Establishing the right Spiritual DNA—Freedom (Part 1)

Now these articles are designed to serve two purposes. They are to provide insight to ministry leaders for establishing good practices for launching a disciple-making movement, as well as offer a strong foundation that may slightly deviate from mainstream Christian thought/practices. In other words, these materials don’t just point at you, but rather provide materials you can use with others. So please read them in that light. My ministry focuses on mobilizing folks to action. Yet success hinges upon a strong foundation. Here I am laying that foundation on what many of you would consider elementary matters.

We are indeed saved by grace through faith. For apart from Him, we can do nothing. Salvation is beyond our reach, and so is righteous and holy living. However, this does not mean the standards set forth in 1 John are not entirely true (it is God’s Word).

1 John 5:13 certainly speaks of eternal security; however, it is conditional on freedom from sin (1 John 3:9), freedom from worldliness (1 John 2:15), obeying His commands (1 John 1:4), and walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6). Not my words, His. Yet we are powerless to accomplish these things apart from His presence (see John 15:5-6).
Let’s take a look at an event in Scripture to illustrate a point. In John Chapter 8, Jesus has an encounter. A woman caught in adultery stands condemned. The religious folks try to trap Jesus and ask Him what to do, stone her (the justly deserved punishment) or let her go. He stumped them by telling them that he who is without sin is to cast the first stone. They scattered knowing they were sinners also. The following discourse ensured with the adulterous: “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either Go From now on sin no more.”
Now I want to highlight a few things here. First, she never disputed her guilt or justified her actions. She knew she was guilty as charged and fully condemned. She was literally at the verge of a painful death, and had absolutely no recourse. The silence of the text does not remove the image in my mind of a woman with much regret, remorse, and angst facing certain death. She was at her very end, and knew she deserved it.
Jesus did not condemn her, but showed mercy, and by His grace, forgave her for her sin. She was fully condemned, did not deserve it, but He gave it to her anyway. But the discourse does not stop there. It ends with “go from now on sin no more.” Repentance is not just saying you are sorry, but being sorry enough to not do it again. It is turning your life around. It is realizing that you were condemned and deserve death—that is hell. However, we must remember that it comes with the edict to sin no more.
What do you suppose Jesus would do if He was facing the same woman in the court the next day having been caught in the same sin? I know many would say that He would forgive many times and that we can repent many times for the very same act. However, this is not the case. Hebrews 6:4-6 says:
“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” (Hebrews 6:4-6, NASB).
Note the word “impossible.” Repentance is a one-way street. Therefore, it is by grace that we get a second chance, and likewise by that same grace we receive freedom and empowerment to walk in holiness and righteousness. We all believe we are saved from the penalty of sin, yet few believe (or at least live as if they believe) that we are saved from the power of sin. We all can trust in God for our salvation because it is far out, and in not necessarily evidenced in our life (though I argue that point). Yet we fail to embrace freedom from sin because it oftentimes is not evidenced in our life. This is an unfortunate reality in modern Christendom.
I urge you to get your concordance out and look up the word “repent.” There is too much discourse on the subject to treat it in one short article. But I will leave you with one teaching from Jesus.
“Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'” (Luke 13:1-9, NASB).

In the next message, I will continue to discuss freedom, with very practical and foundational application. I know it’s not enough to just say “sin no more.”

Lord Almighty, grant freedom to your people—not just from the penalty of sin, but its power in our lives. You are an awesome and holy God, who by grace has given us a chance to truly live—entrance into the Kingdom. Empower us to walk in victory and teach others to do the same. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

In order to initiate a healthy organically-reproductive discipleship movement, the right spiritual DNA must be established. Unfortunately, some bad stock has been spreading throughout Christendom for a while now. Let’s really take a good look at what the Scriptures say concerning some foundational matters.

This is the single most important article I have ever written in my life. Life and death, heaven and hell, stand in the balance. Now I am certain to lose some of you now—because I will depart from the mainstream a bit with this teaching. But I urge you to please sincerely evaluate what I share with an open mind and be patient. It will take multiple articles to unwrap. I pray it will come together by the end.

I know we all like to look at classic verses such as John 3:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9 and 13, and many others concerning salvation, because they are so black and white. They allow us to have an understanding that fits with our western thought patterns. We are linear thinkers, and need to wrap our minds around matters to satisfy our flesh. Yet, God and His economy are much more complex and veiled in mystery. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than ours. It is a shame that we have to unlock that mystery with systematic theologies and statements of faith. It forces us to take what He has imparted by the Spirit, and reduce it to human terms. Unfortunately, to clarify what I believe has been a radical departure from the intent of the mystery of the Gospel of the Kingdom, I will do much of the same in this post.

There is simply one book in the Bible that was written to definitively inform believers whether or not they will indeed enter the Kingdom of God. 1 John 5:13 (NASB) says: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” This verse sums up the purpose of the letter. Therefore, we can trust John’s first letter to provide clear insight into these matters. Now I have seen this verse used in popular evangelism methods, with absolutely no reference to the content of the letter itself. This is very irresponsible.

Let’s look at some of the content of the letter:
“And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:3-10, NASB)
“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” (1 John 2:3-6, NASB)
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17, NASB)

John wrote this letter for the very purpose of providing insight to believers so that they could know they have eternal life. As you can see, the standards are much higher than taught today. Yet, John says “let no one deceive you;” otherwise—this is the correct standard to apply. He also says that if you are born again, you will not continue to sin. Not my words, his. He also says if you claim to know Him and do not keep His commands you are a liar. Not my words, his. He also says if you have one ounce of worldliness, you do not know God. Therefore, walking in freedom from sin, obedient to His commands, free from all wordliness is the measure of whether or not you know the father and are indeed born again—receiving eternal life (I didn’t say it, he did).

This should not be surprising to us if we read Jesus’ teachings. He said that our righteousness had to exceed that of the Pharisees. He took the Law, and raised the bar bigtime—not just our actions anymore, we are now condemned for our thoughts as well. Most of us have been taught that if we enter the Gate, we are in. Yet Jesus taught of a path. The Gate is narrow, but the Way is narrower still. We wrongly assume we may live in a constant state of worldliness and this is acceptable. We assume that God will forgive us through His grace, regardless of what we do. Believers scream “don’t judge me.” “God is merciful.” I will not judge, but God’s Word, which all believers claim is inspired, authoritative, and their guide for all matters, will certainly condemn them. Many will discount these words saying “he teaches salvation by works.” Well James 2:24 says: “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Don’t tune out now. I’ll elaborate later (Ephesians 2:8-9 still stands!).

The Bible says: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Revelation 19:7-8, NASB)
What? Our fine linens being works? He must have been mistaken when he wrote that! Consider the eternal ramifications of what Jesus is saying in the parable of the wedding feast—a parable of the Kingdom. Might He be saying someone got through the Gate, but didn’t walk in the Way.
Jesus taught:
“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matthew 22:11-13, NASB).
Let’s see what Paul had to say concerning living by the flesh, and the eternal consequences:
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21, NASB).
It is no secret who will be saved and who stands condemned. John made it clear, and Jesus taught plainly that a tree will be known by its fruit. Paul showed us what the fruit of the flesh are. Read further and he discusses the fruit of the Spirit. John the Baptist stated concerning fruitfulness:
“Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:8-10, NASB).
Jesus said just about the same thing. Check the context: He is speaking to believers here!:
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. (John 15:4-6, NASB).
I think the mystery of salvation is best understood like this. Do not look at any moment in time to determine whether or not one is saved. At the end, the fruit will be evident whether or not someone had AUTHENTIC faith. Many believe and find the Gate, but few persevere unto fruitfulness. (By the way, I have not tossed out Ephesians 2:8-9; you’ll have to keep reading to see how it comes together).

James said: “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:22) and also:

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:14-18, NASB). AUTHENTIC faith results in fruitfulness.

With this foundation laid, consider this verse in new light:
“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13, NASB). Now this makes some sense.
“So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:20-21, NASB.)
Here is the entire passage in context from Jesus. Consider it afresh in light of John’s message in 1 John and the theme of this entire article:
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell–and great was its fall.” When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; or He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” (Matthew 7:13-29, NASB).

I apologize for the length of this message. I also know that this subject is both deep and controversial. However, a clear understanding that the authentic Christian faith results in radical transformation is foundational to launching a disciple-making movement. So I urge you to meditate on these passages with an open spirit.

Lord God Almighty, I pray that you will open minds and hearts, and remove anything that hinders your Spirit from reaching the heart, and allow your truth to sink in deep into the soul. I pray for a resolve to chase after your ways and your truth. Prevail in all things for your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Next: repentance and sanctification

Shalom,

Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

Ps. I have not tossed out salvation by grace through faith. You’ll have to read the following posts to see how it all comes together.

We discussed in brief that the mission is to make disciples. All else is secondary, and should only be considered inasmuch as it does not detract from the true mission. You may have also recognized a few foundational elements concerning this mission that are paramount to achieving success in this generation. I have proposed this is not only possible, but probable. One: the front line force is HUGE! All saints. Two: the mission is self-propagating regardless of cultural context, available resources, or giftedness. Let’s unwrap these factors and more.

One of the greatest bottlenecks of achieving the mission is the availability of laborers. We always complain that the problem with the harvest is that the soil is too hard. However, Jesus said: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2, NASB). You see, our bottleneck is not the harvest, but the workers. And it is my contention that we have the laborers; they just are not being mobilized. They may be working, but not on the right mission. They might be serving all sorts of programs and attending numerous meetings, but not engaged in the core mission which is simply making disciples. Likewise, many leaders are often so focused on administrative duties, they are not on the mission either. Many leaders don’t even think the command to personally make disciples even applies to them. They presume they are just here to preach to others to do so, or organize classes. Yet, the mission of making disciples was central to all that Jesus and Paul did. The religious system that diverts our efforts today was totally avoided by the early church. And as I said earlier, the vision and mission are caught, not taught. It must be modeled to be carried o to the next generation of soldiers.

The other challenge is just that: reproduction. One of God’s core intentions was that we would be fruitful and multiply. In the Old Testament, men were repeatedly commanded to “be fruitful and multiply” quite literally. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were told of their numerous descendents. Today, we are told to bear fruit to maturity, reaping a harvest of 30, 60 or 100-fold. In fact, we see implications in the scriptures to bear multi-generational fruit both in the OT and NT. (Deut 6:1-9 Moses, children of Israel, sons, grandsons; 2 Tim 2:2 Paul, Timothy, faithful men, others). However, the reigning ministry models and methods are based on addition, not multiplication.

The western church system centralizes ministry around programs, events, structures, and a few gifted individuals. Therefore, as our numbers increase, we are simply adding because of these inherent limitations. You don’t believe me? What if I said you would add 1,000 people this year. Could you handle it? What about 10,000? OK. What about 1,000,000? If you’re model can’t handle 1,000,000 people in a year, you are thinking too small!

Addition models are limiting because each of the folks being added is not expected to add more in and of themselves. The systems and gifted individuals are expected to “grow” them. And once they are matured (if ever), they in turn may add more folks to the system. This results in a very linear Kingdom growth curve (again the limitation is not the harvest, but rather the labor). There are some other challenges of addition models such as using worldly drivers for attracting folks to church. Since they are often joining for the benefits and not the vision/mission, it results in more reserves, not soldiers.

Let’s contrast that to a discipleship multiplication model. An individual disciples a new believer from his sphere of influence (oikos). He gets buy in on the vision, commitment to the mission, authentic repentance and followed by baptism. The mentor leads him to obedience. Within weeks, the disciple is challenged to seek a disciple of his own. He does the same thing over again while being supported behind the scenes by the original mentor. This continues ad infinitum. The focus is not how/where they assemble corporately (I hate that term), but rather is centrally focused on their accountability and obedience to Christ.

Now I know many of you are now experiencing heartburn. Where is the accountability?—you are thinking. I tell you the truth, there is FAR more accountability is a discipleship paradigm than in a big-church paradigm. Most folks in the pews are mere infants—maybe not in knowledge, but certainly in obedience—that is if they are saved at all. Leaders, for you to be obedient to the mission at hand, and have the greatest impact for the Kingdom you possibly can, you have to start thinking Kingdom, rather than church (ouch!).

Another benefit to a discipleship model is a total removal of resources as a limitation. Disciples don’t need buildings, seminary training (just like Jesus and the Apostles), or funding. The western perception of what the mission entails has set us back hundreds of years. The presumptions that these resources are necessary (with no NT basis), has prevented us from reaping the harvest that Jesus says is plentiful. We must now look back at our NT practices and recognize the enormous reserves we have ready to be mobilized for the mission.

Consider the possibilities by comparing an addition versus multiplication model:

Assume an evangelist wins 1 soul per day as compared to a saint making one disciple per year. At the end of year 1, the score is 365 to 2; year 2, 730 to 4; year 3, 1095 to 8; year 5, 1,825 to 32; year 10, 3,650 to 1024; year 20, 7,300 to 1,048,576. The entire world population would be reached in just 33 years, presuming just one disciple per year. This is the power of exponential growth. A better figure would be 6 disciples per year; the Great Commission would be fulfilled in just 13 years starting from scratch. If we mobilized just a fraction of the reserves we have now, 5 years flat! You with me on this?

It all starts with you. Are you willing to engage on the mission yourself? Are you ready to unleash the flood of laborers? Are you willing to let go, and trust the Holy Spirit to lead His people to fruitfulness? You can be the impetus or the bottleneck, it’s entirely up to you.

Lord, I pray that you stir something up—bold and powerful in the spirit of each man and woman reading these posts. I pray against any strongholds limiting their perspective—religious or otherwise. Mobilize your saints to the harvest. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Next post: establishing the right DNA to launch a disciple-making movement.

Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

I think we all know what the mission is, don’t we. It is the Great Commission. However, have we ever really taken a good look at what the Great Commission is? Because I think if there was a clearer understanding of what the mission was, we would take the nations in short order by mobilizing the reserves to the battle field. Here it is:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20a, NASB)

Now let’s unwrap this a bit. Let’s start with the first word, “go.” It does not say “sit and wait,” but rather GO! This is not something meant to be confined to the four walls of a building. It does not say to invite folks for Sunday service so they can hear an altar call. It does not say be a nice person and wait for someone to ask you how to be saved. It says GO!

Next, it says what we are to do: that is make disciples. It does not say to get folks to say a magic prayer (conversion). It does not say to get people to give you intellectual assent or guilt or fear them into saying a prayer with you. It does not say to invite them to church and hope that years of attendance will disciple them. The marching orders are to make disciples.

Next it says where to start: baptizing them. No mention of a baptism class or an ordained minister. No waiting for the next scheduled baptism at the local church. No waiting until the ice thaws (try the bathtub). Go out there and baptize them immediately, which was the New Testament practice.

Implicit with the command of baptism, is repentance. Because water baptism is called a “baptism of repentance.” No repentance, no salvation: period. Do not participate in making false converts—that is, folks who claim the name of Christ, yet deny Him with their lives. This does not glorify God. In fact, make it difficult to be saved. If they are serious, they will sacrifice all for the Pearl of Great Worth. They must count the cost.

Insist on full repentance. Have them renounce the devil and his works, publicly. Also ask them to sign the blank piece of paper, surrendering all to God. You see, everyone says a prayer saying they will make Christ Lord of their life, but fail to understand what that means. Make it very clear for them.

Now, the final marching order: teach them to observe all Christ’s commands. First of all, this presumes that the mentor is obedient him/herself. This task is not relegated to pastors and teachers of a discipleship class (that’s an oxymoron if I have ever seen one). This is for ALL believers. I know that some of you are saying “I’m not an evangelist or pastor, that’s for them” or ‘these commands were addressed to the Apostles only.” Well, most of Christ’s teachings and all the Epistles were addressed to others. They still apply to all of us!

Now the important takeaway here is that the central mission of the Church is the Great Commission—that is to make obedient, repentant, disciples—radically transformed lives. These disciples are in turn responsible for doing the same (since they obey His commands, and His command is to make disciples). All other ministries must be understood in the context of the mission. We serve the poor and minister to needs as part of the mission, not independent of it. We even fellowship to mutually edify one another—to engage on the mission (1 Corinthians 14:26). Gifted leaders are there simply to mobilize the saints for the mission (Ephesians 4:11-12). It’s all about the mission. And the Sunday spectacular is NOT the mission. In fact, everything else is secondary.

Now notice what it says in Ephesians 4:11-12. The mission workers are ALL saints. It is not paid ministers or simply the “gifted.” We are all soldiers on the mission. Now if we break the mission down to its base component, it is simply one radically transformed saint investing their life in an individual such that they impart the vision and mission to another, radically transforming them, one at a time. Then the newly radically transformed disciple does the same. When done correctly, an unstoppable succession of radically transformed people ensues.

Now for you ministry leaders. I know what you are thinking. You know the mission and have taught it, but can’t get the reserves mobilized to active duty. My question for you is: are you on the mission? I am not talking about teaching and preaching. I mean, do you have a disciple, that you personally led to Christ that you are personally discipling into obedience through sharing your life. Transformed lives are not made intellectually. They are imparted by the Spirit through much personal investment. Therefore, you can’t simply teach people to be on the mission; you must show them. You must personally impart the Kingdom vision and model the mission to develop disciples that reproduce.

I have much more to unwrap, but we’ll stop here.

Next post: multiplication versus addition.

Lord, I pray that you will mobilize multitudes to get on the mission. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

Why do so many people join the Reserves? Is it love for country, commitment to defend freedom, chivalry and public service, a sense of duty and sacrifice? Certainly many do join for such noble reasons; however, numerous other young men and women simply join for the benefits, such as college tuition and other signing bonuses. It may not sound very nice to say it, but let’s be honest, if they would serve without the benefits, would the government even offer them? Absolutely not. However, they know to entice a sufficient reserve force, the benefits must be offered.

When those who have signed up for selfish motivation are deployed to the front lines of battle, do you suppose they really want to be there? When they signed the dotted line, we can only ponder if they really counted the cost. I wonder if college tuition is enough to make the ultimate sacrifice. Without a commitment to the vision freedom) and the mission (defend and protect), no amount of compensation is worth dying for; but with a sense of duty, honor, and sacrifice—no price is too high. In fact, they yearn for the front lines.

We can see a fitting analogy. Numerous believers have joined the kingdom “reserves” based on the benefits. They wanted freedom from the penalty of sin and a free ticket to heaven. They may even believe signing comes with others benefits such as health and wealth. Sometimes they reluctantly sign up, almost as if they are doing their recruiter a favor. However, do they really know what they are signing?

Do they know that they are asked to surrender everything to God for the mission. They are told to end all other allegiances: to the world, sin, wealth, pleasures of life, self, the flesh, family, possessions, and be prepared to even give their very life for the cause. When they sign, they give up all personal rights and privileges. They must obey all orders. In fact, their lack of allegiance to all orders makes them a traitor, and subject to judgment. They not only neglect promoting the cause, they hinder it by serving the enemy’s commander.

Do we as leaders present the truth of counting the cost? Do those in our camps know that when they signed up, we were not at peacetime, but in the throes of battle? We are at war. The enemy has not let up. Why have we. Why are all our troops AWOL? Where are their commanders? Are we AWOL too?

Recognize that we are at war. Millions are dying without salvation. The main reason is that we recruit our reserves, but never give them deployment orders. Even when our literal soldiers sign for selfish purposes, they still receive the same training as those who sign with more noble intent. They learn the art or warfare alongside the visionaries. And when they are deployed, they are ready to fight with valor and precision. They are on the mission.

We must learn from this analogy. I don’t care why or how these soldiers joined our ranks. However, they need to know that we are at war NOW, and receive their training and deployment immediately. They must be shown the vision by our leadership. But, for them to catch the vision and get on mission, WE must recognize we are at war as well and be willing to count the cost.

Let me ask you, or rather answer the Lord. Have you counted the cost? Would you give up your possessions for Christ? Your comfort? Your freedom? Your wealth? Ok, you are still with me. What about your pride? Would you give up your home? What about your family? Now it’s getting tougher. Would you surrender your title? Your fears? Your hurts? What about your very life?

Ok, if you are still with me, you can rest assured God does not want you to sacrifice this list right now. Here is a better picture of what He wants from you. Just get a blank piece of paper. Now sign on the bottom. He will simply fill in what He wants you to give when He needs it of you. Will you sign this document?

Until we are ready to sign this document, we are not fit to serve in His Kingdom. Signing this document will lay the foundation for His service, and qualify us to train the reserves for the mission. The reserves will not follow us into battle until we take the flag and run headlong through the incoming fire. Reflect upon this.

Lord, speak to your people. I beseech the Lord of the harvest to send our laborers.

Amen

Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

Ps. The mission is next

Now for those of you that have the Kingdom vision and are on the mission, this teaching is a cool, refreshing drink of water on a hot day. For others, this is dirt in the eye, an irritation and an offense. However, I hope that irritation to your soul births a pearl, and ultimately the Pearl of Great Worth, that ignites an unquenchable passion for expanding God’s glory. I know that deep down in every believer the capacity to birth that Pearl exists. However, it is quenched by the world, and all her ways. We must get beyond our religious assertions and traditions and embrace the vision, to truly be on mission. It does not matter what your denominational persuasions, or how, where or when you fellowship; It is about your spirit’s yearning to surrender everything for the Pearl of Great Worth. If your allegiance is to a system of thought or practice rather than for God’s glory, you will not catch this vision.

This is your kairos moment. You were created for a time such as this. We are in the second to last scene in history. God is enlisting His army of soldiers to engage in reaping the end-time harvest. We are very near to the end, and the mission is at hand. There are no spectators for this last burst of revival. Can you sense the times? Does not the Spirit within you leap with these words? You know this to be true deep in your soul.

Every one of us can change the world. We have to think bigger than we have been conditioned to think. A single man teaching a few, resulted in the 18% increase of the Christian population in Ethiopia in just years. One failed church planter in Rwanda retooled his methods upon catching the vision and resulted in changing the nation forever—effectively ending prostitution. One former bishop in Nairobi Kenya was kicked out of his role after catching the vision—his reward? He is now the top of a discipleship lineage 25,000 strong. These people are just a handful of the multitude of Kingdom saints impacting the world for God’s glory. Not political activism, not a better structure or doctrine; just a clear vision for the times and their role in it and a strategic and actionable plan for the mission. The rules have changed. God is on the move and enlisting the willing. Who on this loop does not eagerly desire such fruit?

All the while, men are still rushing to hell in hoards. Her fiery fate is consuming millions daily because we do not recognize the times, catch this vision, and engage in the mission. God is mocked by the devil and men. Where is our passion? Do we not care that most of the people we encounter daily are going to suffer God’s wrath forever? Does this not make us die a little each day—where are our tears for them?

The Gate is narrow. However, the Path is narrower still. The Kingdom of God is not simply “walk in and you are in.” It is a path that requires walking. We have to show people that Kingdom life if they are going to walk the path with us. Those we lead to the Gate will never walk the path alone. They need a guide, a mentor, someone to disciple them (see Philippians 3:17 and 1 John 2:6). This is one of the critical missing elements I will commit many keystrokes to unwrap in future posts.

Now to get a bit personal. I do not want to but must. Because I know that the vision is not caught by mere words. Rather my life and the Spirit must bleed into this text for you to catch this. I chase the King with reckless abandon. People call me fanatical, holier than thou, self-righteous, judgmental, among other things. Yet, I am not greater than my Master and they called Him the same. I have been radically transformed. I get questions like “no TV? seven children, you’re done, right? homeschool? meet in homes? Africa? all of you in that little house?”—it doesn’t phase me. I am on the mission moving full speed and not looking back. I have found the Pearl and want to glorify God by telling the world.

With all the idiosyncrasies of my life, the unbelievers are the least offended. Ironically, it is the unrepentent churched that persecute the Kingdom saints the most. Sinners God is working on are eerily attracted to a counter-cultural revolutionary lifestyle of Kingdom saints. They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves—and make a real difference in the world with their life. The average person is not happy with their miserable life. They have no sense of meaning, purpose, or fulfillment. They chase after entertainment, drugs, sex, money, relationships, and even religion to satisfy, but these can’t fill the need for purpose and adventure. They see that most in the church do not live much different than those not—because they lack transformed lives. We shoulder the burden for this; most of the untransformed churched have not been given a clear vision and specific marching orders for the mission. And if they have, they have not been shown by us leaders what it looks like, simply told (ouch!). They also have not been empowered by the Spirit or set free from sin. The multitude of pew-dwellers wallow in worldliness—rendering the church inconsequential. This is what I hope to shed light on with this series.

Now I know that these messages can offend. I know all of us strive to do the best we can and many have captured the vision and possess the Pearl. For you, I hope to offer practical tools that can be applied within your context. Bear with my style—the prophet in me makes no apologies, but the shepherd in me with loving compassion for you my fellow saints desires not to cause you harm. Receive what is from the Lord to mobilize the Kingdom saints, and please overlook the eccentricities of my imperfect delivery.

In the next message, we will discuss the mission…

I pray that the Lord speak to you through these words to challenge and inspire you to greater passion in the Holy Spirit to spread His Glory by mobilizing the saints into the Kingdom harvest. I pray that you will seize this kairos moment.

Amen

Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

Christ ushered in the Kingdom. However, evangelical Christians invite people to heaven, or simply to church, rather than to the Kingdom; we are accustomed to preaching the Gospel of salvation only and simply meeting together, and not presenting and engaging people in the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 24:14, Mark 1:15, Luke 16:16). Jesus focused His teaching on the Kingdom (there are over 100 references to the Kingdom in the Gospels), with far less emphasis on His redemptive work; and even less on how we gather. Interesting, huh?

This may seem like a subtlety; however, it can prove significant in how we minister to folks. Evangelical Christians underemphasize the significance of the Kingdom life and experience, while focusing much more attention on other matters, such as church, programs, doctrine, and to a lesser extent, compassion ministries and evangelism. These are certainly designed and executed with noble intent. However, there is a vital element missing.

Now let’s paint a picture—speaking in generalities and hypotheticals. When someone becomes a church attendee, they are often simply a spectator. They more often than not see the paid ministers as responsible for ministry. And they likewise only visualize ministry in the context of the programs offered at the church. When someone is converted (without transformation), they sometimes fail to embrace the Kingdom lifestyle; they may or may not even adopt a “church” lifestyle. They often do not become transformed for a long time, if they do at all. They do not embrace the vision or engage in the mission. They do not transfer their allegiance from the world to the Kingdom, from death to life, bondage to freedom, spectator to ambassador and soldier, flesh to the spirit—life more abundantly eludes them. We stop short of the true, intended born-again experience.

As a result of the disconnect, the experience of converts and church-goers doesn’t differ much from the world. Where is the freedom, peace, joy—life more abundantly, promised by Christ. Unfortunately, Christianity has become intellectual rather than transformational. We engage with our minds and not our spirits. Not very attractive, is it? Promiscuity, failed marriages, depression, and other ills plague professing followers of Christ at nearly the same proportions as the rest of the world. Why sign up?

I think this disconnect can be traced back hundreds of years. I personally believe the early church had an advantage by NOT having the canon. I know you now think I’m insane! However, think about it. Christianity was a way of life, and not a series of doctrines. They relied on the Spirit and learned through the life-styles of mature believers (discipleship). We have turned it into information and meetings, rather than a walk empowered by the Spirit.

The modern evangelical church gets most of its intellectual-bent doctrine from Paul, underemphasizing the teachings of John, James, and Peter, and all but ignoring the teachings of Christ Himself. Read 1 John, then James, and then the parables while removing the Pauline lens, and you will see divergence from the modern Christian experience. Now Paul’s teachings are certainly God-breathed; however, they are best contextualized while understanding his way of life—the Kingdom life. Pauline doctrine was never meant to be understood simply by reading a series of letters. Paul demonstrated what the Kingdom life looked like and followed up with letters for specific reasons. Paul (and Jesus) showed us how to embrace the Kingdom while overcoming the world—they didn’t simply tell us. They practiced it so they could make disciples. We must do the same.

We demonstrate the reality of Christ by how we live. We can’t confess Him with our mouth and deny Him with our lifestyle. If we do, we will certainly never achieve the vision. A sermon series, discipleship class, or reading books will not adequately present the Kingdom lifestyle to carry it forward to others. A radically transformed life is required to transform lives. And until we embrace this, we will not propagate Kingdom life.

So leaders, I urge you to consider: does your faith walk demonstrate a radical departure from the world—a full commitment to the Kingdom life? Are you transformed–living life more abundantly? How attractive is your life—how attractive do you make Christ? Meditate on these questions.

Lots more on vision to follow….

May the Lord empower you to get beyond where you are to a radically different place, to the glory of God, through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Amen

Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

Ps. Be patient and keep reading. I will flesh all this out. We have to start with the correct foundation if we are going to build an unstoppable Kingdom growth movement. Vision specifics are next.

Most people think that the reason for God’s purpose for humanity was for our redemption. However, our redemption was and is only necessary because of the fall—clearly not God’s original intent for our creation.

You see, we look at God’s plan as us-centric rather than God-centric. We live our life, and design and execute our ministries with people in mind, rather than God. If we were honest and looked at our hearts, we might even find that our ministry ministers to us—at some level we seek ministry success to satisfy a deep need within ourselves to accomplish a lot for God—yet the aim gets misguided towards our insecurities and deep needs, rather than towards God’s glory. Yet our holy and righteous God is somewhat ego-centric, and rightfully so. Everything that was and is and will ever be is for God and His glory. Therefore, our raison d’être in life and ministry is to glorify God, and nothing more.

Now Satan had thwarted God’s plan to glorify Himself through His Creation. Satan mocks God, saying “look, humans you created for your glory follow me—all of them listen to me and sin.” This is a complete affront to God. Therefore, God’s redemptive purposes—bringing our submission and allegiance to our Creator rather than our deceiver— is to restore glory to its intended recipient, God—not simply to give us a get-out-of-hell-free card.

We ministry leaders often assume that reaching and ministering to the lost is the end, rather than a means to the end. As a result, we focus on conversion (saving souls) rather than transformation and meeting needs rather than an invitation to the Kingdom life. However, I say it again; the end is bringing glory to God. God’s redemptive purposes ultimately point back to Him.

Conversion is a poor substitute for the real deal. Conversion without transformation may (arguably—read 1 John) pull some from a fiery end. However, how does that bring God glory? Satan still mocks God saying: “the man you created continues to believe my lies and loves the world and sin even though he knows you suffered and died for that sin.” God is still mocked. Likewise, Satan knows full well that an unfruitful “believer” makes a mockery of the cross, denies the power of the Spirit to transform a life, and makes the faith unattractive to outsiders. Conversion without transformation (if that is possible) clearly does not result in God’s glory.

Now works without a Kingdom invitation likewise brings no glory to God. Do you think government welfare or the wonderful works the oil rich Muslim nations do throughout the world glorify God. No way! In fact, they steal God’s glory, because the Body of Christ should be meeting those needs. However, not simply meeting a physical need, but rather giving freedom by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ–giving living water to quench the underlying thirst, real food, to satisfy the soul’s appetite, and real freedom–to give peace that multiplies. We were created for good works, and faith without works is dead. Radically transformed people labor for the Kingdom.

Nothing short of a radically transformed life brings God glory. Changing allegiance from Satan to God, death to life, flesh to the spirit, sin to obedience, the world to the Kingdom—that glorifies our Creator! Satan has no comment or recourse. The radical transformation results in a passion for God and men that is unquenchable—leading to works of service in love. And the result, a radical departure from the world and even cultural Christianity, that leaves onlookers strangely curious as to the God that can change a person so substantially. As a result, the Kingdom expands organically.

How does your life reflect upon God’s glory? How does your ministry? What fruit is it bearing for God’s glory? Meditate on such things.

More to follow…

Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

Greetings faithful,

I had started a Great Commission leaders facebook group several months ago not exactly certain what I was to do with it. It began as a resource to connect folks with a common vision/mission, to further the work of the Great Commission. What I have discovered over time is that very few of us ministry leaders have a very clear vision for our specific and actionable role in fulfilling the Great Commission. Most of us see our part as limited to our church, community, region, or audience. However, we have to think bigger!

We are living in the second to last scene of this great adventure. We are just seasons away from fulfilling the Great Commission and you and I have an integral role to play in it. I think most of us have been trained to think too small. We are bound to a church system that keeps us trapped within four walls. However, Satan’s worst nightmare is about to unfold. It’s time to catch the vision, engage on the mission, and expand the Kingdom at rates that most of us never thought possible.

Into the future, I will unwrap a very clear vision, an actionable mission, and clear and concise methods and resources to unlock the black box of Kingdom expansion. I am not talking about secrets to church growth or even church planting, but rather extremely simple and unbelievably effective—absolutely field proven throughout the world—insight and methods of expanding the Kingdom. Yes, churches will both grow and be planted as a result. However, this we leave up to the Lord. For our commission is to make disciples; Christ said He would build His church, so we leave those details in His hands.

So I urge you to tune in by reading and meditating on every post. As quickly as I am able, I will pray over and package the best of breed materials to get you mobilized towards one aim: fulfilling the Great Commission in this generation.

May our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit lead the way in taking the nations for His glory.

Amen.

God bless you,

Marc Carrier
marc.carrier@valuesdrivenfamily.com