High Places

FYI - I just uploaded a new message on my Podcast called “High Places”. I preached it last Fall for the first and only time so far. I’ve put a small overview of the message below…

You read continually in the Old Testament how many of the kings did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But for all of the God-pleasing that they did, they neglected to tear down the high places. For 280 years, dozens of kings sat in rule over Israel and Judah, and many of them really did have a heart after God.

BUT - they would not, or could not, tear down the HIGH PLACES. These were altars that were set up by Jeroboam to steal Israel’s loyalty away from the current King of Israel (and TRUE King - Jehovah).

We then can look at our own lives and see where we strive to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, but we refuse to tear down the high places. The places of compromise. The places of hidden sin. The places of our habits. We spend our lives trying to please God, but it is these high places, these places out of the way, and out of our sight, that work against what God is trying to do in our lives.

It is time we take a look at our high places.

Fast forward to the present day… and us living out our faith walks for Christ.

Many of us work hard to follow in the ways of the LORD. Yet it’s common for the enemy to work just as hard to set up his own high places in our midst. The majority of our lives seem to be under God’s control (just like the kings of Israel) but there is a particular “High Place” that has been in our life for so long - defying God and His plans for us. This “high place” could be represent walls in our marriage, abusive or absent parents, addictions, generational curses, anger, mind games, guilt, fear, a lack of His prosperity, unsaved loved ones, broken relationships, unforgiveness, self doubt, etc.

Whatever it is, we have battled with it for a long time, and we’ve learned to co-exist with it - instead of conquering it. Some of us are convinced we cannot tear them down… and others of us plainly just don’t want to.

Either way… there IS hope.

I read about it in 2 KINGS 23:14-16.

14 Josiah smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones. 15 Even the altar at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also. 16 Then Josiah looked around, and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in accordance with the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who foretold these things.

Josiah had the guts to go after the very thing that no one else had the courage, or the audacity, to tear down. After he read the Book of the Law (God’s Word), he was convicted of the way that they were all living, and decided to cleanse the land of EVERY high place that stood in defiance of God.

Even Jeroboam’s.

NOBODY went after Jeroboam’s.  Except Josiah.

Because of this - it was written of him that neither before, or after him, was there a King who performed such a cleansing of the land as he did.

It is time for us to follow the footsteps of Josiah.

It is time that we see the ‘High Places’ for what they are - idols that set themselves up against the holiness of God in our lives. It is time that we don’t allow these things to take away from the abundant life that God offers us. It is time that we go beyond, and live in a victory that speaks, so that when others are describing our lives, they cannot say of us; ‘they pleased the Lord, but did not remove the high places.’

Hope you enjoy the message…

JJ

Podcast Release Official ::

Well, it is official - The Epic Change Podcast is now on iTunes! I will be uploading brand new messages every week, so be sure to subscribe by following the instructions below. It’s really easy, I promise… just make sure you have iTunes on your computer!

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You can subscribe to the Podcast automatically through iTunes, by CLICKING HERE and then making sure to click the “SUBSCRIBE” button on my iTunes Podcast homepage once you get there.

iTunes displays your Podcast playlist, which shows all of the podcasts to which you have subscribed. Next to the new podcast subscription, you should see an orange circle, which indicates that iTunes is downloading the most recent episode. When the orange circle disappears, you should be able to see the podcast title, a list of all the episodes downloaded, and a check next to the most recent episode, indicating that it has been successfully downloaded. Double-click on the episode to play it in iTunes. If you can play the episode, then you have successfully subscribed to the Epic Change podcast!

Enjoy!

JJ

ZENN

No, not Zen buddhism… much better - it’s the all new Zenn car!

The Zenn (which stands for Zero Emission, No Noise), available since February from Feel Good Cars subsidiary Zenn Motors, can be purchased from 33 dealerships throughout 20 U.S. states.

Priced around $13,000, the car offers a driving range of up to 35 miles per charge. And while the car can go faster, it tops out at 25 mph, in keeping with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations for this type of car.

Ironically, while the Zenn was developed by a publicly traded company based in Canada, it has not yet been approved for street-legal driving in Canadian provinces. Go figure - leave it up to us Canadians to let a great idea get caught up in bureaucracy!

Check out their website HERE.

You know, if you’re upset about rising gas prices… this car doesn’t even have a gas tank! Just plug it in to your neighbors wall outlet and have at it! OK, well don’t do that to your neighbor…

JJ.

Democracy or Theocracy?

I’ve been doing some thinking on spiritual authority… and it seems as though we live in an era where Judges 21:25 is more prevalent than ever - when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes”.

If you ask 10 different people on the street the question; “what are your religious beliefs”, it’s probable that you’re going to get 10 different answers… once you go a few steps deeper than ‘I believe in (a) God’ of course. What is even more frightening is that you’re likely to hear 10 different reasons of why.

Sometimes I wonder if the same issue exists within the walls of Jesus’ church. I know we all believe in and serve the same God - but when it comes down to how we devote our lives to Him, things begin to look a lot different.

It’s almost as if we’re viewing ourselves as being autonomous (self-law), with no higher authority than ourselves… making it all up as we go along, depending on what we feel is right and what serves our lifestyle best.

I would call this Relative Morality - the opposite of Absolute Truth.

Now, it is pretty evident in the current season of our American Presidential elections, that we live in a Democracy - a system where we can vote in and out our highest leadership and government. A system that essentially allows us to put people into leadership that we believe reflect OUR values and beliefs… people that will fight for what WE think is right.

I think this is a great system for politics.

I don’t think this is a great system for spiritual development and discipleship.

What if we treated God how we treat politics? Would we ever vote God out of being God? I know that in the past, churches have voted their lead pastors out of the pulpit. What if we’re fighting harder for what is more important to US than what is right?

If you read 1 Samuel 8, you’ll find Israel pleading with Samuel for a King… and their reasoning was culture based. They said they wanted to be like all the other nations who had a king to rule over them as well. Essentially, they rejected what God had for them, to embrace what the latest trends were in the local cultures. God told them He would be their King, and that He would do a much better job than any man ever could.

But - they wouldn’t listen. Their ‘democracy’ overruled His ‘theocracy’.

Culture won out over Conviction.

Looking across the cultures of our world, there isn’t a uniform concept of right and wrong. For example, some cultures out there practice polygamy, while others endorse monogamy. Some cultures consider it a moral obligation to give one of their children to an infertile couple, while others, such as certain Eskimo groups, practice euthanasia and infantacide. Among the Auca Indians of South America, treachery was considered to be virtuous. In fact, after sharing the Gospel with them, the missionaries were shocked to learn that they saw Judas as the hero of the Gospel, not Jesus! What the natives of Polynesia considered wrong is wild - despite the fact that women had much freedom in the area of sexual relations, it was ‘taboo’ to eat a meal with someone of the opposite sex.

Wow.

If that was the case here, I would be going to hell on a rocket ship. OK, don’t get bent out of shape here… stay with me! I just wanted to get you smiling =)

But, seriously - in view of such moral diversity, we should be scared to base our beliefs on what our culture says is right and wrong.

Unfortunately, this more ‘enlightened’ way of viewing morality causes its very foundation to be set on a moving target… if we let culture define our morality and convictions, we push God and His truth out of the picture, ultimately letting go of any true standard binding us to a higher way of living.

We, just like Israel, push our spiritual democracy through, and reject His theocracy.

I guess we could call that rebellion… and to rebel is to set up a counter authority.

So next time, or maybe even today, as we’re establishing our boundaries, our convictions and our values, let’s all remember that you are either UNDER authority or OPPOSING it. Let’s remember to follow what Phillippians 2:12 says: “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Let’s remember to put what God wants for us before what we want for ourselves.

That’s enough writing for today =)

JJ.

Worship Presentation Software for MAC.

Just a quick little tech note for you Mac users out there…

On January 31, Renovatio Software released the “iWorship” software download on apple.com. The download is a 30 day trial, and if you like it enough, get a check out for $500 for the full license.

Here’s some of the key features:

Key Features:
- No limits on concurrent uses - no need to pay extra for a “site license”
- Slick, intuitive interface - virtually no learning curve, even for the beginner.
- High-Definition video playback support.
- Play DVD videos from directly within iWorship.
- Live video from any connected FireWire or USB camera streamed under your text.
- Instantly adapts to playback monitor - zero configuration required.
- Blazing fast editing - easily edit slides directly in the thumbnails.
- Live spell check happens automatically as you type.
- .Mac integration - works with Backup to keep your library safe on your iDisk.

If you’re interested, you can read more here.

JJ

:: This is the way to dream ::

I was reading a leadership blog this morning, and I came across this article where the Ben Arment says:

“So I’m sitting in Starbuck’s yesterday enjoying a fine beverage, and this dude sits at the counter, sets up a whiteboard, and starts scratching away with ideas. I was floored. I’ve seen crackberrys, laptops, tablet PCs and iPhones… but this is the first time I’ve seen an actual whiteboard on location.”

What better environment than Starbucks to start dreaming with a whiteboard… Staples, here I come =)

By the Way… speaking of Starbuck’s - beginning this spring, Starbuck’s Card holders can enjoy up to two hours of free Wi-Fi service per day at Starbuck’s locations offering Wi-Fi access! Tell me this isn’t long overdue… you can read more about this at http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=827

JJ

Time stands still

OK, this is really cool. It doesn’t have much spiritual significance, but I love the creativity and boldness.

200 people made time stand still at Grand Central Station in New York City - for 5 minutes. “Improv Everywhere” Agents froze in place at the exact same second in the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. Over 500,000 people rush through Grand Central every day, but today, things slowed down just a bit as commuters and tourists alike stopped to notice what was happening around them.  Thanks to Danislinus for the good find.

Watch this video and be WOWED.

JJ

:// I dream of CHANGE.

I dream of EPIC CHANGE.

Just about every other week, I wonder why I am here.  Why I do the things I do.  Why I pay the price I pay.  Why I give up the things I give up.  Why I sacrifice things of high value to me to be a leader in Master’s Commission.  Why I lay my life on the line.  Why I don’t just find another place to be.

I ask these questions, just like you do, because I have to know.

I HAVE to know.

I can’t imagine myself living at this level without the “why”.  I ask these questions, because the answer is SO important.  If I don’t constantly remind myself of the “why”, then my focus and leadership gets blurred in the cloud of daily battles and demands.  I stop seeing the forest, because I can only see the trees.  The big picture gets lost in the haze of the small, daily issues.

When I lose the “why”, I start losing my will.  The excitement fades, the passion wilts, and my effectiveness is diminished.  I start wasting my time on what matters less, to forget about what matters more.  Sound familiar?

One of the dangers I often fear happening in our Master’s is a contentment in busyness.  I fear that the appearance of our busyness alone will fool us to believe that we are effective.  That we will trust that as long as we are busy… God is changing our lives.  The problem with this is that great amounts of activity don’t automatically produce life change.  It only gives the impression that things are happening, that there is life.

I want us all to make sure that we put a purpose to our busyness.  I want YOU to put a purpose to YOUR busyness.  We can’t change the fact that our weeks are filled with awesome opportunities, and really, I don’t want to, because God moves through it all.  BUT – we can change the way we live and lead through those weeks.  We can fight to hold on to the reason we are here… the “why”.

Why am I in prayer today?  Why am I leading this AC?  Why am I memorizing scriptures?  Why am I serving in this task?  Why am I organizing this event?  Why am I discipling this person?  Why am I showing up today?

Let me take you back to the “why”, and help us all to put a fresh purpose to our days.

EPIC CHANGE.

That’s it.  For you.  For me.  For them.  For us.

This is why we’re all here.  This is the mission.  This is the vision.  This is the purpose.  This is the process.  This is the thing we should all be thinking about, praying about, hoping for, working for, moving towards, and dreaming for.  EPIC CHANGE, and nothing less.  This is the one thing we should NEVER forget.  An EPIC CHANGE that is initiated by God, and founded in Him.

I’ve dreamt of it and I want to share my dream with you…

Everybody talks about it.  Everybody lives it.  Nobody is excluded.  Nobody falls short.  Nobody misses out.  Nobody loses.  Nobody quits.  Everyone finishes their race… a race to cross that line of revolutionary life change.  Christlike change.  Epic Change.

Every event in our schedule moves us one step closer to it.  If we can’t figure out a way to put Epic Change somehow in the event, I don’t want the event.

Prayer times are mind-blowing.  Students are showing up an hour early, or even more, because they’re so hungry for God.  Their desire for intimacy supercedes their need for extra sleep.  They learned this because they SAW IT in us.  The anointing fills the room much earlier than the schedule requires.  Those who do come on time walk into a bath of God’s Presence.  Their defenses fall.  Their problems shrink.  Their strength is renewed.  Their desire is stirred.  Their apathy is held at the door by angels of aggression.  Their insecurities are dismantled, and they cry out to God in spite of who’s listening.  Everybody enters in and nobody is on the outside.  God’s Presence is there and we get Epic Change.  This is POSSIBLE.

Relationships are deep.  Accountability is strong.  Unity is binding us together as a family.  When the world is working division, we are building unity.  When others are hiding their problems, we are open about them.  When others are afraid to tackle the deep issues, we are courageous to.  Because that brings EPIC CHANGE.  Discipleship is intentional.  It is aggressive, and it is happening everywhere.  Car rides, lunch rooms, hallways, offices, living rooms, altars.  It builds upon great friendships, and goes gut-level to places most are afraid.  It is courageous and risk-taking.  This is POSSIBLE.

Worship is freeing.  There is a breaker anointing present every time.  It is wild sometimes, and intimate others.  Nobody sits down on the inside, because the team (not just the leader) leading us is going for it so bad, we are moved to do the same.  They are so captured by the Great I AM that they cannot hold it in.  They don’t care who’s watching.  They don’t care what people might think of them.  All they can think about is giving Him their very best.  It makes us hungry to go to there with them.  We are all moved to do the same.  We are a class of worshippers.  Epic Change again.  This is POSSIBLE.

What God is doing in us, we get to give it away.  Our ministry is at a whole new level.  Anointing.  Excellence.  Power.  Creativity.  It’s not a chore, but a privilege.  It’s not a chance for us to shine, but a chance to make Him shine.  Every leader carries a sense of ownership of what God has given them.  It is their worship to God, and they always give their best.  God is using that.  Ministry Streams are developing creative tools more often that we can even use them.  We’re creating, not re-producing.  New songs are being written.  They change the class.  New illustrations are designed, and used to show people the Truth in a whole new light.  New tools for outreach are conceived, and souls are saved as a direct result.  Schools are begging us to come change their kids.

We are causing Epic Change in others.  We are discovering how we fit in to the big picture of God’s plan.  This is POSSIBLE.

Everybody LOVES to be here.  Not because it’s always fun.  Not because it’s always easy.  Not because it’s always exciting.  We love coming in everyday, because we know what is here… because we know the why.  We know what awaits us in our days.  We know that we can have our own EPIC CHANGE.  Let me tell you that, if we fully buy in to this as a team, we are unstoppable.

If this dream is going to come true, it’s got to become YOUR dream.  One person can’t do this alone.  We need to band together like never before, and believe that this IS POSSIBLE.  What if we all believed it?  What if we all pursued it?  What if we all gave everything we had to get it?  What if we all came together and experienced it all?  This would be the most unbelievable year of your entire life.  This would be a year of EPIC CHANGE.  It IS POSSIBLE, and it starts now with you.

I love you all.

Wanting.

God. I want you.

I want to be founded in you. Everything. My words. My actions. My leadership. My ministry. My marriage. My family. My home. My relationships. My calling. My future…

Everything must be rooted and established in you. My flesh and my comfort must not be allowed to interfere with any of these elements of my life. I know that they want to. I know that they strive to. I know they have the capability of doing so. But I cannot let that happen. I must choose to make sure it won’t happen. Isn’t that what desire boils down to? Choice?

Desire isn’t about what I feel like doing, or feel like not-doing. That would be my emotions. Even more, that would be my IMPULSE. A life led by impulse is headed for destruction. A life led by diligence and discipline leads to prosperity.

Prosperity is what the Lord wants for us.

3 John 1:2 - “… I pray that in ALL THINGS, you may prosper, just as your soul prospers.”

Prosperity in Christ does not come cheap though. It is not free, like grace is free.

God does not go on sale. He is expensive. He is costly. Anything that we want to seek from the Lord comes at a high price. The price of our lives. The price of our comfort. Of our effort. Of our persistence and of our perseverance.

Yet, my emotions and impulses don’t always push me towards God. In fact, they seem to push me away from Him just as often as they do towards him. If I allow them then to rule my comings and my goings, I will not, nor ever, apprehend God in the fullness of which He is ready to be apprehended.

BUT - the spirit man inside of me WANTS God. Wants to apprehend Him. Wants to be filled with Him. Wants to have intimacy with Him. Wants to be used by Him.

This ‘wanting’ never changes.

And the more I choose to submit and surrender my daily life to this wanting, the more I will lay hold of the manifestations of such desires.

What an amazing prize it is.

JJ

Covenants

I posted this over Christmas break, but somehow it didn’t make it up here. Here we go again…

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Last week at Master’s Commission Lakeland, the theme was “Covenants”…

A covenant is really just a fancy word for a contract. It is a signed written or spoken agreement between two or more parties to perform some action and fulfill stated promises. And, if you think about it, this world is operating on covenants everywhere…

A young man and woman stand at a wedding altar and make a lifelong promise to each other.

2 business men sign a document and shake hands as they make promises to fulfill certain obligations to one another.

A father and mother bring their infant to a Church to have it dedicated and vow to the Lord to do the very best they can to raise them in a Godly way.

A witness in court places their right hand on a Bible and swears to tell the whole truth and nothing but.

A young family “signs on the dotted line” and vows to repay their bank on a monthly basis the multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars they just borrowed to buy a home.

Covenants make our world go around… they make things work. They help us to make promises, and they help us to keep them. Trust me - I would love to just ‘obey my feelings’ and stop making those huge mortgage payments on my house. I would much rather do something better with that money… like give it to missions, buy a van for Master’s, or even pay off some bills.

BUT, the moment I stop fulfilling my covenant to the bank, they would come knocking on my door, saying: ‘Hey bro, you PROMISED to pay us back!’. Well, they may not call me bro, but they sure will threaten to kick me out of my house if I don’t ante up some cash.

That’s right… there ARE consequences to not fulfilling covenants that we make. But, I’ll get back to that in a moment.

Every September, our Master’s Commission students make a covenant to Jesus Christ at our opening Covenant Retreat. That covenant reads:

I am a chosen disciple of the third millenium, and I declare this to be my moment. On this night of September 6th, 2007, I pledge my whole heart, my whole mind and my whole life to Jesus. For the next nine months, I will abandon myself to God in my pursuit to know Him and make Him known. As a Master’s Commission disciple, I will uphold the highest standard of character and strive to embrace His purpose for my life. I will die to myself that Jesus may live in me - so I may become all that He has destined me to be. I will run my race and I will win my prize. This is my covenant. This is my calling. This is my destiny.

This is a powerful covenant that hundreds of our other students who have gone before have made and kept. It is a covenant of opportunity. A covenant to be set apart. A covenant of abandon. Of pursuit. Of the highest standard of character. It is a covenant of purpose, perseverance, and a promise to allow the old self to die… making room for the better creation God had in mind originally. It is a covenant of destiny and a covenant of EPIC CHANGE.

It is a covenant that is a lot harder to fulfill than it is to speak.

Nonetheless, our students have all made it. Their names are on the lines. Some signatures more eloquent than others, some bigger and some smaller. But the promises are right there in writing, and the time is right here to live it out.

God knows our nature. He knows its hard for us to fulfill promises.

I believe that’s why He gives us specific ’symbols’ to help us remember. To help us fulfill. Just look in the scriptures. He gave Noah the rainbow as a sign of the Noahic covenant - to never destroy the earth again. He gave Abraham circumcision as a sign of the Abrahamic covenant… Moses the Ark of the covenant as a sign of the Mosaic covenant… long hair to the Nazirites as a sign of their vow. Jesus even gave us communion as a sign of the New covenant… to literally “remember Him”.

God is doing everything He can to help us fulfill our covenants.

Let’s come back to the consequences of unfulfilled covenants…

The young married couple who are now divorced leave a broken family behind, with children who will pay a penalty the rest of their lives, being raised under multiple blended families.

The 2 business men that struck a deal, only to see it fall through, leave a trail of hefty financial penalties and legal fees to be paid, let alone the tarnished reputations that damage years of potential future business.

A witness in court who perjures themself after vowing to tell the truth, face jail time and fines for their broken promise.

The young family who stopped making payments on their new home, have been evicted, possibly go bankrupt and have the black eye of mortgage default stained on their credit report for many years to come.

If these worldly consequences are so heavy for breaking covenant, I then ask myself, how much more destructive are the heavenly consequences that come as a result of our refusal to honor our own personal covenants to the Lord?

Not punishments. Consequences.

If we only knew how much we were missing, I mean really missing… I think I would shock us into a reality of new obedience to take hold of the glorious things that our Father in Heaven has lying in wait for us.

Remember. God is doing everything He can.

We should be too.

JJ