Hey Friends,

Yesterday we talked about full surrender to the Spirit of the living God. Let me give you some illustrations to the fact. William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. At its inception it was all about evangelism. Booth had enormous success in his pursuit of souls and the Kingdom of God. He was asked the reason for his success:

“Booth remained silent for several moments. Finally, with tear-filled eyes, he said, ”There have been men with greater brains or opportunities than I, but I made up my mind that God would have all of William Booth there was.’”

“Several years later when General Booth’s daughter heard about her father’s comment regarding his full surrender to God, she said, “That wasn’t really his secret – his secret was that he never took it back.’”

Jim Cymbala wrote about surrender: “I discovered an astonishing truth; God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need Him. The first step in any spiritual awakening is demolition. We cannot make headway in seeking God without first tearing down the accumulated junk in our souls. Rationalizing has to cease. We have to start seeing the sinful debris we hadn’t noticed before, which is what holds back the blessings of God. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit and quenches His power among us.”

We must cry out to God in total desperation. We can do nothing but He can do all things. Let us humble ourselves in prayer and fasting. Let us seek Him with all of our heart. He is the answer and He is what we must seek first.

What are you depending on? Who are you trusting? How are you seeking God? He really is attracted to weakness – it is a theme that runs throughout the Word.

Love Ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

As you probably know by now, following Christ is a game of opposites. If you really want to win then you must raise the white flag of surrender! That is opposite to the world but not to God’s.

I know we would all agree that the Apostle Paul was a winner for the Lord. He saw his life as a living sacrifice – a drink offering – and not his own. As he surrendered to the Savior he won and won big. “For me, living is Christ, and dying is gain.”

We must deny self and let the Spirit of the living God take over and have His way. Lately in my quiet time I have been asking the Lord how to surrender more. How can we submit totally to the control of the Spirit in our lives? Is it possible?

Andrew Murry said: “What has God promised you, and what can God do to fill a vessel absolutely surrendered to Him? God wants to bless you in a way beyond what you expect. From the beginning, ear hath not heard, neither hath the eye seen what God hath prepared for them that wait for Him. God has prepared unheard of things you never can think of: blessings much more wonderful than you can imagine, more mighty than you can conceive. They are divine blessings.”

Part of our pursuit and passion in and for Him is learning how to raise the white flag and let Him have His way without hesitation and without reservation. Giving up to Him means going up with Him. Do you trust Him? Do you want Him? Is His plan the best?

Then raise the white flag, surrender to the Spirit of God and let Him take you wherever He wants. He can do it!

Yours to count on,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

So far this year I have read two books on fasting. I want to be as close to Christ as possible and I know that is your heart as well. I read Jentezen Franklin’s book and Ronnie Floyd’s book and both were great. God is stirring in my spirit as I get back to fasting. I am going to call for one soon at FPC. Let me give you nine things Dr. Floyd listed that will happen if a church participates in a corporate fast:

1. Focus. It is easy to get busy and miss the Master in the ministry. Don’t lose your first love.

2. Wonder. Do we still have the wonder and awe of the God we worship?

3. Sensitivity. As a family are we hearing the voice of the Spirit of the living God?

4. Unity. Jesus said, “A Kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” The devil is about dividing the family of God and defusing our power.

5. Growth. I know church growth is not a dirty word, but as long as it is a biblical concept I will keep it and do it, no matter how the current Christian culture sees it. I will not apologize for winning the lost and adding to His Church!

6. Anticipation. When a church fasts there will be anticipation of what God is about to do. Do you feel it?

7. Enlargement. When we fast our vision will grow as we see how big our God is.

8. Engagement. We will engage our community with compassion and with the gospel.

9. Advancement. As we fast we will move toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

We are at war with the devil who owns the souls of the lost. We must advance on our knees and with the power of God. I wonder how we forgot the door of fasting that opens to us the power of God? What do you need God to do that requires supernatural power and where fasting could open that door?

See you in the Spirit!

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Let me share with you a story I read in one of John Maxwell’s books and ask you what you would have done in the same situation:

“Dan Clark recalls that when he was a teenager, he and his father once stood in line to buy tickets for the circus. As they waited, they noticed the family immediately in front of them. The parents were holding hands, and they had 8 children in tow, all behaved well and all probably under the age of 12. Based on their clean but simple clothing, he suspected they didn’t have a lot of money. The kids jabbered about the exciting things they expected to see, and he could tell that the circus was going to be a new adventure for them. As the couple approached the counter, the attendant asked how many tickets they wanted. The man proudly responded, ‘Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.’ When the attendant quoted the price, the man’s wife let go of his hand, and her head drooped. The man leaned a little closer and asked, ‘How much did you say?’ The attendant again quoted the price. The man obviously didn’t have enough money. He looked crushed. Clark says his father watched all of this, put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a 20 dollar bill, and dropped it on the ground. His father then reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder, and said: ‘Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.’ The man knew exactly what was going on. He looked straight into Clark’s father’s eyes, took his hand, shook it, and with a tear streaming down his cheek, replied, ‘Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family.’ Clark and his father went back to their car and drove home. They didn’t have enough money to go to the circus that night, but it didn’t matter. They had encouraged a whole family.”

WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?

Love,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

As the Colts walked off the field after their loss in the Superbowl they did not look quite like the Saints did. You could tell who won and who lost without having even watched the game. You could see it in the morale of the players. One team went to the locker room and one went to celebrate. Morale is awesome when you have it and a bummer when you don’t. It is critical for a winning team. Does your team have it?

To turn a team around, morale is a must. Morale gives great power to any team that possesses it.

Let me give you five things John Maxwell says morale will provide:

1. High morale is the great exaggerator.  When the team has it they are positive and believe they can win and make a huge difference in any game.

2. High morale is the great elevator. With morale on the team they can go to a whole new level of performance. Confidence and faith are easy with morale. The opposite is true also; without morale there is no faith or confidence in or with the team. Without morale teammates usually look out just for themselves.

3. High morale is the great energizer. With great morale the team can scale any summit, carry any challenge, and run any race. Without it, energy seems to drain quickly and quitting becomes easier.

4. High morale is the great eliminator. With morale you can keep going, but without it almost any obstacle will stop the team.

5. High morale is the great emancipator. Winning frees you up, makes margins and makes life good. Without it…well, by now I’ll bet you get it or at least wish you had it.

So, how do you get it? You work on individual members of the team and help them become the spark for the other players on your team. You have to turn them around one at a time. As the leader it is your job to help the team gain morale.

Are you a morale motivator? Every team needs it, especially in the Kingdom.

Love you,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

The legendary and winning coach, Knute Rockne, said of his team: “An automobile goes nowhere efficiently unless it has a quick, hot spark to ignite things, to set the cogs of the machine in motion. So I try to make every player on the team feel like he’s the spark, keeping our machine in motion.”

No wonder he was such a winner and produced such winning teams. How would you like a coach like that? We all would!

We are all born with a certain amount of wattage. Some bulbs just burn brighter than others. Each player on your team has a part to play. I agree with the Coach – each player can add some fire. Are you a fire lighter and igniter or are you a fire fighter?

We have some igniters on our team and we would be lost without them. Let me introduce you to two:

• “Coach” Chuck Carringer is our Pastor of Family Ministries and he brings the fire. He lights up everyone around him. He brings passion and he wants to win the game.
• Michele Stephens, our Worship Leader, is the weekend coach. She pushes everyone and tries to create events where people can hook up with God. She has a fire burning in her.

I could keep going but for brevity’s sake I will stop here. Let me ask you a few questions:

When your name is called on the team what do people think? How do they see you? Are they glad to see you?

Do you encourage others and are you excited when someone else on the team scores? It takes a team to win and if we are only concerned with our personal stats then we might look good, but the team will lose the game.

Are you concerned with the win? How are you helping others on the team to stay fired up and in the game? What are you saying as you sit on the bench waiting on your turn to play? It may determine if, when, and how long you get to play.

Our teams winning means souls out of hell and captives are set free. The stakes are high.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Everyone today is looking for the edge – what will put them ahead of the competition. In a negative economy, what gives you the edge? In a day when so many are looking for jobs, what is the edge? In a day when so few churches are growing, what is the difference?

PASSION MAKES THE DIFFERENCE AND IT GIVES THE EDGE!

Let me give you some passion principles that I hope will help you:

1. Passion is the first step to achievement. To quote my friend John Maxwell: “Your desire determines your destiny. The stronger your fire, the greater the desire – and the greater the potential.”

2. Passion increases your spirit. If you are passionate about something it is fuel in your tank. You can keep going when others quit. The more I am around Coach Pat Summitt, I see why she keeps winning. She is full of passion. It is fire for the spirit.

3. Passion grows you. If you follow your passions you can’t help becoming more dedicated and devoted, productive and powerful in the field of your fire. You can only grow and become better.

4. Passion makes the impossible possible. In Genesis the people were building a tower to heaven. God said, “They are together and nothing is impossible for them.” Just think what would happen if the church got fired up and passionate about building the Kingdom! Wow – nothing would be impossible with Jesus!

Ask the Lord for passion. My tank stays so full, and people ask me how I stay fired up. It comes from a few things:

Passion Promise

1. It comes from surrender to the Spirit of God.

2. It comes from quality time with the Lord daily.

3. It comes from the Word of God which is a fire in my heart.

4. It comes from the people I hang with.

Are you on fire? Catch the fire and heat of the Spirit of the Living God.

Love you,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Let me ask you a very important question: Have you done all to stand? In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul lays out the spiritual armor for us to wear. If we wear it, we need to know we have done ALL we can do to “stand firm.”

So, in the spirit of this week’s blogs and the questions we are asking, let me ask you another: are you spending any time fasting? Most believers do not fast, so can they say they have done all? The answer is no. If we fail to fast then we are missing a huge piece of our spiritual disciplines and this one opens the door to many things.

I challenge you to read Isaiah chapter 58 to see if we are fasting like the Lord wants. If we do, there are 22 promises He will fulfill! Let me list a few for you:

1. Freedom

2. No more oppression

3. We will share

4. Our light will shine

5. We will experience healing

6. Protection by our Father

7. Answered prayer

This is a coveted list that people petition God for daily, and yet few fast. Can you explain that to me? Some don’t know, to be sure. Some don’t want to. So, do we want food more than God? Fasting opens up a door for God to move like no other.

Have we done all we can to stand if we have not fasted? I think not! The father of lies does not want us to fast because when we do, the Lord breaks oppressions.

I challenge you to set aside some time for fasting. I am going to call FPC to fast for seven days leading up to Sacred Storm and Easter weekend. We can see hundreds saved –  I am sure of it! If we choose not to fast, can we say we have done all we can do to stand?

Look around – it is time to seek the Lord.

Love you,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

The Dead Sea is beautiful. I have driven around it and have gone for a swim in it. It is below sea level and NOTHING can live in it because everything flows in and nothing flows out. It is dead! It is dead because this is not how the Lord designed the world to operate.

We are all supposed to take things in and we are all supposed to give things out. This is true in the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm. Far too many people, and even some in the church today, are dead seas in their lives and in their thinking.

Life is all about them! Everything flows to them, but never away. They are like the Dead Sea and  nothing can really live in them or around them. The Dead Sea is selfish and God can’t bless selfishness. I hope you caught that last sentence because it is so true. 

I wonder if some of the churches today are “Dead Sea” in their thinking. If the life of God is flowing in, then the life of God should be flowing out and giving others life.

Does life flow out of you? Are you a giver of yourself? Of your money? Of your time?

Look around you – do you see life? Are the people around you flourishing, thriving, growing, and giving life to others? That is the plan of God. We are blessed to be a blessing. People are like plants; they need water to grow and we are called to water them.

Who are you blessing?

Just some thoughts…

Love you,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

I just got back from West Palm Beach where I was with my friend and leadership mentor, John Maxwell. The weather was an unpleasant shock to my system upon my return! During one of the sessions at the Roundtable, John made a statement: “Statements can impact you but questions can change your life.” As I sat and listened to some amazing leaders like Chris Hodges of Church of the Highlands, Robert Morris of Gateway Church, and Todd Mullins of Christ Fellowship Church, these are some of the HARD questions that hit my mind:

1. What boundaries has God given me for ministry? If He gave Israel boundaries for their country and where not to go, do we have boundaries? Can we reach too far to places He did not give us?

2. Do I see the value in people?

3. Am I really experiencing silence and solitude?

4. What was the last Word the Lord gave me?

5. Do I work harder at growing myself inside than I do outside?

6. Will I finish well, and what does that look like?

7. Am I a leader driven by the Presence of the Lord?

8. What am I doing that will bring supernatural results?

9. Am I an extravagant giver?

These questions may not impact you, but they left me grappling with God. I have to admit I did not like some of my answers. I used to be an extravagant giver; not so much today. That hurt – I guess it’s easy to live off of yesterday’s manna.

As you can tell I had some repenting to do. I also have some changes to make. See, questions really can change your life.

How were your answers? I’ll bet the Lord has some changes He desires in you. What do you think?

Just questions…

Love you,

Pastor Chris