2 notes on Christ's humility

we all know Jesus was, and still is, the most humble One in all of history. there are many facets to and evidences of His humility, but i think the 2 most profound ones are seen in the circumstances of His birth and death. the uncreated One chose come not only as a man, but as a baby, born of flesh, and not just any baby, but the child of a poor family, born inside an animal stable. there was no available lodging in the town, a prophetic indication that even before He was born, He was already rejected by men (Isaiah 53) and homeless. they had no room for Him, no desire for Him.

His death was by crucifixion, reserved for the worst of criminals. He joyfully died as one of them. nothing stood out about Him. think of it this way...He's hanging on a cross with 2 others, people are passing by and pondering, "oh there's another one, i wonder what he did - murder, theft...", for a moment, and then forgetting, not even thinking for one second that this One could be innocent. i mean really, why would He be crucified, then? there's humility. but it goes one step deeper. not only did He die in this way, He was completely ok with being perceived this way by these passers-by, and by many from that time until today. He didn't care that this is what they thought, that He'd be just one of many criminals in their minds, easily forgotten, and He did not and does not seek to defend Himself.....humility

WHEN you fast...

in Matthew 6 in His sermon on the mount, Jesus talks about fasting in secret. His language of "when you fast" makes it clear that He's operating out of the assumption that we will fast, that we understand it's not an option. He does not say "if". the sermon on the mount is considered Christianity in a nutshell, the principles and practicals of what it means to follow Jesus. certainly they will take a lifetime to perfect, but nevertheless, this is the meat of Christianity. and if this is so, fasting should not be seen as something so radical. fasting is Christianity 101 and should be normal. in Mark 9, Jesus heals a boy of epilepsy by casting out a demon, and instructs His disciples when they are perplexed as to why they could not cast it out, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting". in a book called "the power of prayer and fasting" by mahesh chavda (i highly recommend for all interested to learn about fasting, what it is and why it's so powerful), mahesh's journey into fasting begins when he works at a mental institution. one of the children he oversees is a 10-year old boy who has to be tied up in a straight jacket to prevent him from scratching and mutilating himself. clearly, a demon. Mahesh asks the Lord how to help this boy, and God gives Him this verse and tells him to go on a 10-day fast. Mahesh does, then goes to pray for the boy, says one sentence, and the boy flies back against the wall and the demon comes out. He takes off his straight jacket and is shocked by the fact that he has control over his body. this is one of many amazing testimonies from the power of fasting.

fasting must be a regular part of our Christian walk - 1-2 days a week, longer fasts of 3 days, 7, 10, 21 the big 40! we want to walk in power, have intimacy with Jesus, hear His voice clearly, etc...these come at a price. Salvation is free, but it will cost you everything you have - i love that paradox. fasting is one of the very effective tools He's given us to step into the things of His Spirit at a deeper level. it's not an end in and of itself, and we can't "get" God to do anything. No matter what we do, ultimately He's the one who has to sovereignly decide to move and pout our His Spirit. but He's given us principles and tools and instructions that he has said are effective and necessary for us. fasting is one of these.

i like to look at it this way too, if it helps. there is no fasting in heaven. when i get up there, i will feast on food 100 times better than anything on earth. why not go all out here and apply the tools He's given us to expand His Kingdom to the greatest possible measure on earth?

(comments please :) )

Holy Spirit's up to something!

for the past 3 days, there's been an increased presence and manifestation of the Spirit at IHOP. Holy Spirit outbreaks started happening early in the week over the Forerunner School of Ministry students, but it broke out big this past wednesday night and they canceled FSM class to allow Him to move. the leadership here recognizes God is doing something and so the past 2 nights there have been meetings from 6pm to midnight of about 2,000 people (no parking or seats anywhere) where people have been getting physically and emotionally healed and delivered. God is emphasizing the Father's heart - healing wounds and restoring people's identities as sons of God - and also the spirit of self-hatred. many have been delivered and many physically healed. the meetings are being held in the FSM building, which seats more than the prayer room. But even in the the prayer room His presence has been thicker, more tangible. yesterday i walked in and there were people everywhere laying hands on one another, shouting, crying, shaking. today, during the 8am set, the team was singing a song whose chorus is "All glory, dominion, forever and ever," a song where the focus is on the throne room and the holiness of God. His presence came strong, it was like He was taking us up. we started to pray for healing at the end. then at the noon set, the team was singing about the birth of Christ out of Luke 1, where the angel speaks to Mary and says that she has found favor with God and will birth the Son and name Him Jesus. the music was very joyful and upbeat, there was a violinist playing so it sounded like Fiddler on the Roof. they sang a chorus, "rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, His Kingdom will have no end" and the room went nuts. everyone was dancing, clapping, it was so fun and very different from the normal prayer room atmosphere or intensity and sobriety. i love the different ways God shows up and moves upon His people - in weeping, repentance, holiness, laughter, joy, dancing. it's all Him and it's all beautiful!

IHOP will be streaming the 6pm (CST) meeting for free until Sunday night. from there, the leadership will discuss what to do and how to best steward what God is doing. who knows, this could go on for a while. if you wanna get it on it, here's the link

http://IHOP.org/watch

how i know God likes me

....when i close my eyes, i can see the smile in His eyes. though i can't see Him i know that He's smiling :)

"edge of hell" outreaches

every friday and saturday in October, IHOP's evangelism ministry does outreach at haunted houses downtown. apparently, kansas city is famous for its haunted houses - not the best thing to be famous for. whoever wants to come is welcome, i went last weekend both nights. there are 2 haunted houses in this one section of the city called "The Beast" and "The Edge of Hell" (I shudder at the names, especially the beast as this is one of the names for the anti-Christ). it was the creepiest section of any city i have ever seen. not scary like in a bad-part-of-town way, just creepy. all the stores and buildings looked abandoned and closed, there were these railroad tracks and this huge stone bridge and it all just looked creepy and spiritually dark. the lines at these haunted houses were huge, people waiting for 2 hours to get in in 40 degree cold. we went and stood in line with people and talked to them about Jesus, and would get out of line when done and go to the back and talk to a new group. it was probably the easiest evangelism i have ever done. i've always understood the connection between prayer and evangelism - that prayer makes evangelism more effective, really makes everything more effective. but for the first time it became very clear how having a house of prayer in a city impacts that city's spiritual climate and i understood why a house of prayer is necessary. ihop has been praying in kansas city for 25 years (the past 10 of which have been 24/7) and the spiritual climate of the city has really been altered to where people are much more open to the gospel. This is one of the things prayer does - it softens hearts to Jesus and prepares the heart to receive Him when He is preached. I evangelized for about 2 hours both nights and I have never experienced people being so genuinely interested in Jesus. People engaged me in conversation, asked questions, sincerely wanting to know the truth and understand, not just for purpose of debate. Several people were getting convicted of their sin and the words I spoke about the love of Christ were hitting their hearts, I could see it in their eyes and countenances. 2 people actually thanked me for talking to them! that is very rare. i found myself able to be very truthful and honest - how Jesus is the only way, heaven and hell are real, and the cost of following Christ. And people actually received it! There were only 2 groups of people that got mad and were volatile, and we just blessed them. Most of my times evangelizing, it has been 2 people that have been open and the rest angry and belligerent.

it makes a lot of sense now why there must be continual prayer and worship in every city on the earth. if this is the fruit of 25 years of prayer in kansas city, give it another 10 years, and believers will be able to preach the simple gospel in the streets and people will be convicted and repent and mourn for their sins on the spot. this is the explosion of power and anointing that is coming upon the end-time church, the Holy Spirit outpouring that we're all waiting for, the Great Harvest. and it is birthed out of night and day prayer.

psalm 22 - following the Lamb

i was reading psalm 22, it's one of the many psalms that clearly prophesies the Christ and undeniably portrays Him. it's the psalm that Jesus quotes the first 2 verses of on the cross - "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Verses 6-8 hit me hard today:

"But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised by
the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, the shake the
head, saying,
'He trusted in the Lord, let Him
rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He
delights in Him!'"

This is Jesus speaking. This is how He felt, the beloved of Son of God, so glorious and beautiful, felt like a worm, ridiculed, ridiculous. He did not have to feel this way; He could have stayed in heaven and been worshiped as He deserves to be, but He chose to put on flesh and be treated as less-than-human, looked upon as crazy, a criminal. Wow, if you really meditate on this passage and visualize all this, it takes Christ's humility to a whole new level.

If this is what the Son of God went through for us, why are we so hesitant and resistant to going through the same for Him? What's more, why do we expect otherwise in our own lives and are surprised, even offended at God, when we suffer? Peter said "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you [speaking of persecution],...but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings.." (1 Peter 4:12-13). Jesus Himself said, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Will we follow the Lamb and do as He did, look as He looked...?