"A Choice with in a Choice

"A Choice within a Choice"  is a short video excerpt from a message I shared during the Sunday morning service at New Hope in Salem, Oregon.  It is about making personal decisions within the larger decisions God has already made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT2py3NVzgk&feature=plcp

“Label-Makers” by Garris Elkins

Most of us walk around with labels attached to our lives.  Some of these labels were attached to us by our parents others were attached in seasons of personal failure or by unresolved fears that currently inhabit our lives.  We will live out the false identity of these labels unless they are removed and new ones are attached.

When I was a little boy I can still remember some of the labels that were put on me by the kids at school. Some of these labels were hurtful.  Most had to do with my appearance or my inability to perform in some athletic event.  These labels have an ability to cling to our lives well into adulthood unless we let God remove them and replace them with a label that reveals how He sees us.

One day Jesus called a man named Levi to get up from his tax collector’s booth and follow Him.  The story is revealed in Mark 2: 13-17.

13 “Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. 15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum? 17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Jesus liked to hang out with what some people called “scum.” His love was radical.  He purposefully positioned His life to be near those whom the culture might reject.

According to Jesus, spiritually “sick” people, like the Pharisees, didn’t see their illness.  People like the tax collectors and disreputable sinners saw their need and were drawn to the Great Physician for healing.

The sickness of the Pharisees was thinking they had it all together. They felt they had arrived and had nothing more to learn. They perceived their mission in life was to label people so they could distance themselves from the “scum” and live out their warped sense of self-righteousness.

Those who gathered at Levi’s home realized Jesus had something to offer beyond the imprisoning labels placed on them by the Pharisees. They would soon be re-labeled by Jesus.

When Jesus told Levi to follow Him, Jesus was inviting Levi into an undiscovered destiny. Following Jesus would move Levi away from old labels towards something new that he would discover by simply being with Jesus.

In some ways, I think our understanding of discipleship today is too process-oriented.  Our current models of discipleship are many times more about gaining knowledge and accumulating ministry skills at the expense of having an encounter with Jesus. 

The discipleship process of Jesus gave people permission to peel off old labels of sin and dishonor and then paste on God’s label of a new identity.  God’s label reveals newness and invites us to something we never thought possible while living under the influence of an unrighteous label.

When Jesus asked Levi to follow Him He was asking Levi to come and watch.  Watch how Jesus dealt with the identity of the woman at the well.  Watch how Jesus talked to Zaccheus.  Watch how Jesus dialogued with legalists. Watch how the woman caught in adultery would be told, “Go your way (into a new destiny) and sin no more.”  Watching Jesus offered the disciples another way to live.

As we follow Jesus, we will come across places in our lives that need re-labeling.  We can continue to live under the “scum” label or choose to peel it off, even in the middle of circumstances where we have yielded to our personal brokenness. Once the old label is peeled off through confession and repentance, we can then attach the new God-label to our lives and begin living forward into the personal destiny God has planned.

I am going to preach this text on Sunday.  This morning, I called Mary, our Office Coordinator, and asked if the church had a label-maker.  She said we did and I asked her to set it aside for me. On Sunday, I want to walk through our sanctuary and re-label people.  I’m going to create some new labels like, “Beloved”, “Hopeful” and “Joyful”, and hand them out to people as a sermon illustration.

I am also hoping that some of you reading this today will reevaluate the labels you are living under and make sure they are from God.  If a label is not from God, peel it off and throw it away and ask the Holy Spirit to give you a new one.  

“Installing the Signs of God” by Garris Elkins

In the center of the valley where I live is a midsize city – Medford, Oregon.  We have a large shopping mall anchored by several national chain stores.  Sprinkled across the valley are other malls where you can get most anything you would desire. The Rogue Valley is a wonderful place to live.

A few years ago a Facebook page was created asking Trader Joe’s to come and establish a store in the Medford area.  I was one of thousands who “liked” that Facebook page.  Trader Joe’s has filled our pantry for many years with unusual and delicious foods.  In the past we would have to go to Redding, California or to Eugene, Oregon to make our Trader Joe’s purchases – both of these cities are a long drive from Medford. About a year ago we began to hear early rumors that our request for a Trader Joe’s would become a reality.  Foodies all across Southern Oregon felt a rush of culinary bliss.

A few months ago construction began on a new mall in the heart of our city that would house the new Trader Joe’s.  Along with the Trader Joes would be a Fives Guys Burgers and an REI store.  REI is an upscale sporting and outdoor store that is known for quality goods.

For the last few months, I have passed the construction site each morning on my way to our church.  This morning as I drove by the job site, I saw something interesting.  A large flatbed truck was carrying a sign with the words on it “REI.”  The sign was huge, maybe 10 feet by 10 feet.  The sign was being carried to the job site for installation announcing that REI was present in Medford, Oregon.  Behind the truck carrying the sign was a procession of contractor vehicles that would obviously be needed to help erect such a large sign.

As the truck carrying the sign crossed in front of me, I heard the words of Mark 16:17, “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe.” All the trucks following the lead truck carrying the sign were accompanying it to its new home.  This reminded me so much of Church history when God would send some supernatural sign into a region to establish His presence and then a great move of God would follow.

I grew up reading older translations of the Bible that used the word “follow” instead of “accompany” to describe Mark 16:17. Today, I went back to some of my language study aids and found that the word “follow” or “accompany” both work linguistically, but there is a more distinct definition for these words.

The miraculous signs that  “follow” or “accompany” those who believe actually means, “to always be present, to attend one wherever he goes” (Thayer). In other words when God’s Spirit begins to move our belief positions us to be present with whatever God is doing in that particular location.  Our belief also puts us in a place to attend to the requests of the Lord wherever He goes. Our belief makes a way for us to be part of what God is doing.

There is a divine balance between belief and following.  While we initiate acts of faith that can release something supernatural into our world, these acts of faith are only in response to something the Father is already doing.  Jesus did what He saw the Father doing.  He spoke the words that His Father spoke.  Jesus walked out the revelation He received from the Father, and as a result, supernatural events took place because heaven became a reality on earth.

The life Jesus lived provides for us a model of how to live our lives in response to God. Our ability to “see” what God is doing allows us to capture those points of revelation and import them back into our lives and communities. These responsive acts of faith, bringing heaven’s revelation to earth, are where the miracles, signs and wonders happen.

This morning I had the urge to pull my car in behind the procession of contractors who would be erecting the REI sign and then accompany them to the job site.  The urge I experienced in the natural is what I want to take place in my spirit when I see God moving into some new area of my life or community.

In the natural, I would have been late to work had I followed the procession of trucks carrying the sign.  Speaking in a spiritual sense, we will never be late for anything eternally important if we choose to change our life-plans and accompany the signs of the One Who makes them happen.  The signs were, after all, what He did to get the attention of His culture and He has plans to do the same in our world today.

“The Jesus Miracle-Model of Evangelism” by Garris Elkins

Our primary model for how to do anything is Jesus.  He is our example for how to love. He is our model for leadership.  And He is our method of evangelism.  Whenever you need to find a way to do anything – go to Jesus first and find out how He did it.

I enjoy reading Mark’s gospel account. The Gospel of Mark is a short and compressed revelation of how Jesus ministered.  Mark is to the point.  When I need a quick infusion of the bare essentials of Jesus life and ministry, I find myself reading Mark.  His writing is like a refreshing swim on a hot day.

In the first chapter of Mark, the people of Capernaum were listening to Jesus teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath.  Verse 22 says, “The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority – quite unlike the teachers of religious law.”

The people of Capernaum came to this conclusion because they saw the difference between a teacher who simply shares facts (the Pharisees) and Jesus who shared revelatory truth from the Father.  The difference between these two forms of teaching is vast. Jesus revealed to His listeners what the Father had just revealed to Him in the moment – it was fresh revelation that brought freedom.  The Pharisees, on the other hand, shared facts about the past and placed impossible burdens on people.

In verse 23 a demon-possessed man suddenly appeared in the synagogue and began shouting.  Jesus cut the demon short and said, “Be quiet! Come out of the man.” With those words the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and came out.  You can almost sense the quiet and stillness in the synagogue in those moments immediately following this man’s deliverance as people were asking themselves the question, “What just happened?”

The break in the silence came in verse 27 with the people excitingly asking this question, “What sort of new teaching is this? – It has such authority!” The news of this event launched out from the synagogue and began to spread throughout the entire region of Galilee.

What caught my attention was verse 22 where we are told the people were amazed at His teaching.  This amazement of the people could be interpreted through the lens of our Western concept of academic authority.  In our culture good teaching is seen as the result of diligent study and preparation of factual data presented within a logical development and delivered in an engaging form of communication.  You could come to that conclusion if verse 22 was pulled out of context.

However, moments after the demon-possessed man was set free by the command of Jesus, we are given the fuller understanding of how the people that day understood “teaching with authority”. The question in verse 27 reveals the answer for us, “What sort of new teaching is this? they asked excitedly. It has such authority. Even evil spirits obey his orders!”

For the people in the synagogue, real authority in teaching was linked to the demonstration of what was being taught.  To these people, teaching without demonstration lacked authority.  It was in the demonstration of God’s truth that the authority of Christ was released to do what would be impossible to accomplish without God’s power.  

As soon as the deliverance of the demon-possessed man took place the news about Jesus “spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.” (Mark 1:28) As this news circulated throughout the region of Galilee the testimony functioned like a net gathering the sick and demon-possessed of that region and bringing them to Jesus.

Mark 1:32 states, “That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the door to watch.”

Embedded in this verse is a concept for evangelism that applies to the Church today. The only way that entire cities – “the whole town” - will show up is when Jesus is allowed to teach and demonstrate His truth through us. The Gospel message includes the release of supernatural activity in the form of signs, wonders and miracles.  Our cities will not show up at our doorstep if we are teaching well-crafted messages alone without the actual demonstration of what we just taught. 

People have always come to see what God was doing. On the Day of Pentecost the people of the city of Jerusalem came to that outpouring to see what was taking place. Acts 2:6 tells us, “When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running…”

I think the Church today is rediscovering how to love and serve their cities.  We need to get out of our church buildings and engage our communities with God’s love. This is good, but people don’t usually come running to see something we are doing that a service club can accomplish without God’s help.  These acts of kindness are wonderful, but they are not what happened in the Gospel accounts. The people in the book of Mark came running to see something that could never be accomplished by the best of our good works.  They came running because they heard that Jesus was healing the sick and setting the demon-possessed free. They came running to see the Kingdom of God taking place on earth.

Right after the events of Mark1, chapter 2 opens up with four men tearing open the roof of a house and lowering a paralyzed friend through the opening into a crowded living room where Jesus was waiting. The first words out of Jesus’ mouth were, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” The teachers of religious law got upset with Jesus and questioned His authority to forgive sins. Jesus went on to say in verse 10, “’So, I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.’ Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home.’” It was a dramatic miracle in front of stunned onlookers.

As I read this account, the linkage between healing and evangelism is obvious.   The forgiving of the paralyzed man’s sins, and his subsequent healing, would dramatically change the environment of the entire region.

Healing linked to evangelism was a reoccurring theme in the ministry of Jesus.  The majority of the people in our communities will only be reached when something supernatural begins to interrupt the flow of their naturally limited lives. Good works alone can never do this.

The room that day was crowded, not because a good teacher was conducting a Bible Study.  The room was crowded because as soon as the demon-possessed man from Mark 1 was set free, “The man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.” The healed man, and the testimony about his miracle, spread throughout the area announcing that Jesus was in town.

When Jesus told us in the Great Commission of Matthew 28 to go and make disciples, He said those words right after the sentence in verse 18 where He declared, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”

The authority Jesus was given was for purposes beyond teaching a memorable message.  This is the same authority that demanded a demon to come out of a possessed man and it is the same authority that healed a paralyzed man allowing him to jump up, pick up his mat and walk back home through the stunned crowd who had gathered to see the demonstration of Christ’s authority.

While the Church rediscovers the joy of going out and doing acts of love in our communities, it is important to not forget that people will only come running to see what’s happening when something supernatural is taking place in their midst. Our acts of service are only intended to be vehicles that bring us into contact with broken people who need a miracle. Miracles are what Jesus used to evangelize the world in His day and they are what God wants to use to expand His Kingdom in our world today.

"The Issues Are Not The Issue" by Garris Elkins

Recently, I sent a private Facebook message to a friend of mine who leads an international ministry. My message was prophetic in nature and would seem somewhat cryptic to the casual reader. I trust this leader and knew he would be able to move past the nature of the word and understand its substance.

This leader and others like him are called upon to deal with issues that have a very wide and diverse audience.  What I felt the Lord was saying to this leader, and to the rest of us, was this – “the issues are not the issue.” The human-issues we face each day are not always the God-issue we need to discover. These God-issues are buried deep beneath our history, our preferences and our current culture. It is in the discovery of these God-issues that we find peace and resolution amidst the surface turmoil of cultural opinion.

Most of the headlines printed today are in response to diverse people groups responding to even more diverse opinions they each hold about how this life should be lived. The clash of these opinions produces the headlines. Behind these visible and reactionary headlines is always a deeper God-issue waiting to be discovered. The truth of the deeper God-issues must be discovered and understood if the Church is going fulfill her mission on planet earth.

A danger the Church faces in our current cultural context is the demand to provide a quick and shallow response for complex issues.  We must have a response, but it cannot be reactive, it must be the result of God revealing truth to us.  Revelation is not nervous about timing.  Revelation is sourced from eternity without the pressure of time.

Whenever I have made quick and visceral responses I have found that my first answer was generally to the issues I was facing on the surface instead of the deeper God-issue He wanted to process with me. Many times I had the right answer, but the wrong response. There is always something deeper when we are relating to God and it is in the process of this relationship that He invites us to journey with Him towards the discovery of His deeper truth.

Today, give God some time to develop a deeper understanding within you about His heart for each subject that requires a response from you.  In the end, the deeper God-issue you discover will always reflect His heart, not a human response.

"Crossing Spiritual Frontiers" by Garris Elkins

Many people are crossing spiritual frontiers.  People are leaving old seasons of life and entering new ones. It is important to understand what is taking place in these passages.

One of the most profound crossings ever made was when the nation of Israel walked across the dry riverbed of the Jordan River under the leadership of Joshua.  More than one million people camped at the waters edge waiting for the word of the Lord to part the water.  First, God would need to speak to Joshua and let him know what this passage would entail. 

Joshua 1:1 “After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.

6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua would come to understand several realities as he prepared to lead Israel across the Jordan and into the land of promise.  Israel had been in a similar place before, but because of their disbelief had spent many years wandering in the wilderness until the generation of disbelief died off. Joshua and the nation of Israel wanted to get it right this time.  Joshua would realize several important truths about crossing spiritual frontiers.

EACH CROSSING WILL BE DIRECTED BY A WORD FROM GOD

“The Lord spoke to Joshua.”

Joshua was told to walk anywhere within the land God had defined.  Wherever Joshua chose to step would be his, within the boundary of the promise.  He was a man living under the direction of God’s revelation.

Each area of our lives has a word from God assigned to it.  Each of our families has a word. Each financial decision we make has a word assigned to it. Each relationship we enter into has a word from God assigned to it that will direct how that relationship will develop. It is wisdom to discover these words before we begin the journey.

Joshua obeyed the word of the Lord.  He didn’t deviate to the right or to the left. He stayed true to the word of the Lord and the Lord stayed true to the promise He made to Joshua and the nation of Israel.

EACH CROSSING WILL REDEFINE THE NATURE OF OUR CALLING

“The time has come for you to lead these people.”

Moses was dead. A transition in national leadership had taken place. Joshua was now the leader of Israel. The steps of the nation would now follow the steps of their new leader. Obedience to the call transformed Joshua, revealing more of what God saw in him, had planned for him and wanted to do through him. 

Each time we take a step of faith our life manifests more clearly who we already are in Christ.  Like a chisel in the hand of a master sculptor, God fashions us with each step we take. Under the hand of the Master we begin to resemble the person who we already are in Christ.

EACH CROSSING WILL CARRY A PROMISE INTO A NEW GENERATION

“I promise you what I promised Moses.”

We each carry a promise.  When we die that promise does not die with us – it lives on.  The promises of God survive through the pain of divorce or the fears associated with financial collapse.  Promise lives on through all kinds of personal failure. A promise from God is birthed in eternity high above the powers of death and the finality of time.

When Joshua was about to lead Israel through the visible frontier of the Jordan River flowing at flood stage, he was carrying the promise of a past generation – “I promise you what I promised Moses.”Joshua carried that promise forward past the failed first attempt to enter the Promise Land.

Each of us can step in faith into the promise of God, despite the failures of our past or the failures of others.  While we must be faithful and step forward into the Promise, God is the One Who will be faithful to ensure its final delivery.

EACH CROSSING WILL BRING A REMINDER OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

“For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.”

We never do what God calls us to do alone. He is always present with us in each moment of the passage. As Joshua called the people forward to cross the Jordan, that move could appear to be, at the very least naïve, if not foolish.   The decision to cross the Jordon River at this season of the year, would ride on the shoulders of this new leader. It was a fearful and stressful moment.  In that moment God assured Joshua that He would not fail or abandon him.

As a leader, a father, a brother, and a friend, at times, I have lived under fear and isolation, wondering and hoping that God would be there for me. We all struggle with this from time-to-time.  Fear in the present is tied to our assumption of future rejection and abandonment. 

Fear of abandonment is experienced everywhere. Spouses have abandoned their vows of marriage and left their mate for someone else.  Children have abandoned their parents and parents have abandoned their children.  Employers have abandoned faithful employees for greater profit.  In these times God reminds us, as He reminded Joshua, of His covenant of unfailing love that promises He will never leave us alone in the journey.

There is a way out of the prison of abandonment - we forgive and bless our way across this spiritual frontier.  Jesus chose to forgive His tormentors amidst the pain of His crucifixion.  He told us to bless our enemies even as they wage war against us. When we do this, our future will be defined by the heart of God, not the fear of what can happen to us as the result of human brokenness.   

EACH CROSSING WILL TEST OUR CURRENT LEVEL OF STRENGTH AND COURAGE  “Be strong and courageous.”

Three times in the first verses of Joshua 1 the Lord tells Joshua,  “Be strong and courageous.” Why would God say this to Joshua three times? Because Joshua, the great warrior-leader, would experience both fear and weakness as he faced the prospect of crossing the swollen Jordan River and the enemies beyond.

This fear and discouragement has faced the people of God in the past and it will have to be addressed by each of us now and in our emerging future.  A repeated theme in Paul’s ministry was his strengthening and encouraging of the churches.  He strengthened and encouraged these churches because they were feeling weak and discouraged when he arrived in their midst.

Today, believe that God is taking you into a new future amidst all the pain and obstacles that are now standing between you and what God has promised.  God is your passage-maker and He will never leave you alone in the crossing you are about to make. 

"Half Moon, Whole Heart" guest article by Anna Elkins

Last summer, I camped by the Salmon River for the first time. The riverbanks spread wide their stony shores, the August waters low. I drove shuttle for kayakers and practiced the art of waiting by water.  After a few hours, the water begins to speak.

Beneath a spring half moon, I’m back. Now the bars of rock are thin, rushed by water that flexes its green and fast muscles. Like men at a gym, this constant roil—noisy and strong. Yet gentle too, like mothers humming lullabies.

How do we hear the river?

When God speaks, we are often the crowd that hears thunder or angels—everything but his words.

I thought I heard the river telling of men and women. But I think it was also speaking of “other.” Of whatever it is I haven’t learned to listen to.

Perhaps the weight-lifting—wait-lifting—water is the sound of women building muscle beneath the frothy soft of their surface. Perhaps it is the song men sing when no one is listening.  Perhaps it is every word we open our hearts to.

When we see an other approaching and we hear nothing but the rush of water, we pretend that’s the only sound a river makes. Oh the strength and sweetness we will miss.

And now I am off to listen to distant seas. Here's to hearing.

Open my ears.