Knowing God

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Theology

–October of 2001

Knowing God

To the average man in America God is an inference, not a reality.  He has put belief in the Almighty into the back of his mind along with the other various odds and ends that make up his philosophy of life.  The possibility of an intimate acquaintance with God has never entered his thinking.

Christians, to be sure, go further than this.  God is more than brain deep.  To them He is life deep.  The Bible makes it perfectly clear that God is personal and can be known in personal experience.  Leaping out from almost every page of Scripture is a God who affects us and is affected by us.  The Old Testament gives us portraits of God speaking, pleading, loving, working, and manifesting Himself whenever and wherever His people have the receptivity necessary to receive such manifestation.  We see Him walking with Adam and Eve in the Garden, eating with Abraham by his tent, and arguing with Moses on a mountain top.  The gospels give us a front-row seat as God steps from behind the curtain onto the stage of life to interact with man.  The Bible assumes it to be self-evident that we can know God intimately.

Within the holiness tradition, we are regularly summoned to know God, to talk to God and to love God as one loves a friend.  Yet, to many, the idea of being intimate with God is still mystical and illusive.  Their knowledge of God is more accidental than intentional—more like an occasional contact than an ongoing companionship.  When talking about God they use the textbook language of a learner rather than the transparent language of a lover.  They remind me of a story the Boston Globe carried about an Elvis Presley look-alike contest.  One contestant had this to say, “Elvis was my idol.  I have seen his concerts, watched every movie he has done, bought every album he made, collected ticket stubs and clippings from programs all around the world, had my hair styled like his, and won many look alike contests.  I’ve stormed the stage at his concerts so that he would see me, and I’ve climbed the walls at Graceland to catch a glimpse of him.  It’s really funny, though.  All the effort I put into following him…and I could never seem to get close.”

Why do so many Christians find it difficult to get close to God?  I believe, for the most part, it is the same reason we find it difficult being intimate with one another.  One of the more significant barriers to any relationship is self-centeredness.  The sinful self seeks independence from both God and man.  It is self-seeking rather than self-giving.  No relationship can find true intimacy unless there is a giving of oneself freely to the other.

Another barrier is superficiality.  Our image-conscious culture holds others at enough distance to prevent the development of close relationships.  To allow people to get close means that they will see me as I really am.  We struggle with this kind of openness.  Honesty about ourselves makes us vulnerable.  Being vulnerable is often too threatening to our self image and security.  When this is carried over into our Christian walk, we keep God at a distance.  We fear exposing our inner self to Him.  We talk to Him in clichés rather than pouring out our heart in true transparency.  But the more we mask our true self and hide from God and others, the more distant our relationships become.

A final hindrance is time.  Children spell love “T-I-M-E” and so does God.  Most relationships I know are starving for a lack of time.  Our Western culture has forgotten how to walk.  We know only how to run and drive.  We pack our days so full that time to build meaningful relationships is all but impossible.  Our relationship to God has to be “crock-potted” not microwaved!  The salvation of our soul may be the miracle of a moment but the making of an intimate relationship with God is the work of a lifetime.

God wants to tear down every barrier and walk with us in intimate fellowship.  Scripture tells us if we will, “draw nigh to God, He will draw nigh to us.”  That’s not just a possibility, but a promise.  There is no better time than the present to start “knowing God”.

Don’t Forget to Say “Thank You”

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living

–September of 2001

Don’t Forget to Say “Thank You”

He was sitting in his garage watching cars go by, nodding and daydreaming of yesteryears.  My surprise visit startled him back to the present.  We shared greetings and took a little time to catch up on family news.  My 83 year old friend then walked me to his bedroom and showed me two of his most prized possessions.  The first was his lifetime subscription card to the God’s Revivalist.  The second was a plaque from his church thanking him for his many years of service.  My friend beamed with joy.  He felt appreciated.  Somebody had taken the time to say thank you.

As I have advanced in years, my realization has grown of the importance of expressing verbally and in other tangible ways my appreciation for the contribution that men and women have made to life.  My first valuable lesson came as a result of the H. E. Schmul Banquet.  We invited hundreds of people to our campus to celebrate the life and legacy of this great man.  I watched Brother Schmul bask in the accolades given him by one leader after another.  Plaques were presented, letters were read and a proclamation from the Governor was presented.  Brother Schmul was still radiating in the warmth of those accolades the next day!  It was a beautiful moment!

Banquets to celebrate life should not be limited to the high profile saints with very visible ministries.  There are thousands of faithful men and women in our denominations, local churches, mission organizations and Christian day schools who have given years of faithful, sacrificial service who deserve a word of thanks.  Why not have a party and celebrate their life and labors?  Let them know they are appreciated!

If you’re a son or a daughter with a parent that has reached an advanced age, have a celebration.  Write a letter of gratitude and read it to them.  Yes, you’ll cry and they will too, but do it anyway.  They will treasure that letter more than a million dollars worth of gift cards.  They will read it and re-read it many times over.  It will be their sunshine on many a dark and cloudy day.

Church, have a “Pastor Appreciation Day”.  Pastor, find those senior saints in your church and honor them.  Have a “Grandpa Jones Day” or a “Bertha Smith Day” and let both young and old extol their virtues.  No, they didn’t go to dark Africa, but they did stay true to the home church.  They paid the bills, never missed prayer meeting, taught Sunday school and faithfully cleaned the church when the preaching was good and when the preaching was bad.  Celebrate their faithfulness.

God despises any lack of gratitude.  Eleven of the thirteen plagues that troubled the traveling children of Israel came upon them for their ungrateful grumbling.  The reprobates of Romans 1 began the first chapter of their degeneration with these words, “neither were they thankful.”  On the more positive side, God is planning an indescribable celebration and a rewards banquet for His children when this life is over.  Why not get a head start and spread a little cheer now!

Don’t be stopped by the false humility that says, “I don’t want anyone making over me now; my reward is to come.”  Don’t miss the opportunity all around you to make someone’s day.  Don’t forget to say “thank you” in a meaningful way.  The time will come all too soon when the opportunity will no longer be with you.

A Word for Men and Movements

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Church, Ministry

–May of 2001

A Word for Men and Movements

Dr. Paul Brand tells a story of his most memorable visitor to his leprosy hospital in Vellore, India.  One day a French friar named Pierre showed up wearing a monk’s habit and carrying a carpetbag that contained everything he possessed.  Pierre was born into French nobility and he had served in the French parliament.  After WWII, while Paris was still reeling from the German occupation, parliament faced a serious problem of thousands of homeless beggars in the streets.  While the politicians and noblemen debated their plight, the beggars starved or froze to death in the street.  Disillusioned with the slow pace of political response, and desperately wanting to help the street people, Pierre resigned his post and became a Catholic friar to work among them.  Failing to interest politicians or the community in the beggars’ plight, he concluded his only recourse was to organize the beggars themselves.  He taught them to do menial tasks better.  Instead of sporadically collecting bottles and rags, he divided them into teams to scour the city.  Next they built a warehouse from discarded bricks and started a business in which they sorted and processed vast quantities of used bottles from hotels and businesses.  Finally, Pierre inspired each beggar by giving him responsibility to help another beggar poorer than himself.  Pierre’s project caught fire.

After years of successful work, Pierre suddenly awakened to the fact there were no beggars left in Paris.  “I must find somebody for my beggars to help!” he declared.  “If I don’t find people worse off than my beggars, this movement could turn inward.  It will become a powerful, rich organization and the whole spiritual impact will be lost.  My beggars will have no one to serve.”

It was this fear that brought Pierre to the leper colony.  It was at the leper colony that he found the solution to his crisis in Paris.  Returning to France and to his beggars, he mobilized them to build a ward at the hospital in Vellore.  “No, it is you who have saved us,” he told the grateful recipients of his gift in India.  “We must serve or die.”

Pierre possessed a crucial insight into what keeps both men and movements alive spiritually.  Good men can get so caught up in wanting God to do something for them, they forget that God’s main work is to do something through them.  The more a person reaches out beyond themselves, the more enriched they become and the more they grow in likeness to God.  The more we turn inward, or “incurve”, the less Christlike, even less human, we become.

Movements are the same way.  When a movement turns its focus inward and concentrates on preservation, it will become stymied and begin the death process.  Even though it may report financial or numerical gains, it is dying all the while.  It has “incurved”.

The Western church needs no more urgent message than the message of servanthood.  We share a planet with three billion people who earn less than $2 per day.  We live in a world in which 40,000 children die every day from hunger and disease.  Our inner cities are filled with millions of people who have no saving knowledge or understanding of Jesus Christ not to mention serious educational and physical needs.  All the while we are spending record amounts on ourselves and on the edifices in which we worship.  Maybe we need to listen to Pierre and be reminded that the need to serve is fundamental to Christian life and that the act of serving is the very thing that keeps us alive.  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Recommitting to the Great Commission

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Church, Ministry

–April of 2001

Recommitting to the Great Commission

Standing before the open door of this new millennium, the church has never faced so many challenges on so many different fronts.  Rather than moving forward as salt and light, our response has been paralyzed by uncertainty and fear.  It has been easier for the church to look inward toward developing inner piety than to look outward with the intent of sharing our faith with the world.  However, it is from this inward focus that the Holy Spirit faithfully seeks to turn the church.  Those He turns will become the missionaries of this our present day

Emerging Trends

What should the church expect to confront?  The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has projected four major challenges or trends for the church in the 21st century.

1. Massive urbanization.  This century opens with a population of approximately six billion people, half of whom live in large cities.  Half of that number is under 25 years of age.  The holiness church has become far too comfortable in suburbia and has in all reality lost touch with the inner city.  To fulfill our calling and remain relevant, we must reconnect and re-engage the population of the world’s great cities with the gospel.

2. Aggressive secularism.  Secularism has turned former Christian nations into post-Christian countries.  Its onslaught has affected the emerging nations of Southeast Asia, and economically strong countries like South Korea, where one Korean elder said, “Materialism is eating the heart out of Korea’s prayer life.”  Secularism roots God out for economic prosperity and so-called intellectualism.  These are two fronts the church must face with answers.

3. Expanding non-Christian religions.  The expansion of Westernize has created militant and aggressive propagation of non-Christian religions.  Hinduism and the Muslim religion are enjoying significant growth even in the United States.  Though these two religions are not typically evangelistic, they have become so, due to the influence of the western world and its threat to their way of life.  The church can no longer ignore these as Eastern problems, but must prepare to evangelize those who embrace Eastern religions on Western soil.

4. The rise and fall of new political ideologies.  The fall of communism almost caught the church unprepared to move through the opening in the iron curtain to evangelize a new frontier.  China or the Middle East could be next, or it is also possible that doors that are now open may quickly close.  The church must be sensitive to the Spirit and ready to move in either direction.

 Some Things Never Change

Though these and other challenges will always confront the church, some things will remain the same.  God has not changed, nor has the need of every human heart.  The gospel is still the answer to the deepest need in all of our lives, regardless of culture or political persuasion.  God has offered no other cure than the cross of Christ and its redemptive message.

The Great Commission hasn’t changed.  We are not commanded to understand all the challenges of tomorrow, but we are commanded to confront those challenges with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and do so in every corner of the world.

 Equipping for the Task

If the church of Jesus Christ is to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, then those of us in the church must move quickly to restore the primacy of evangelism and recommit ourselves to the Great Commission.  This issue of the Revivalist unveils part of the plan we are implementing here at GBS to renew our historic commitment to world evangelism with an emphasis that permeates every aspect of campus life.

Let me challenge you and your church to re-engaged in evangelism.  The effectiveness of the church lies in her faithfulness to the commission.  The “Spirit and the Bride say come…”

Let’s add our voices to the chorus and call men and women everywhere to repent and receive the Gospel.

The Royal Order of the Unbended Knee

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Culture

–March of 2001

The Royal Order of the Unbended Knee

God comes to Washington was the title of a recent column by Tony Snow that reminded me again that God still has a faithful following, silently yet steadily, advancing His cause.  As a matter of fact, we all need to be reminded of this just every so often.  Even Elijah, the great prophet, needed such a reminder when he was hiding in a cave in the mountains of Horeb.  God came to him there and asked, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”  He groaned to God that he had been “zealous for the Lord God of Hosts” and that it would probably cost him his life.  In melancholy tones, he reminded God that “I alone am left.”

Elijah was suffering from physical exhaustion and emotional depression.  His present habitat (a dark cold cave) had afflicted him with a serious bout of tunnel vision.  He felt that God’s cause was dead and that he was the only mourner at the funeral.  God had to remind him that there was a silent army of 7,000 God-fearing men and women who had untarnished records of service in the royal order of the unbended knee.  Elijah needed to understand that God’s work was advancing despite how things looked.  He also let Elijah know that there was not only more work for him to do, but that a second generation prophet was waiting in the wings ready to pick up the torch and carry on the commission.

It is unquestionably true that sincere religious devotion has fallen out of vogue in the most visible circles.  It has been pretty easy in recent years to get spiritual tunnel vision if we allow ourselves to walk by sight.  Even Snow recognizes and reports in his column, “The common lot of religious activists, both liberal and conservative, embraces a Christianity that believes in the teaching of Jesus Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.”  We do have a political and academic environment that has accepted post-modernistic view and offers cultural protection and respectability while debunking the Christian faith.  Anyone who prays and believes the Bible with conviction is compared to an atavistic weirdo caught up in a dangerous cult, and for the good of society ought to be kept on a very short leash.

Nevertheless, God has to keep reminding us that you can’t set any of your spiritual gauges by the image makers, pollsters, and spin doctors that hold center stage in this present world.  If you do, you will head for the hills, find a nice dark cave, and end up with a perverted perspective on what God is doing in the world.

There are still tens of millions of Americans to whom religion is not merely a tonic, but is the essence of life and truth.  There are still millions who dare to lift up a standard in their community and sphere of influence.  The salt and light is still working.  God’s kingdom is still being advanced!  Though I’ve never banked revival in the church on what happens in Washington, it is refreshing to know that even there, in the capital of the Free World, we have a President who speaks the name of God with plain reverence rather than out of political calculation.

The unfolding days will give us plenty of things to get our head down about.  But for now, there is something that you can get your head up about.  There are still millions who belong to the royal order of the unbended knee.  Millions who pray daily, believe the Word of God, and dare to live out their convictions in the market place of this present world.  It might just be that you need to get out of your cave, stand shoulder to shoulder with those who haven’t “bowed the knee or kissed the image,” and let them know that you are there, too.  Who knows?  This may be the ripest hour we’ve ever known for revival.