the background!
• I shared with the Calvary LIFE group that we are about to unveil our LOVE Loud Initiative. Look for it in the coming weeks!
• And, one of our members, Gerald Kirby, was unanimously elected to the Office of Pastor of a church in Georgia. Congrats Gerald. He and Darlene will be “sent out” from Calvary as the first family since the launch of “Vision 2020!” Next Sunday night we will hear a report from the Ordination Council and send this family out.

Beloved, God is at work in our midst. Don’t take anything for granted. Time is short. Night is coming. Let’s be found faithful to do all He has for us…while it is day….

Grace.

Weekend Reflections: May 3, 2009

Well the weekend began on Friday with the Mother-Daughter Banquet. It was a great experience with about 150 ladies present. Jodi’s Leadership Team did a great job planning and staging. The worship was great…Leah Taylor is a gifted woman with a heart for God. Jodi did an incredible job of communicating with passion, authority, and relevence. A special thanks to the men who volunteered to tear down and reconfigure the worship center…and for those who served. You represented Jesus well.

Saturday was cool. I had no where I had to be…so Hayden and I hung out and cut a trail through the woods to go on nature walks. Fun times.

Sunday was good. We had a number of new people this morning (4 families that I know of). I am aware of several decisions to rededicate lives, at least one salvation and a couple of baptisms. I preached on the Theology of Suffering…at least one aspect of it from John 9. The audio will be up on the church website www.calvaryofpensacola.org soon…maybe by Monday night. The Worship Team did a great job…even if Kelly did change a song up and leave me singing LOUD, PROUD, and BADLY the wrong chorus!

We had a team from the church serving with Tad and Kathy in Navarre at CrossBridge. Thanks to those who sacrificed their time away to make another ministry rock.

After services, the Students hosted a fund-raising dinner for camp. They made several hundred dollars to offset student tuition costs. We have a record number of student participating in camp this year. Exciting times! Proud of Pastor Jonathan and the student leaders…and of course, the STUDENTS!

Sunday night felt like it bombed. I am fighting some “sinus” thing that feels like a cold…only with a lot of throat pain. Anyway, I am going to try to keep a low profile for a day or two and nurse my voice back to health. A preacher with no voice is almost as valuable as ________. (Sorry, had a joke come to mind…but held it. You can fill in the blank yourself!)

Well, brain is a bit fried. Planning to crash. Thanks to everyone who made this weekend happen. Eternity will bear out the value of all you contributed!

Weekend Reflections, April 26

What a great weekend of ministry at Calvary. Here are some highlights:

• On Saturday, I finished the final session on the ’10 Things” Series for men. Turnout was a little low but we had some incredible discussion time.
• A great day at church today. It began with Calvary Life. We had five people in for session 3. God keeps adding people to our church family.
• Worship Team did a great job. It was good to have Chris N. back on the platform with the guitar.
• We baptized 2 more folks today. Shane and Selena did great. Many people were moved by the testimonies of transformation. That gives us 18 people baptized already this year. That is more than 1 baptism per week.
• We had a few people make decisions to recommit their live this evening to Christ.
• Proud of the men who “stepped up” to volunteer to to serve at next weekend’s Mother/Daughter Banquet! Way to lead men!
• Good night tonight. Turnout was a little low. Guess folks took me serious when I said they could go to the beach! LOL! Anyway, preached from Psalm 1 on “the (Not So) secret to success.”
• Got a call at the end of the evening from one of our “pastors in training.” He was asked to come in view of a call to a church in Georgia. If the vote goes well next week, Calvary will be “sending out” our first of 20 families to vocational ministry/missions since the launch of Vision 2020. Very Cool. Looks like we will be ordaining a new pastor very soon!

God is at work and moving in our midst. I pray we never miss it and never get used to it. Praise God for His faithfulness.

Would love to hear what you guys are thinking and what you observed from the weekend that stands out!

Weekend Reflections

As I was reflecting on our weekend, a couple of things came to mind. Thought I would get them on paper (so to speak) before I lost them again.

• Weekends begin for me on Saturday night with the Men’s Bible Study. I am so proud of the guys who invest an hour and 15 minutes on Saturday to become better leaders in their homes, families, workplaces, and communities.
• Great Worship Serivce on Sunday. The Praise Team, Band and Choir are really pouring their hearts into what they do.
• 286 ish in Worship on Sunday. Several were returning friends from our Easter Services. We had several decisions including Salvations, Baptisms, and others.
• Children’s Ministry Team did a great job. I really think this could be the next big breakout point for our church. God is sending us families and our children’s ministry is a great place to connect with them. We need MORE volunteers to come alongside the leadership there to insure that we have the VERY BEST children’s ministry on the planet.
• Part 2 of the “All Things New” series really spoke to me. It is a critical (and missing) component in many people’s theology. We don’t have any problem seeing ourselves in the Salvation story as the recipients of God’s grace; It is another thing altogether to see ourselves as having the specific purpose of being INSTRUMENTS of God’s grace…to really solidify in our hearts that we were saved SO THAT we would no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf (2 Cor 5:15). The “SO THAT” really is the “SO WHAT” of the Christian existence.
• Meet the Church went well. Many projects came together and we heard a couple of cool testimonies on Sunday night. Chris and Dena Stokes are doing a great job leading and coordinating in this area.
• Sunday night was a great time of reporting from our returning Mission Team to Lenoir City. It is great that God used our team to bring an extra 25 to 30 adults to worship with Allen and Melanie on Easter. It is amazing that God allows us to be part!
• Shared some great WOW moments about the last 3 months of our church life. We saw the membership increase by better than 10%! Praise God.
• Also shared that we are in desperate need, as a church family, for prayer. All that God is doing in our midst is a result of faithful labor and sacrificial gifts of His people. I shared that current “giving” at our church is affecting our ministries in some vital areas. We don’t want to slow down the momentum! We want to accelerate what God is doing. God is using the sacrifices of His people to change lives. We have a privilege to be part of that! So, I encouraged folks to press forward in the commitment to God in the area of finances. It is not the economy…it is a HEART issue and a matter of PRACTICAL trust toward God.
• We celebrated the Lord’s Supper together, which is always a sweet time of fellowship. Our Deacon Body is incredible. These guys are doing so well and are a great blessing to me. I love these men and their hearts for God and for His people at Calvary.

I hope you are as amazed as I am when you consider the Hand of God in our midst. Pray with me for God to continue to do great things in our midst! Thanks, as always, for allowing me the unspeakable privilege of serving as your pastor.