Did They Love Too Much?
John 12:23-27 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say. ‘Father, save me from this hour’ No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
For over 20 years, our churches were thriving examples of what it means to “give up everything you have” for the sake of the gospel, each other, the mission and for God! Now the norm is complacency, lack of passion, excuses, uninspiring preaching, visionless churches, teaching with no call to obey, autonomy that has killed the desire and ability to evangelize all nations and the embracement of a new gospel that says, “what is the least I can do and still be a Christian”. Sadly, many evangelists, elders and teachers are preaching this gospel so as to not upset members who have taken their lives back from the Lord and where entire congregations want preachers to “say what their itching ears want to hear”.
It was reported to me that recently that a man who gambles several times weekly preached in one of the churches that living for Jesus was like poker. He then went on to explain the “spiritual lessons” learned about Jesus from his sinful habit! In one of the churches, members attend a “pentecostal” congregation in the morning or a church which holds to false teaching on conversion and then meet with the Church of Christ later- and this is tolerated and accepted, with these members being “held up” in sermons as great examples. No longer is it that only a lukewarm heart is tolerated; now false doctrine is being accepted and embraced so as to not “offend members” Galatians 1:6-9.
When a sold-out disciple is challenged that they have become lukewarm in their commitment and love for God, they are grateful, shed tears and radically repent. When the same words are spoken to someone who has taken their life back- there is anger, gnashing of teeth, accusations with a virtual “flinging of dust into the air” Acts 22:23-24 and hatred is spewed. John 15:18-16:4 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you.
When love for sin and the religiosity of the world creeps in, a hatred of the truth begins and grows radically until it takes over your thinking- corrupting your heart and soul. It then seems normal to criticize those who are calling you back to a sold-out commitment to God. Jesus speaks clearly in John 12, that “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed”- the price is acutely obvious. Then he says, “whoever serves me must follow me”. Where was Jesus going? To the cross- faithfully giving everything he had. He concludes by saying, “where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me”- in other words, the Father will not honor the ones serving themselves and embracing another gospel. While so many are criticizing what we are doing in the Portland Movement, souls are being saved, those who have fallen away are coming back, men are dreaming with vision again, the word is being preached powerfully and unapologetically, marriages are being healed and churches are being revived! You will have to decide as Gamaliel did in Acts 5:33-39 what is really happening. Are all the disciples in Portland, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago and others in the movement, out of their minds, filled with dissension and far from God? Or could this be the hand of God reviving men and women from being lukewarm and even spiritually dead?
I am excited to share about some of the great things God is doing in our churches- all over the world; souls are being saved as dozens have been baptized in just the last few months. Older men (yes, even older than me!) are coming back to life and are now preaching fearlessly as in Acts 5:41-42.
In the Caribbean, there is a light shining powerfully again. Michael and Maria Hart have stepped out on faith and are preaching that a sold-out heart is the only kind of heart Jesus seeks. Since starting the new Curacao International Christian Church, several members who did not agree with the call from the pulpit have left. And yet, God is blessing incredibly as they have had their first baptism in almost 2 years and the first woman baptized in 5 years, as they saw Claudette added to their number. This was just a few weeks after speaking out against the sin they had tolerated. Now they are living by faith again. God is showing his awesome power as now the small group of only 6 disciples has 7 people seriously studying the Bible! Michael informed me that, prayerfully, 2 or 3 more of these amazing people could be baptized within a few weeks. To God be the glory for miracles and for allowing any of us to repent and change when we turn to him wholeheartedly.
Maria Hart, from Curacao, visits
the Phoenix Church for 10 days.
It was an incredible faith building
time having her here!
Every day I hear astounding news from Chicago, Kinshasa, Los Angeles, Portland, Kiev, Las Vegas and so many other cities that it reminds me of what I read in the New Testament of the church growing powerfully in numbers and spiritual strength. To be in fellowship with these churches is inspiring and an upward call to stay faithful and continue to proclaim the message of the cross. I am reminded of Paul’s words as he is on his way to Jerusalem- “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
While many are mourning the “loss of 20 good years of their lives” and even claiming that they “loved too much and gave too much to the cause”, let us powerfully press on and prayerfully inspire the many to repent and follow Jesus again. We are called to follow him to the cross- daily and with conviction until the end of our last breath. Let it not be said that we almost did it- but let it be said- that as many kernels of wheat fell to the ground and died, there were many hundreds and thousands of seeds born again all around the world!
He stoops down to make us great,
Matt Sullivan
