DEDICATION TO UNITY, DEDICATION TO EXCELLENCE, AND DEDICATION TO RESPONSIBILITY

Dedication to Unity

‘I checked myself and realized that cutting of the branch of abortion is not enough. Some other branch, almost equally evil, will just grow in its place. But if we can deal with the root, we can deal with the tree. So I thought, “what is the root of abortion?” The answer I came to was that the root is selfishness! It springs from the attitude, “I’m going to live my life my way to please myself. I am going to get maximum amount of pleasure and accept the minimum of responsibility. So if a baby is coming and I don’t want it, or if it doesn’t suit me, then I’ll get rid of the baby.” I think this is the attitude which has given rise to the wholesale practice of abortion. We need to escape from being self-centered. Self-centeredness is a devil’s prison. The more the devil gets you centered in yourself, the more he has you at his mercy. I’ve dealt with hundreds of people in deliverance from evil spirits, and one almost universal feature of people who need deliverance in their self-centeredness.’ (-Derek Prince.)

‘Late in his Life, Dr. Barnhouse, the great Presbyterian Bible teacher said in a public message:
“I learned something about the Pentecostals. In 95% of our doctrine we are in total agreement, 2% total disagreement, 3% what you might call a shaded area. But I will gladly give 5% to any brother who will do the same for me.” (-Jimmy Owens.)

‘When Athenagoras, the head of the Orthodox Church, came to Rome, I turned to a good friend of mine, an Orthodox, and I asked, “Tell me, what is the reason for our division according to you? What is the main reason?” And I will never forget his answer. He said, “The main reason for our division since the eleventh century is that we haven’t spoken to each other during nine centuries.”
(-Leon Joseph Cardinal Seenens)

‘We’re here to witness to each church concerning the reality of the renewal, and we’re here to call upon all our brothers and sisters who belong to our churches, who are fellow Christians with us. We are here to call upon them in a loving way to join us in being more and more radically open to the renewal of the Holy Spirit in the Church today.’

‘We’re here not in a critical way, but in a loving way to exhort the churches – to say to our churches that the Spirit of God is in fact falling in power today, and we are the witnesses of it; we are the results of it. And what we have experienced is not coming upon us to set us apart as “the charismatics,” but it is coming upon the whole Church, the whole Body of Christ, so that the whole Church in every corner, in every congregation, in every assembly may be thoroughly and totally filled with the Spirit and equipped with every spiritual grace and gift needed to be the Body of Christ in an effective, world-changing way in today’s society. We have also to realize that unity is happening even now – that the Holy Spirit is making us one, and many powerful streams, are in fact, flowing together. We have to realize that by the power of the Holy Spirit, God has dug some canals between these streams. God has opened the floodgates that allow huge bodies of water to flow into one another. Today the people of the Spirit are coming together, flowing together. Work of the Spirit is meeting up with work of the Spirit.’ (- Kevin Ranaghan)

‘It says as the end of Psalm 33, “…for there the Lord commanded the blessing.” So often we struggle for the blessing. We strive for it, we spray for it, we fast for it. It’s good that we do those things, but how nice to be in the place where the Lord has commanded the blessing. Where is that place? It’s where God’s people come together; where brethren dwell together in unity.’ (- Derek Prince.)

‘We’ve tried every gimmick and procedure imaginable for evangelism, and yet God’s method for reaching a city remains a united Church.’ (- Jimmy Owens.)

‘A miracle they may forget, but a community of Kingdom people they cannot ignore.’
(- Ern Baxter.)

A Covenant Community: A community of God’s redeemed people: bound together in covenant love, submitted to compassionate authority and ruler-ship, and manifesting peace, holiness and family fidelity expressed through revered fatherhood, cherished woman and motherhood with secure and obedient children. A community where loving correction and instruction produce healthy growth and maturity; where dedication to excellence produces the finest results in arts, crafts, trades and commerce, providing prosperity and abundance for all its members. A community of faith, worship, praise and a selfless ministry, manifesting individually and corporately the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit. A community where all life is inspired and directed by the Spirit of Jesus Christ and is lived to His glory as a witness and testimony to the world. (-Don Basham.)

Dedication to Excellence - Ron Milton

Don Basham said (see above) that dedication to excellence within a community produces the finest results in arts, crafts, trades and commerce, providing prosperity and abundance for all its members. We don’t have to settle for second rate. We need to get away from the mentality that Christians are allowed to be second rate at anything they do. (We often think that because we are doing a deed for the Lord, we can do it the cheapest, easiest way possible, believing that somehow God isn’t interested in doing things excellently. Nothing could be less accurate than such a belief.) To handle with quality and good stewardship the possessions and tasks that God has given us demands an attitude of care. It is an attitude of wanting to reflect God’s glory by the way you approach and handle things; making sure you are doing things for God’s glory with your whole heart. Without meaning to be critical, I would have to say that occasionally I am embarrassed to go into a place where there are a lot of “Christian” items for sale. Often they are of a very low quality and everything smacks of religion. In contrast to this, I know of some brothers who are producing works of art which are not especially religious pictures, nor are they carnal pictures. But what they produce reflects and glorifies God, whether it is a painting of a pastoral scene or a nature setting or some other subject. Whatever it is, it glorifies God because they are putting quality into their work. They are recognizing God as the source of their talent, letting God be their inspiration, and they are producing quality. For a long time, Christian music was second rate. But in the last few years there has been a restoration of quality music by Christians, where Christian musicians have used their God-given talents to produce first-rate music that glorifies God.

The ability to be an artist doesn’t come from man; it comes from God. God is an artist. He is creative, and creative abilities for music, art, construction and all other creative tasks come from Him. For example, who was it who told Noah how to build the ark? That ark was perfectly designed even to the point it was impossible for it to capsize. T.V. is a great way of communicating if we could only communicate the right things. You can take T.V. out of your home, but that is not going to eliminate the influence it has on the country. What we need to do is change the influence it has rather than just back off and say ‘I’m not going to get involved.’ The Body of Christ doesn’t have to take a second seat in anything. If we are dedicated to excellence, we will produce the finest in arts, crafts, trades and commerce – in every area. Whatever you do should be for the glory of God. Produce God’s image and reflect His character, His heart, His nature in whatever you are doing. God intends to remove the negative image that the Church has received from the world- to allow us to break out of the stereo-type that has been thrust upon us. To do so, we must be a balanced people, able to function in many different ways and capacities with excellence.
…Artists in the world such as musicians exercise their talents because it meets some inner need they have, and they use art as a way of expressing some emotion or feeling. Their goal is mainly carnal and self-centered – they are geared for self-gratification. The motivation, source and inspiration for our talents is not to show ourselves off, but to edify the Body by reflecting God’s nature, God’s plan and God’s purpose. Dedication to excellence will produce the finest results in all areas. Our eyes need to be enlightened until we can see that His inheritance in the saints will produce a quality of life on earth reflective of the quality of life in heaven. It is very interesting that during World War 11 when the Jews were put in various ghettos and camps, one of the first things they did was set up theatres, orchestras and schools. They always provided that for themselves. I believe that we are being motivated in the Spirit of God in the same way to produce an environment that is supportive of our relationship with the Lord- where our talents and abilities are used to glorify the Lord.

Dedication to Responsibility

You are so EXTRAVAGANT, Jesus… Philip Streeter

‘You are so extravagant, Jesus- unbelievably extravagant in everything You do.
To use the word ‘economy’ when it comes to describing You is insulting and belittling, For You made a superabundance of things that are of no use to anybody. How many cast a second glance at sunrises and sunsets? Yet both go flaunting around the skies like woman parading their new dresses. How many of us bother our heads about a field full of varnished buttercups? We can’t eat them! Yet you find buttercups so cheap and fascinating to produce that golden carpets flop around everywhere. Then there’s the huge, heaving seas. Why make so much water Jesus? We can’t drink it! And all those snowflakes endlessly parachuting to earth. Why send so many and why each one a different pattern and shape? Sheer extravagance: No, Jesus. You are by no means economical. Even the picnic on the hill resulted in twelve baskets of leftovers. It wasn’t six bottles of well water that You changed into wine but SIX THIRTY-GALLON stone jars full! Once again, sheer extravagance! Then there were those fishermen bobbing about in a boat all night without catching so much as a sardine. You just spoke the word and their nets were crammed to breaking point with flapping silver fish. Just like You Lord. Not content to give an average catch, it had to be an extravagant one! Mary of Bethany was extravagant in her worship of You and everyone yelled ‘Economize!’ You replied: ‘This woman’s extravagance will be praised and remembered for ever.’ ‘Good, my son. You are beginning to glimpse a hue in the rainbow of my character. Extravagance to a wild and careless degree is the characteristic of my Father and Me. I was never precise, calculating and sensible when it came to giving life and love for you on that dark hill. When it came to loving you, I knew nothing of economy and that is why I have the reputation (in heaven anyway!) of being the most extravagant person ever to walk the dust paths of this planet. Your common sense, my son, is all very well in the petty, paltry things, but it can never be made the bedrock of life, for common sense usually produces timidity and timidity tags along with economy. You see, it’s possible to be so economical that no risks are taken; nothing is ventured; everything is speculated; subsequently, faith is abandoned for common sense and my life is robbed of all excitement and adventure. I tell you, my son, not only has wealth been deified these days but also economy! And when economy is enthroned, man will do nothing that has a vague suggestion of extravagance. You cannot hoard yourself up for a rainy day, son, and justify it in the light of my teaching. You must give yourself extravagantly for security in the wisdom of your own economic prowess is directly opposite to the extravagance of my Father who revels in feeding birds, cultivating grass and inventing flowers simply because…because…because…He enjoys doing it.’

In contrast to the poem, ‘You are so Extravagant, Jesus,’ or perhaps as its complement, the following extracts from ‘An Evangelical Commitment to Simpler Lifestyle,’ the joint-production of 85 Christians from 27 countries representing various responsible evangelical sections:

Poverty and Wealth

‘We affirm that involuntary poverty is an offense against the goodness of God. It is related in the Bible to powerlessness, for the poor cannot protect themselves. God’s call to rulers is to use their power to defend the poor, not to exploit them. The church must stand with God and the poor against injustice, suffer with them and call on rulers to fulfill their God-appointed role.’

‘We have struggled to open our minds and hearts to the uncomfortable words of Jesus about wealth. ‘Beware of covetousness’ he said, and ‘a person’s life does not consist in an abundance of his possessions’ (Luke 12:15). We have listened to his warnings about the danger of riches. For wealth brings worry, vanity and false security, the oppression of the weak and indifference to the sufferings of the needy. So it is hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:23), and the greedy will be excluded from it. The kingdom is a free gift offered to all, but it is especially good news for the poor because they benefit most from the changes it brings.’

Personal Lifestyle

‘While some of us have been called to live among the poor, and others to open our homes to the needy, all of us are determined to develop a simpler lifestyle. We intend to re-examine our income and expenditure, in order to manage on less and give away more. We lay down no rules or regulations, for either ourselves or others. Yet we resolve to renounce waste and oppose extravagance in personal living, clothing and housing, travel and church buildings. We also accept the distinction between necessities and luxuries, creative hobbies and empty status symbols, modesty and vanity, occasional celebrations and normal routine, and between service to God and slavery to fashion. Where to draw the line requires conscientious thought and decision by us, together with members of our family. Those of us who belong to the West need the help of our Third World brothers and sisters in evaluating our standards of spending. Those of us who live in the Third World acknowledge that we too are exposed to the temptation to covetousness. So we need each other’s understanding, encouragement and prayers.’

‘God is setting us into our various places so that His Kingdom can come on earth. The Apostle Paul said, “Abide in he calling wherein you were called.” If we were called to “gospel” work, we should abide in that calling. If we are called to “secular’ work, we should abide in that calling and obey God in it; allowing God to use our work situations to fulfill His purpose for us. In this way, all the world will ultimately see a practical demonstration of the Kingdom of God. (-John Beckett.)

‘Most of us have some kind of estimation of what success is, and we try to build everything according to that success pattern. But in the Kingdom the only thing that matters is the will of the Father. By our terms of success, Jesus was not very successful as a steward because He died doing what He did. And you will probably die doing what you do. All they who live righteously and godly will suffer the same kind of treatment that He suffered. But He obeyed explicitly. In the garden, He said, ‘Father I want to make sure that we’re seeing things exactly the same way. About this matter of the cross – if it’s Your will, could we bypass the cross, and do something different?’ No answer from heaven. Jesus said, ‘Nevertheless, Thy will be done.’ And He went to the cross.’