Go Time - January 18, 2015
______________________________________________________________________________
Scripture Reading: Luke 2: 8 - 20
Today’s theme – and I am presenting it as a prophetic indication of what the Holy Spirit is calling us to this year – is: “Go-Time.” If you would like something a bit catchier, here it is: “Putting the Git in the Go.” Periodically throughout this year I will be presenting a question to you. The response is scripted and will appear on the overhead. The purpose is not to be silly but to establish in our thinking what we strongly believe is the word of direction for KCF. The question is this: What time is it? The scripted response is: It’s go-time.
In speaking of going I am not addressing physical movement from one location to another. All I have in mind is this: engaging the known directives of the Holy Spirit. We can only stand in the same place and rehearse what God revealed for so long; at some point it is time to go – time to engage what was revealed. This much I can tell you about going; it is much easier in theory than it is in experience.
[SLIDE # 5]
Going begins with direction, and direction begins with an encounter with the sovereign God. That is exactly what happened with the shepherds in this story. The invisible angelic world suddenly became incredibly visible and undeniably real within the sense realm of the shepherds. We do not know what form these angels took, but they were physically real to the shepherds; they saw with their eyes. They also heard voices, sounds, words, and singing choirs. And it was there in the experience of that profound encounter that they were given specific direction.
And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared and the invisible that had been visible was invisible once more. This is what we read: LUKE 2: 15 ‘And it came to pass that when the angels went away from them into heaven...’
And right there we are face to face with the most critical moment in this entire experience. In the words of Luke’s record: the shepherds kept on saying to one another....
When the angels vanish into the heavens, when the physical manifestation is no longer real, when the sense realm is no longer engaged, the most important thing that happens is our conversation. What do we talk about most – the experience we just had, or the greater glory the experience pointed to?
Some will never move out of the field. They will remain there rehearsing in their mind and reflecting upon the night the angels appeared. Some will spend a lifetime trying to recreate that night again. Others will build altars and monuments to memorialize that supernatural experience.
The apostle Peter ascended a mountain with his Lord. Atop that mountain he, along with James and John were ushered into a very super supernatural experience. The physical Christ was transformed before their eyes and became as nonphysical as translucent light. But it doesn’t end there. Two Old Testament characters – Moses and Elijah – who had been dead for a few thousand years, appeared in living colour and carried on a conversation with Christ.
What was Peter’s reaction to this? We are told he did not know what to say. I laugh every time I read that. If there was ever an understatement this is it. In the swirl of such mystery, glory, and wonder who would know what to say? But not knowing what to say never stopped Peter from saying something anyway. So what was his first conversation after the supernatural encounter?
It is good to be here, let’s stay here. In fact let us memorialize this whole experience by building something – three tabernacles; one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Christ. When we don’t know what to say perhaps we should say nothing.
The purpose of this supernatural encounter on the top of this mountain was not to keep these three disciples on the top of that mountain. Its purpose was to prepare them for ministry at the base of the mountain. So after that experience had concluded, what time was it for Peter, James and John? It was go-time.
What we learn is that the first resistance to going has to do with how we view the very encounter that brought to us the present directive. When we linger in the field and build monuments to the experience we just had, the going is being delayed.
The most that can be said about the manifestation of the angels in that field is that it was a sign. But a sign always points to greater realities beyond itself. There is nothing more tragic than a field full of sign worshipers who never discover those greater realities.
That night, the greater glory was down the road, in a barn – the Jesus baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough. There are times when what the sign points us to appears (at least for a time) to be less glorious than the sign itself. The temptation will be to run back to the field in search of the sign.
But these shepherds did not linger in the field, and in large part this was determined by their first conversation after the sign disappeared. Luke wrote: ‘...and the shepherds said to one another.’ There is the key: What do we say to one another, what is our conversation after the sign has vanished into the heavens?
Notice this: they did not talk about angels, flashing light, blinding glory, and singing choirs. They did not talk about the sign itself. Here is what they said: “Let us GO NOW to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” And how did that conversation affect them? Here is what we read: ‘So they went with hast...’ There was a “git in their go.”
In closing this I will reference an equally important conversation. We now know what they talked about after the angelic sign. But what was their conversation following the Bethlehem visit? Luke wrote: ‘They made known what had been told them about this child.’ They did not talk about the sign in the field; they talked about what the sign pointed to – the far greater glory of the Christ in the barn.
So this is where we are. We are coming up to the third anniversary of the death of the founding pastor of this house. We have been intentional in not forcing any kind of dramatic changes upon this fellowship. But during this same period, vision/direction has been forming, as Pastor Adam and I have spent many hours each week praying, sharing, reading, and dreaming. We have reconfigured the leadership team into a distinct council of elders and a board of deacons. The intention is to formally present this restructured leadership group to the congregation in the next couple of weeks.
This is the first major step in preparing us to move out of the field – to put the “git in our go” and to get on with what the Lord has been speaking.
As we move forward into the greater glory one of the most important aspects of that process will be our conversations.
A FINALL ILLUSTRATION: Num. 13: 25 – 33
This is one of the most amazing scenes in scripture. The spies have returned from the Promise Land. They are carrying physical evidence of the incredible abundance of the land. Listen to the conversation: “It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.” It all sounds so good. But then you read the next word of that conversation: “YET...” Every word that follows that ‘yet,’ focuses NOT upon the abundance of the land, but upon the inhabitants of the land. That conversation concludes with these telltale words: “...and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Focus upon the enemy, let enemy-consciousness determine and shape your conversation and this is exactly where we arrive; we stay in the field – or in their case the wilderness.
In the presence of this negative conversation there was what I call a “Caleb conversation”: “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Men whose conversations are rooted in God and His revealed promise do not remain in the field. And though it took another forty years, while God removed a generation of unbelief and raised up a new generation of faith, Caleb, at the age of eighty, left the field and stepped into greater glory of the promised inheritance.
A face-book friend of mine connected me with a face-book friend of his. On his page I found some of the most touching and profound poetry I have ever read. Here is a short expression that actually gave rise to this message and illustrates the point I am trying to make.
Like Lot’s wife,
Caught between the feeling and the doing,
Crystallizing in a last state,
Becoming statues,
Of salt.
[FINAL SLIDES]
Today’s theme – and I am presenting it as a prophetic indication of what the Holy Spirit is calling us to this year – is: “Go-Time.” If you would like something a bit catchier, here it is: “Putting the Git in the Go.” Periodically throughout this year I will be presenting a question to you. The response is scripted and will appear on the overhead. The purpose is not to be silly but to establish in our thinking what we strongly believe is the word of direction for KCF. The question is this: What time is it? The scripted response is: It’s go-time.
In speaking of going I am not addressing physical movement from one location to another. All I have in mind is this: engaging the known directives of the Holy Spirit. We can only stand in the same place and rehearse what God revealed for so long; at some point it is time to go – time to engage what was revealed. This much I can tell you about going; it is much easier in theory than it is in experience.
[SLIDE # 5]
Going begins with direction, and direction begins with an encounter with the sovereign God. That is exactly what happened with the shepherds in this story. The invisible angelic world suddenly became incredibly visible and undeniably real within the sense realm of the shepherds. We do not know what form these angels took, but they were physically real to the shepherds; they saw with their eyes. They also heard voices, sounds, words, and singing choirs. And it was there in the experience of that profound encounter that they were given specific direction.
And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared and the invisible that had been visible was invisible once more. This is what we read: LUKE 2: 15 ‘And it came to pass that when the angels went away from them into heaven...’
And right there we are face to face with the most critical moment in this entire experience. In the words of Luke’s record: the shepherds kept on saying to one another....
When the angels vanish into the heavens, when the physical manifestation is no longer real, when the sense realm is no longer engaged, the most important thing that happens is our conversation. What do we talk about most – the experience we just had, or the greater glory the experience pointed to?
Some will never move out of the field. They will remain there rehearsing in their mind and reflecting upon the night the angels appeared. Some will spend a lifetime trying to recreate that night again. Others will build altars and monuments to memorialize that supernatural experience.
The apostle Peter ascended a mountain with his Lord. Atop that mountain he, along with James and John were ushered into a very super supernatural experience. The physical Christ was transformed before their eyes and became as nonphysical as translucent light. But it doesn’t end there. Two Old Testament characters – Moses and Elijah – who had been dead for a few thousand years, appeared in living colour and carried on a conversation with Christ.
What was Peter’s reaction to this? We are told he did not know what to say. I laugh every time I read that. If there was ever an understatement this is it. In the swirl of such mystery, glory, and wonder who would know what to say? But not knowing what to say never stopped Peter from saying something anyway. So what was his first conversation after the supernatural encounter?
It is good to be here, let’s stay here. In fact let us memorialize this whole experience by building something – three tabernacles; one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Christ. When we don’t know what to say perhaps we should say nothing.
The purpose of this supernatural encounter on the top of this mountain was not to keep these three disciples on the top of that mountain. Its purpose was to prepare them for ministry at the base of the mountain. So after that experience had concluded, what time was it for Peter, James and John? It was go-time.
What we learn is that the first resistance to going has to do with how we view the very encounter that brought to us the present directive. When we linger in the field and build monuments to the experience we just had, the going is being delayed.
The most that can be said about the manifestation of the angels in that field is that it was a sign. But a sign always points to greater realities beyond itself. There is nothing more tragic than a field full of sign worshipers who never discover those greater realities.
That night, the greater glory was down the road, in a barn – the Jesus baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough. There are times when what the sign points us to appears (at least for a time) to be less glorious than the sign itself. The temptation will be to run back to the field in search of the sign.
But these shepherds did not linger in the field, and in large part this was determined by their first conversation after the sign disappeared. Luke wrote: ‘...and the shepherds said to one another.’ There is the key: What do we say to one another, what is our conversation after the sign has vanished into the heavens?
Notice this: they did not talk about angels, flashing light, blinding glory, and singing choirs. They did not talk about the sign itself. Here is what they said: “Let us GO NOW to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” And how did that conversation affect them? Here is what we read: ‘So they went with hast...’ There was a “git in their go.”
In closing this I will reference an equally important conversation. We now know what they talked about after the angelic sign. But what was their conversation following the Bethlehem visit? Luke wrote: ‘They made known what had been told them about this child.’ They did not talk about the sign in the field; they talked about what the sign pointed to – the far greater glory of the Christ in the barn.
So this is where we are. We are coming up to the third anniversary of the death of the founding pastor of this house. We have been intentional in not forcing any kind of dramatic changes upon this fellowship. But during this same period, vision/direction has been forming, as Pastor Adam and I have spent many hours each week praying, sharing, reading, and dreaming. We have reconfigured the leadership team into a distinct council of elders and a board of deacons. The intention is to formally present this restructured leadership group to the congregation in the next couple of weeks.
This is the first major step in preparing us to move out of the field – to put the “git in our go” and to get on with what the Lord has been speaking.
As we move forward into the greater glory one of the most important aspects of that process will be our conversations.
A FINALL ILLUSTRATION: Num. 13: 25 – 33
This is one of the most amazing scenes in scripture. The spies have returned from the Promise Land. They are carrying physical evidence of the incredible abundance of the land. Listen to the conversation: “It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.” It all sounds so good. But then you read the next word of that conversation: “YET...” Every word that follows that ‘yet,’ focuses NOT upon the abundance of the land, but upon the inhabitants of the land. That conversation concludes with these telltale words: “...and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Focus upon the enemy, let enemy-consciousness determine and shape your conversation and this is exactly where we arrive; we stay in the field – or in their case the wilderness.
In the presence of this negative conversation there was what I call a “Caleb conversation”: “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Men whose conversations are rooted in God and His revealed promise do not remain in the field. And though it took another forty years, while God removed a generation of unbelief and raised up a new generation of faith, Caleb, at the age of eighty, left the field and stepped into greater glory of the promised inheritance.
A face-book friend of mine connected me with a face-book friend of his. On his page I found some of the most touching and profound poetry I have ever read. Here is a short expression that actually gave rise to this message and illustrates the point I am trying to make.
Like Lot’s wife,
Caught between the feeling and the doing,
Crystallizing in a last state,
Becoming statues,
Of salt.
[FINAL SLIDES]