Category Archives: Kingdom Culture

-Re: Breaking the Division Between the ‘Spiritual’ and ‘Secular’

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Michael| Leave a comment

(Photo: The Christian Post)

Here’s a link to a Christian Post article which explores some themes that I believe are critical for any kind of cultural revival of the American and Western church:

“Tim Keller: Spiritual and Secular Jobs are God’s Work”

Here’s the opening line:

Pastor Tim Keller challenged a crowd of New York City professionals Sunday to rethink how they view work and to debunk the notion that spiritual vocations matter more to God than secular work.

Here’s a notable quote from Pastor Keller:

“There is no menial work. Jesus came not as a philosopher, not as a general. He came as a carpenter. The Bible says that all works matter to God. All works. Not just works that make money.”

Response: People spend 40 hours or more a week working or in business but it is only the 2 hours spent helping with the Sunday School that has any lasting eternal value? This dichotomy has not served us well and it is past time for the ‘Good News’ to touch every facet of our lives including our work and businesses, and our families and homes.

It is imperative for all Christians to understand once more that each one is called into a ‘priesthood of all believers’ that in the Kingdom of God there really is no division between the ‘secular’ and the ‘Spiritual’. Every occupation one is called to is to be lived out ‘as to the lord’ and dedicated to His Kingdom and rule.

<<Read my complete article and response>>

I plan to expand on this thought in another article here. I believe that the current revival in America is beginning in the marketplace and neighborhoods where folks live rather than in churches. *Top

Posted in American Church, Christian Living, Kingdom Culture, Move of God

Tagged Christian Culture

-A Mighty Army Gradually Rising Up That Everyone Gets to Join

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Michael| Leave a comment

: (Image by US Army Korea – IMCOM via Flickr)

Last Sunday I was praying about revival in America just like I have for nearly every day since 2001 when the Lord gave me a vision of it. I was in the process of asking ‘when’ but really sort a demanding ‘now’ when the Lord flashed in my mind a picture of a great army slowly rising from the dust—kind a like Ezekiel. Then He reminded me of what was happening at my home church lately with folks getting saved and healed at every service and said—“if this happened 5 years ago you would be excited and think that you were in the midst of a revival”.

It is so true. Why didn’t I see it!

Is is like the proverbial frog getting gradually warmed up in a pot of water. We have seen a very gradual increase in those getting saved and healed but now it is becoming far more obvious and cannot be ignored. The point is—it didn’t happen over night and that was what I was expecting revival to be like. It would be wonderful if this just kept on getting better.

I was reminded of an article in Charisma from 2007 about the revival culture at Bill Johnson’s church in Redding California. Bill said this about his own church and Revival:

“…revival is like a big, ripe, red apple, I came back realizing ours is 100 percent apple but not fully developed yet. Everything is there [at Bethel]. It’s just smaller.”

“[Revival is] happening, It’s just on a small scale. People are asking for something to happen that’s already been released, and you have to cooperate with what He’s already given.”

What marks the rising of this gradual revival army is the fact that everyone who wants too gets to join and everyone gets to go to battle and everyone gets to play. It isn’t based upon a handful of specially anointed leaders. It is all about the entire body of Christ rising up from the dust and becoming alive and corporately doing the works of Jesus and even greater.

What is happening at VCC Laguna Niguel is a small example of what I am talking about. Every service Pastor Mike Hudgins calls out for those who are sick in the body to stand up. Usually he will also call out specific illnesses but then instructs the members in the congregation to pray for anyone close by who is standing for healing.

There are no folks in this church with a specific healing anointing but people who are sick of all sorts of diseases are getting healed at every service. The faith of the entire church is rising up in the gift of healing so much that many members are now encouraged to pray for friends and folks at work who are sick. Now testimonies are coming back of folks being healed at work, at school, and even at Wal-Mart. The youth groups are particularly on fire.

It may not be full blown revival but it is getting there and the whole church gets to play. *Top

Posted in American Church, Awakening, Healing, Kingdom Culture, Move of God, Revival, Word for the Church

Tagged Revival

-Christian Conference for Men Draws over 250,000 in South Africa

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Michael| 1 Comment

Last month a conference in Greytown, South Africa, drew 250,000 men or more over a weekend event. It was sponsored by Shalom Ministries which was started by a farmer- turned evangelist Angus Buchan. The theme for the conference

was centered around Ezekiel 3:17:

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me."

Numerous signs, wonders, and healing marked the meetings as Buchan challenged men to become godly leaders in their own homes and to change their lives.

Response: This is in direct response to the Holy Spirit moving in that nation. There are examples like this all over Africa. Lord let the fire fall here also and fill the stadiums with your power and glory all across America. *Top

Posted in Africa, Conferences, Harvest, Kingdom Culture, Signs & Wonders

Tagged African Revival

-Victory in ‘Living’ The Lord’s Prayer: “Thy Will Be Done in Earth”-Part 2

Posted on May 1, 2010 by Michael| Leave a comment

Matt 6:9-13
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. -KJV

Part 2-Living and Praying the Will of God

The fact is, the more you include the Holy Spirit in your daily activities the greater the possibility for you to actually do the will of God in your life on earth. It is the Spirit which guides us beyond ourselves and connects us with our Father in Heaven.

The best way to include the Holy Spirit in our day is to start it off with prayer. When I get to the “thy will be done on earth” part in my prayers that is when I remember to pray for the salvation of all of my family and friends. It really is the will of God that everyone should accept the free gift of his Son Jesus and salvation. He really doesn’t want anyone to parish.

Another thing I am confident of when it comes to God’s will is to pray for the spiritual condition of myself, my family, and friends. I pray:

“More of the Spirit Lord and more of your power to do and be the person you really want me to be. More of your Spirit for my whole family, let them grow in you and become the people you have called each one of them to be.”

Then I pray individually for each member as directed before I turn my attention to my friends.

Healing is another thing you can pray about. After all there is no disease in Heaven. It is the ultimate will of God to eradicate and eliminate sickness and death.

Yes, we live in a different context and I know that sometimes the Lord may allow us to get sick like he did Job. The Scriptures also tell us that some in the past have even gotten sick and died because of the way they abused the Lord’s Supper. But until death proves otherwise I am going to pray for healing for myself, my family, and my friends -and folks that show up at church for that matter.

Another thing that is consistent with the will of God is for us to be free from anything that would enslave us. Many around the world are still literally living in some form of slavery. Others are enslaved and controlled by religion and culture. That would include all of us in varying degrees.

Finally, there are many that are enslaved by alcohol, drugs, gambling, and sex –or anything else that folks have a dependency problem with. Demonic influence is another biggie.

These are all things that we can pray about to God the Father with complete certainty. *Top

-Victory in ‘Living’ The Lord’s Prayer: “Thy Will Be Done in Earth”

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Michael| 3 Comments

Matt 6:9-13
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. -KJV

“Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”

In the last article on The Lord’s Prayer we talked about the Kingdom of God and concluded that the Kingdom represents the ‘rule of God’. Therefore wherever God rules there is his Kingdom. So when we pray for his Kingdom to come we are really praying for an extension of his rule and authority which is exactly what we are praying for also when we say:

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”

His will is done in Heaven. There is no sickness, there is no death, there is plenty of everything for everybody. His will reigns in Heaven but not necessarily here on earth. Choices and free will changes the whole equation here and messes it all up. We have sickness, death, famine, and natural disasters. Also, sometimes nature itself seems to be completely out of control.

Jesus came to change the direction of all creation and bring it back and reconcile it to God the Father. God had given authority over creation to the first man Adam and Satan had stolen it when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God in the Garden.

Jesus reversed the course of and possibility of all creation when he lived as a perfect man and took back the mantle of the earth. Mt 28:18 tells us that Jesus now has all authority in Heaven and on earth. He holds the keys to bringing the rule of God to the earth just as it is right now in the Heavenly realm.

Roman 8:12-19 tells us that all creation awaits the revelation of the ‘Sons of God’. That is All of creation awaits and is depending on some folks to wake up and understand more fully what it means to be the children of God through faith in Jesus and cry out—Abba Father!

All creation waits for a group of folks to not only pray- Thy will be done- but actually live it?

But how can it be done? How can we even know what the will of God is? Then how can we actually do the will of God on Earth? After all, all sorts of weird doctrines have been formed using this Romans 8 passage as an excuse.

Posted in Christian Living, Kingdom Culture, The Lord's Prayer, Thy Kingdom Come, Word for the Church

Tagged The Lord's Prayer

-Victory in ‘Living’ The Lord’s Prayer: “Thy Kingdom Come”-Becoming Naturally Supernatural

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Michael| Leave a comment

Matt 6:9-13
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. -KJV

Becoming Naturally Supernatural

When we pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ in essence we are praying for the Kingdom and rule of God to become part of our lives. But then we ignore him so much of the time—at least I do. Even for those of us who are Pentecostals and Charismatics, the supernatural is still the exception rather than the rule particularly in America and the Western world.

It is time for us to more clearly understand that Jesus is our example. He demonstrated what it means to bring the Kingdom and rule of God into human experience. How to be naturally supernatural.

The time has come for Christians to stand up and be the ‘body of Christ’—be real representatives of Jesus just like we have always been called to be. It is time to do the works of Jesus and forget about playing church and putting all of our efforts into organizations. The church should never be an end but always a means.

Unfortunately the history of the Christian church places so much emphasis on the organizations and leaders that have come and gone. It is riddled with the dead shells of past revivals, by-gone ministries, fallen leaders, and those who don’t know that they are fallen. But Jesus Christ remains and he said that he would be with us to the very end.

It is time to go back to the future. Our future lies in doing the works of Jesus in the 21th century just like the first all over again.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if Jesus had come in our century rather than the first and to America rather than Judea. Who would be his disciples?

I am fairly well convinced that the main-line churches would probably be like the Sadducees of old and many Evangelicals would act in similar ways to the Pharisees. Also, the secularists would probably be like the Romans and their puppet rulers who sought after riches and political power.

What if a revival came to America and the Western world that looked very much like the works and ministry of Jesus? What would the response be? How would the religious leaders in America respond? How would the secularists?

I believe that when revival does come millions of regular folks will be affected and they will experience a major change in world view. The supernatural will no longer be the exception but a natural expectation and result. Bringing the Kingdom into every day life in the 21th century would change it all.

If and when the works and ministry of Jesus become the norm among the faithful Christians in America there will be a major paradigm shift and the supernatural works of Jesus will become natural for the participants. Then we’ll end up with a new ‘Kingdom culture’ to rival and parallel the secular culture that is now dominating America and the Western world. *Top

-Victory in ‘Living’ The Lord’s Prayer: “Hallowed be Thy Name”

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Michael| 1 Comment

Matt 6:9-13
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. -KJV

The “Hallowed” part is something I glossed over quickly for years without understanding that it was really a declaration of worship. I knew it meant that God was ‘holy’ but never gave it much thought. I was always in a hurry to get to the “give us” part.

The actual words in the Greek text are in this order:

“Let it be hallowed- the- name- of thee”

It really is a statement of praise and worship of God. What it literally means is- ‘God let your name be known and consecrated and set apart as holy or sacred.’

In our culture today nothing is considered sacred or holy anymore and the name of God is commonly used in the marketplace and in many homes as an expression of surprise or worse yet in the form of a curse. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some Muslim countries today where if the name of ‘Allah’ is defamed in any way heads will literally roll.

To put it all in perspective, Jesus taught that the greatest commandment of all is to Love God. Obviously if we truly love God we will treat his name with respect:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” –Matt.22:37-38

Wow! This means that we should be thinking about God and that he needs to be on our minds and actually apart of everything we do daily.

For most of my life I have honored and worshipped God on Sundays and have prayed to him every day at least when I remember too. Also I have made a point of honoring his name and have not used it in ‘vain’. But have I really honored him daily by including him in my daily life? Not always, particularly at work where I have usually forgotten all about him most of the day even though I have always tried to be a ‘good’ Christian.

Obviously a change is way over due.

I believe that we are entering a time when ‘business as usual’ is no longer going to be an option for those who bear the name of Christ. In the dominant Western culture, God has been removed from the schools and the marketplaces, and many of our courts are removing him from the public square entirely. Now it is even a struggle just to keep him in our busy homes.

Nevertheless, I believe that we are called to honor God daily. In fact we literally need too for our own good. If God our Father is in our daily life then it becomes easier to receive his blessings, reject the temptations of the enemy, and receive of the happy abundant life that God intends for us to have. Sure we are still going to have ‘bad’ days, get sick, and experience a tragedy or two but for once we are not going to be alone.

Therefore, we actually need to think about God and His name needs to be set apart and consecrated or ‘hallowed’ in our daily living—if we truly love him.

But how and where?

Where? In our homes, at our jobs and work, on the freeways driving, and at the malls and shopping centers. Everywhere that life carries us we need to honor God and serve him in all that we do.

How? Jesus is really our example and he teaches us how to Love, worship, and honor God every day. More on that later, but we need to learn how to live a ‘red letter’ life and allow the very words of the Son of God to enliven us and inspire us to include His Father –Our Father–in our daily journey. *Top

Posted in Awakening, Christian Living, Intimacy w/ God, Kingdom Culture, The Lord's Prayer, Word for the Church

Tagged The Lord's Prayer

-Victory in ‘Living’ The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father”

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Michael| 1 Comment

Matt 6:9-13
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. -KJV

Last Friday night it was raining as I was rushing to be on time for a Marketplace Conference at church. Still half a mile away I impatiently waited for the light to change and then took off for the next. Before I got half a block ahead to the next light, The Lord had downloaded to me a better understanding of the Lord’s Prayer. After that I was no longer in a hurry except to get as much of the new insights down as possible.

In essence the Lord told me: “you have been praying the Lord’s Prayer all of your life…now it’s time to live it!” Within the prayer itself is a summary for victorious ‘Kingdom living’. Funny thing is that none of it is really new and its been there all the time and a lot of this stuff you probably already know.

Anyway I going to put up an outline of some of these thoughts in a series of posts.

“Our Father…which art in Heaven”

Jesus didn’t say “my” father or “the” father, though most of the time we look upon God as being ‘The’ Almighty God and Father of creation. But Jesus specifically said “our” Father and included his disciples as part of his family—the family of God.

This had to sound strange to folks raised upon the Old Testament scriptures and at a time when Priests didn’t dare enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple without repenting and fasting first and even then without having a rope tied around their ankle so that they could be pulled out in case the Lord God zapped them. In fact it sounded rather heretical to the scribes and Pharisees.

We hear the words ‘our Father’ so much in church that it is way too familiar. Sometimes the real implications of those words do not properly sink in. In Jesus Christ every believer becomes part of the family of God. His Father is now our Father and we are supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ. Yup, and sometimes we fight just like a family too!

But think about it—the Creator of the universe is our Father. Remember Jesus said that he doesn’t give rocks to his children when they need bread. He really does take care of his creation, the birds, the flowers, and even more so he only wants the best for his children.

In our day the title ‘father’ is so messed up for many of us because of the way we were treated or ignored by our natural parents. Also some of us were orphans and never did really experience a father in our lives while others of us wish that we hadn’t.

Because of our past, many of us have trust issues that make it difficult to receive the Love of Our Father in Heaven. therefore intimacy with God doesn’t come all that easy and we end up putting Him in a box that will only be unwrapped after our death.

Yet when Jesus died on the cross the curtain separating the people from their God in Holy of Holies in the temple was slit in two for all time. In Jesus intimacy becomes possible and the almighty creator touches us and dwells within us with his own Spirit and we become members of his family and the new temple of God.

It is time for the church to get this down—all of the church. I believe that the ‘Fatherhood of God’ and greater intimacy will be part of the Kingdom message of a ‘New Awakening’ coming soon near you. All of creation awaits for the church to understand more fully what it means to be and act like the children of God and cry out—Abba Father! (Romans 8:12-19). *Top

Posted in Awakening, Intimacy w/ God, Kingdom Culture, The Lord's Prayer, Word for the Church

Tagged The Lord's Prayer

-Kingdom Culture: God Promises Peace of Mind and Joy in Your Life

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Michael| 2 Comments

: (Image by freestone via Flickr)

Phil 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

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

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -ESV

Everything around you might be chaotic and falling a part but God offers you peace of mind and joy in the midst of it all. One can live in full confidence and faith that everything is going to turn out for the best for you and yours (Rom 8:28) in Christ Jesus.

God the Father personally offers to give you His peace and joy—a peace that the world outside of Jesus does not understand or comprehend. It is available to you for the asking, no matter what your circumstances.

You may be engulfed in a nasty divorce and see no daylight at the end of the tunnel. You may have lost a child and you are even blaming God for it. That good job that you had for years is gone and you can’t seem to find another. You may be behind in all of your bills and the family car was just repossessed. It doesn’t matter—God promises you peace and joy in your life regardless.

You say Michael that is just crazy—there is no way that I can have any peace while I am going through this or that.

That is the point of course, God the Father offers all Christians a peace that doesn’t make sense in the ways and understanding of this world.

Here’s how it works. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit actually living inside them even though most of the time we ignore that presence. How incredible it that? The creator of the universe actually has placed a part of himself inside of each one of us. It is that Spirit which can transform our lives and bring us peace and joy, faith and confidence, in the midst of sorrow and chaos.

It all begins when we choose to worship and praise God no matter what—in bad times and good. The Holy Spirit will flood our lives with peace and joy if we choose to take everything to him in prayer and then praise and thank him for everything regardless.

I once read a book that demonstrated this principal in the life of a prisoner who was transformed by the power of God and later became a minister that touched the lives of millions: Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers. I highly recommend the book.

Point is, all of our lives can be transformed for the better by praising God and receiving His peace that can only come to us by His Spirit which is given to us through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

If you’re reading this and not sure whether you have His Holy Spirit within you, sort of always believed in Jesus but never fully committed your life to Christ, now is the time. Pray to God right now…God I want your Holy Spirit in my life, I fully commit myself to your Son Jesus, please help me with my unbelief and help me to change my life. I want to receive your joy and peace in my life through your Son Jesus and by Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen.

*NOTE: This is the final article in the Phillipians 4:4-7 series. Here’s links to the other 4 articles:

1. Kingdom Culture: Peace in the Midst of Chaos

2. Kingdom Culture: Be Reasonable and Considerate

3. Kingdom Culture: The Lord is Always with Us

4. Kingdom Culture: Do Not Worry, Be Thankful and Pray Instead

Posted in Christian Living, Devotional, Faith, Holy Spirit, Kingdom Culture

Tagged Kingdom Culture, Phillipians 4:4-7

Kingdom Culture: Do Not Worry, Be Thankful and Pray Instead

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Michael| 3 Comments

: Image by Loci Lenar via Flickr

Phil 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

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

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -ESV

Do not be anxious about anything? This comes in the form of a command and surely is relevant for us today in the middle of a major economic crisis and a culture that seems to be leaving us behind. In effect Paul says here—Don’t worry pray instead and be thankful. This is the way of the Kingdom and the path of faith which leads us in an entirely different direction than the dominant culture.

We know that Paul actually lived out this command praising God after being beaten and thrown in prison, ministering to those around him regardless of the circumstances, even writing this scripture and others while he was in custody.

Remember, we have a God who wants only the best for us and we have a Lord who understands what we are going through, and we have a Holy Spirit which is with us in the midst of all of our troubles inspiring us to seek the best—we are not alone, praise God and be thankful!

The passage also remind me of what Jesus said in Matt. 6:25-34 plus the Greek word for anxious is the same in this passage also:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” …

…“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”…

“O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, …For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

The basic message in both of these passages is the same—live according to faith and not like the dominant culture. Praise God, seek His Kingdom, pray continually, remember to be thankful and it will be well with you and yours for all eternity including the few years lived on this earth and in these chaotic times.

Believe me I know how difficult this may seem sometimes and I certainly am guilty of letting bad circumstances get to me and bring me down for a while. But with God everything is possible and when we let His Spirit to be more a part of our daily lives than it is increasingly fulfilled in us as we actually gain the mind of Christ and peace floods into our daily lives in spite of ourselves. *Top