What does the apostolic look like?

Recently Saeed Abedini, imprisoned for his faith in Iran’s notorious Even Prison, was told by his family of the many churches and people whom are praying for him around the world.   His response: "I am filled with great joy to know that the chains I am in have chained the body of Christ together and have united so many churches."

Through this is one simple sentence, Saeed gave the church an example of what it means to speak apostolically.  What makes it apostolic? 

1. It’s heavenly and not earthly.  In other words, it is spoken from an eternal perspective and not temporary one.   Saeed was not speaking from a temporary desire for personal comfort but from the eternal perspective of ultimate purpose.  Saeed found comfort and indeed joy in discovering that his imprisonment was causing a unifying affect upon the church.  When people begin to think “apostolically” they evaluate circumstances from the perspective of eternity. From an earthly perspective Saeed’s imprisonment is tragic and unjust.  From an heavenly perspective, God is using Saeed’s suffering to do a work in the church. 
2. Secondly, it is corporate and not personal.  Saeed sees his life not as something individual and separate but as part of a global communion.  What affects one, affects all.   He is thinking about the global body of Christ and not just his personal needs.  It is beyond himself.  He is in partnership with God and though he is in chains, God’s word is not in chains and God’s work is advanced.  Saeed’s imprisonment has resulted in a global prayer movement. 
3. Third, it is sacrificial and not self-serving and therein emits the aroma of Christ.  It reflects one who is giving his life as a living sacrifice.   In the midst of suffering Saeed sees his personal circumstances in light of its positive effect upon the body of Christ.  Rather than complaining of his poor treatment, he is focused upon the global impact.  This is an apostolic look at suffering.  It reminds one of the apostle Paul who said, “I want you to know that my imprisonment has turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”  Saeed’s suffering is releasing the aroma of Christ in Iran and throughout the body of Christ.  This is truly what it means to live sacrificially.
4. Finally, it is authentic, not fabricated.  It is a spontaneous expression from the heart.  It’s not a sound bite.  It is not a prepared statement.  It is an authentic reaction given from a man who is suffering but whose life is given to a purpose beyond self-fulfillment.  It comes out of a place of desperate suffering, coupled with cosmic awareness.  Saeed was speaking from within his own heart and yet from the heavenlies at the same time.  That is clearly the work of grace deeply woven into the heart of a man who has chosen to be willing to suffer “for the joy set before him.”   

In a day and age where there is much being said about being apostolic that is more focused on one’s professional persona and success than on one’s faithfulness to the gospel and willingness to suffer, Saeed’s life speaks from a different dimension altogether.  

Restoring the Lampstand to the Church

Then remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works. And if not, I am coming to you quickly, and will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Revelation 2:5

The church in the book of Revelation had a lot of good things going for it, but it had “left [its] first love” and was in danger of Jesus removing its lampstand.  The removal of the lampstand signifies the loss of effective witness.  Undoubtedly, this could be said of the church in America. 

When the church cannot even testify to its own message, when it is afraid to speak out its conviction in public, when it is ashamed of what it has to say, the church has lost its lampstand. 

• When the church is afraid to stand for truth, and can no longer speak with conviction and grace on basic moral issues, the church has lost its lampstand.
• When it no longer believes in  the gospel and supplies additives to its message to compete with the world, the church has lost its lampstand.
• When it no longer believes in prayer, the church has lost its lampstand.
• When it is has no answers for the broken… 
• When it moves out of the inner city and retreats to the suburbs…
• When it grows cynical and pessimistic about the government and the future…
• When it cowers in the face of persecution…
• When its only prayer is “Jesus, get us out of here”, the church has lost its lampstand. 

Jesus Christ is the head of the church.  He is the source of its life.   Jesus told his followers that they would encounter tribulation in this life, but he added, “…be of good cheer.  I have overcome the world.”  As long as the church abides in the life giving presence of Christ, its light will shine bright.  The church is the body of Christ and thus is meant to be an extension of His life.  When the church begins to work independently from a vital life connection to Jesus, it loses its hope, its faith, its vision, its power, its effectiveness and purpose.

Furthermore, the Gospel is so simple that apart from staying connected to Jesus it is easy to discount it.  That is why the church must remain connected to Jesus through prayer if it is to keep its lampstand.  Apart from His life, the church loses its way, its boldness, its willingness, its nerve, and its effectiveness in spreading the gospel. 

Let Us Return

The remedy for the church’s loss of power is simple; “Come let us return unto the Lord.”  Hosea 6:1.  The church must find itself and its message again in the house of prayer.  It must come back to the altar and get its candle re-lit.

The House of Prayer

When I say, “House of Prayer”, I am not necessarily referring to a building or a place where there is regular prayer going on.  Rather, I am referring to that place in the Spirit where the church connects with Jesus and listens intently to His voice. Psalms 91 identifies this place of listening as the “secret place of the most high.”  In Psalm 27 it is the “House of the Lord” and “His pavilion” or the “secret place of His tabernacle.”  In Psalm 73:17 it is the “sanctuary of God.”  All of these signify a realm of revelation and intimacy.  It is the place to come when one needs divine perspective.  It is where one beholds the “beauty of the Lord.”  This can only be done “by the Spirit.”

There are many metaphors for a single reality but the important thing is that the church must come back to the House of prayer to find His presence.  Before Jesus was crucified and resurrected He said, “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.”  John 14:19. Until the church 'sees' the Lord, it does not properly discern anything else.

The Summons

I believe the Lord is summoning the church, like He did in Psalm 50, to an encounter with Him in the house of prayer for the sole reason to experience a reconnection with the head, Jesus Christ.   
Does the church have problems?  Yes.  Does it need guidance and wisdom?  Yes.  Does it need answers to life's dilemmas   Yes.  But these are not the primary issue.  The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.  And the main thing is vital, organic, life giving connection with the resurrected Jesus.

There is a jealousy in the heart of God for the testimony to Jesus, His only begotten Son.  There has always been and always will be a challenge to God's choice of a king.  "Why do the nations rage..." the Psalmist ask, "against the Lord and against His anointed."  There is an offense to God choosing one over the other.  But He has chosen His Son, Jesus Christ.  Faltering on this issue, on the finality and supremacy of Christ, on the issue of the resurrection and on His right as absolute Lord is paramount to losing the Gospel altogether.  Jesus came in humility and meekness, but he also said to Jerusalem and to Israel, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ...Your house is left to you desolate."  Christ is Christianity and without Him one has nothing but an empty shell of religion.

The Need of the Moment

Knowing what is going to happen in the future is not the greatest need of this moment.  Even if the church could accurately predict everything of major significance that is going to happen in the next ten years, or a hundred years, that still would not guarantee that people know what to do or that they would end up at the right place at the right time.

The single most important priority of the church in this hour is to make sure that it is connected to the head, Jesus Christ.   By in large, the church is profoundly isolated from the true presence of Jesus, pre-occupied with a thousand little fires, but utterly unaware of the real issue.  The world is full of "bait and switch" these days.

Make no mistake; the church all around is plenty busy.  It has plenty to say.  But is it releasing light or darkness?  Hope or fear and despair?  False hope or genuine peace?  Life and freedom or guilt and manipulation?  It is not enough to be moralistic.  The church cannot simply stand back and denounce bad behavior.  It is not enough to know the Bible.  The Pharisees knew the Bible backwards and forwards but were not able to recognize the Messiah.  It is not enough to be “culturally relevant”.  To often this means Heavenly irrelevance.  It is not enough to store up guns or food or any other “necessity.”  What about heavenly treasure?  What does that even mean?  

Frankly, the world does not need another good idea of how to divert disaster. 

What the World Needs Now

• What the world needs from the church is a simple explanation of how to connect with God.  
• What the world needs from the church is a clear expression of God’s character and nature. 
• The world needs an authentic display of the wisdom of God. 
• What it needs is a demonstration of the culture of heaven. 
• What the world needs is a genuine experience of the love of Jesus through His people
• What the world needs is light! 

Stop and Restore the Light

If the church, indeed, has lost its lampstand then it needs to drop everything it is doing until its lampstand is restored. 

What must the church do to regain its lampstand? 

1. It must cease waiting for the professionals do it and that includes church professionals.  Every born again believer in Christ is responsible, so open your heart, draw near to God and invite God to draw near to you.  The church is God’s answer to a world gone awry.  That includes everybody.  
2. It must repent from thinking that it has anything relevant to offer apart from Christ. 
3. It must repent from actions born out of conventional wisdom. 
4.  It must return to the house of prayer, come and be still, sit at the feet of Jesus and allow itself to marinate in the presence of Christ. 
5.  It must drop its own agenda and simply ask God what is on His heart.
6. It must wait on the Lord. It must wait until it hears.  Until the church truly hears, it has nothing to say and nothing to do!
7. It must identify with the Lord’s burden and then begin to pray and intercede into it.  Allow the Lord’s burden to become the burden of the church. 
8.  It must begin to see the vision that God wants to replace the present reality with.   
9. It must pray into the vision and believe for it. 
10.  It must articulate and declare the vision of God. 
11. It must ask for specific strategy to see it come to pass and be willing to be part of the answer. 
12. It must begin to gather resources. 
13. It must act in obedience to the clear leading and guidance of the Lord.    

The church must have a lampstand. It must burn with the Lord’s light.  When the church gets reconnected to the head in the house of prayer and begins to flow out of this vital connection, the wisdom of God will be on display for all to see.  

Unity and Legitimacy

In Psalm 133, the word says that God commands his blessing when brothers dwell together in unity.  The commanded blessing is, frankly, nothing less than resurrection life.  It is not a small thing.   This is part of the heritage of the church.  It is core to everything the church seeks to experience in her pursuit of the prize.  Jesus was the first born among many brethren, and he has come to lead many sons to glory.   Our belief is that the prize is attainable and that, before it is all said and done, Jesus will have a church that will access all that He accomplished for us. 

Jesus Died for Unity

One of the things Jesus died for is a unified body.  In the same way that He became poor that we might be made rich, so also His body became disjointed that the church might be unified. Through the years I have heard many people say that there will never be complete unity until we get to heaven.  Perhaps they are correct but what is troublesome is the tendency to accept the status quo as inevitable.    Those who take this attitude are basing their convictions on their disappointments with man, not their experience with God.

Apostolic Expectation

Clearly, the apostles not only expected the church to walk in unity but they assumed it was already a reality created by the pattern and accomplishment of Jesus Christ.  It was not something to be obtained, but maintained.  How ironic that the Apostles were urging the church to maintain unity in its infancy and now, 2000 years later many have declared that it will never happen.  It seems that we have matured out of unity instead of growing into it. 

There is one reason for this disintegration of Christian unity and that is because the church has tried to have a life and purpose of its own while being disconnected from the head.  Worldwide the church has attempted to be unified but it has neglected its one and only remedy for its disjointed condition- reconnecting with the Head, Jesus Christ. 

One means to Unity

Unity is a possibility but only by one means.  We will find and express our unity when we get connected to the life source.   To the extent that the church seeks to have life in itself, it will be incapable of being unified.  True unity is based on the extension of the life of Christ expressed through His corporate body.  We share in God’s life as a community and therein we are unified.  So called “unity” based on any other reality is doomed to disintegrate because it is based on man’s achievements and agreements but not God’s.     Even religious agreements about God, i.e. doctrinal creeds, will not hold the church together. 

Jesus said, “…apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5.   As a body cannot function without a head, neither can the church function without Christ.  But in the modern era, the church acts as if this were not so.  When the church seeks to live and direct itself through its own power, it ceases to live.  When the church comes together under any other vision, banner, or distinctive other than expressing the life of God in Christ, it becomes self-promotional and sews the seeds of its own demise. 

Legitimacy apart from…

Pursuing Jesus as the head means seeking him as Lord.  The Church talks a lot about the need for unity.  But then it turns around and seeks its own agenda to cause it to stand out from the rest.    This is a primary source of the church’s problem.  The church is more intent on establishing its legitimacy than being an expression of Jesus.  God is not looking to be impressed.  Jesus did not come into the world to show off or to try to impress God the Father.  He came to do the will of the one who sent Him.  He said that apart from the Father He (Jesus) could do nothing.  In order for the church to come into genuine unity with itself, it must first begin to connect with the Head- Jesus Christ.  In order for the church to experience Jesus as its functioning head, it must die to its own self-importance. 

The need to be special

Every person is born with the desire and even the need to be special.  Every person has a desire to fulfill His or her destiny.  But these pursuits create diversions from the Lord when they become ends in themselves.  The pursuit of self-fulfillment is actually the first temptation offered to man.  As people are led astray from their life in Christ into a pursuit of self-actualization, they move away from the one who would give them life.  Jesus said, “If any man wishes to be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”  When we ignore the course the Lord sets for us by pursuing our own will, we move into the survival of the fittest, which is simply another name for “the law of sin and death.”  This is the root of competition and the search for legitimacy that plagues the Body of Christ and causes it to disintegrate into so much division and brokenness. 

The Root of Competition

One of the reasons that unity is so difficult to attain is because there is such a deep root of competition in the Body.  Everyone has a legitimate need and desire to be significant.  Every person is unique and distinct, but people make a mistake when they measure their significance against someone else’s contribution.   It is interesting that some of the most gifted people are often tormented over this issue of significance.  It they can’t be the best then they won’t even play. 

This scenario is often played out in the church.  Distinctions are coveted and fought over.  Who has the best worship team?  Who has the best preacher?  Who has the nicest building or coolest décor?  Who is bringing in the next great speaker or concert?  Who’s got real revival going in their church?  Where is the place to be this week?  This kind of competitive spirit exists because people still are insecure about their position in Christ.  People want to be distinguished for something more than being in Christ.  People are looking for endorsement based in their own merit.  At the core of the fallen condition is a lust for approval. 

Are you a Superstar?

The church’s search for legitimacy is also exposed by its creation of and addiction to superstars.  The church gives superstar status to its most popular teachers and worship leaders.  Seminary’s hold certain personalities high for emulation by its students.  VIP status is everywhere.  Many in the church either want to be a superstar or hang out with one or at least get to sit on the front row when they come to town.  Why?  Because people seem to think that if they are seen with the right person or they get a prophecy it somehow validates them.  This condition exists in the church as chronically as in the world.  Incidentally, many people choose a church that seems exciting because they draw a certain amount of their own identity from the church they belong to.  But not even an anointed man can give what Christ alone is anointed to give.  When people look to others for validation it leaves them impoverished and still left looking for some way to fill the void.  When the emptiness gets acute, people leave the crowd to face their loneliness once again.  

The Source of Identity

The church must stop and think seriously about where its identity actually comes from.  Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “If you knew the gift of God and who it was who speaks to you… you would ask him and He would give you a drink of living water.”   If the church knew the gift of God…. If we truly began gazing on Jesus we would forget most of what we have been fighting about.  We would stop looking for man’s approval or for our favorite prophet to tell us and everyone else that we are legit.

 

Beholding Christ in One Another

If, however, we are not vulnerable to the Spirit’s work of revealing Christ to us and in us, we will never behold Christ in one another.  John wrote, “Our fellowship is with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ.”  1 John 1:5 Fellowship is a spiritual phenomenon.  It does not happen on a carnal level.  We cannot have direct fellowship with one another and experience what the New Testament writers understood as fellowship.   But when we know each other by the Spirit, look past the carnal issues and see the Spirit of Christ in each other and begin to fellowship with the person revealed to us by the spirit, then we begin to taste what the apostle John was talking about.   

So now let’s go back to the issue of competition.  “But when you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, there you have disorder and evil work.” James 3:15.  Competition is based in our carnal need for recognition of our own accomplishments apart from Christ.  Competition therefore forfeits real fellowship. When a person is trying to establish their significance based in their own performance and then begin to compare themselves with others, they will increasingly find themselves on the outside looking in.  Jesus said, “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory.” John 7:18.  When one is busy seeking his or her own glory then they can no longer receive correction.  Correction is viewed as a threat to their objective to appear approved before men.  This is nothing less than the spirit of Cain who slew His brother because he was jealous of his brother’s legitimacy before God.  This is the spirit of Saul who although he had been told that he had been rejected by God still begged Samuel to honor him before man. 

But there is no competition or comparisons in heaven.  Neither is there any competition in Christ.  Cain thought his issue was with Able.  He was mistaken. It was with God.  Had he fallen on his face and sought genuine relationship with the Father, he could have found favor with the Lord just like Able. 

Jesus offended the Pharisees when He challenged their claims as the rightful heirs of the kingdom and called into question their interpretation of the scriptures.  “Go and learn what this means”, he said, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”  Matthew 9:13.  He then infuriated them by pointing out others who gained legitimacy with God not in the conventional way of rigorously keeping the law but by simple humility and transparency.   (See Luke 18:14)  In the end, the Pharisees did to Jesus what Cain did to Able. 

So where does this lead us?  Sadly the church seeking its own legitimacy apart from God loses all favor with the Lord, disintegrates in factions, and ends up either isolated and self-absorbed or prostituting itself to the world.  Either way the church falls into a pathetic condition of insignificance with both God and man.  God holds the church under judgment; the world holds the church in contempt.

Divine Provision for Unity

The Church talks a lot about the need for unity, but it does not do much to maintain unity.  The church is too busy trying to distinguish itself.  It should instead seek to fulfill the prayer of Jesus.  One would think that Christ high priestly prayer would be a priority.  The prayer of Jesus offers the solution.  “…that they all may be one, as you Father are in Me and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”  Notice that Jesus’ prayer for unity is founded on the church’s ability to be one with the father and the Son. 

Attempts to establish significance and legitimacy based on performance and comparisons of the flesh, are rooted in one’s identity in Adam but not in Christ.  If we are of Christ, then we are all of the same family.  As soon as we start seeking legitimacy outside of Him, it opens Pandora’s box of evil and it reasserts every source of division that was overcome in Christ.   If we were truly fellowshipping with Christ we would not be looking at others with carnal comparatives seeking to establish our legitimacy. 

The church’s lack of unity is no longer excusable.  Jesus prayed, “The glory you gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.”  This is the church’s sufficient resource to be unified together.  If the church abides in Jesus, and partakes of His life, His glory, there is no reason for it not to be unified. 

Beloved, it is time for serious gut check.  What is motivating us?  Are we secure in who we are in Christ?  Are we trying to out-perform one another seeking some kind of legitimacy apart from Christ?  If so, we need to repent and we must do it now.  Very soon, this issue is going to be resolved in the church.  God is going to expose our motives.  Let’s get them on the solid rock of Christ. 

Prayer Initiative- With Many Infallible Proofs

April 1, 2014

Hey Everyone,

I am writing to let you know about a prayer burden that has been growing in me since just before I left for Nigeria. 

The week before I left, our church in Boise entered into a time of extended prayer for Saeed Abedini, an American citizen but of Iranian descent who is being held in prison in Iran for the gospel.  There has been international pressure placed on Iran for his release but so far Saeed is still held in prison and suffers daily beatings and torturing. 

As we prayed that day I felt like the Lord showed me that there was a tremendous opportunity to begin to pray for Iran and indeed for all Muslims of the world.  The reason was that Saeed has written to his family that he forgives his captors.  This means that he is blessing those who curse him and in so doing I felt that the Lord showed me that a door of opportunity was being opened through Saeed’s suffering and prayers of forgiveness.  If God’s people would concentrate prayer on Iran, I believe that we would see a great move of God in that country and a shift in the political climate.  I strongly believe that God intends to move powerfully among the Muslims of the world and prayer is the first step in partnering with God in this endeavor. 

That is why, beginning tomorrow, April 1^st Suzanne are going to start praying for the physical release of Saeed and the spiritual release of his captors (which essentially includes all of Islam) for the next 50 days.  This will span from Easter to Pentecost, which is seven weeks and one day. 

We have chosen this time period because for forty days after the resurrection Jesus showed himself alive to his disciples “with many infallible proofs” and then ten days later he sent the Holy Spirit.  After we decided on this time period, I spoke today with Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh Abedini and she told me that Saeed was saved on the day of Pentecost 13 years ago.  What a coincidence!!!

Therefore, I am looking for men and women of prayer to join Suzanne and I over the next 50 days to pray for Saeed’s release but also for an unprecedented release of revelation of the resurrected Jesus among the Muslim people’s of the world. 

We are calling the prayer initiative- With Many Infallible Proofs.    

There is more that I could share about this but for now I just want to send out the invitation and invite as many of you as feel inclined to join us to pray. 

Brian Harrison