Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (cont.)

This chapter is titled In Search of Ordinary Heroes.
We need men and women who will step ou to turn back today's slide toward godlessness, prayerless churches, family breakup, and waning evangelistic fervor. They may not have been to seminary, but they have been schooled and trained by God for hand-to-hand warfare in the spiritual realm.

When it comes to spiritual matters, you and I will never know our potential under God until we step out and take risks on the front line of battle. We will never see what power and anointing are possible until we bond with our King and go out in his name to establish his kingdom. Sitting safely in the shelter of Bible discussions among ourselves, or complaining to one another about the horrible state of today's society, does nothing to unleash the power of God. He meets us in the moment of battle. He energizes us when there is an enemy t be pushed back.

Who is doing exploits for God today? Where is the enemy being driven back? That is the great yearning of all spiritually minded people. They are not enchanted with polished sermons and slick organizational technique. Where are the mighty men and women anointed by God to truly make a difference?

Look at the story of David in 1 Chr. 11 and how David selected Joab to be his leading general for years to come.

That is not how we select leaders in the church today, is it? We go by resumes, seniority, image, education, and a half-dozen other human criteria. By contrast, David looked for bravery and boldness in the real world of battle.

If we are courageous enough to go on the spiritual attack, to be mighty men and women of prayer and faith, there is no limit to what God can accomplish through us. Some of us will turn out to be famous like King David and Catherine Booth and Charles Finney; the rest will remain obscure like Eleazar and Daniel Nash and Rina Gatdula. That doesn't matter. What counts is bringing God's power and light into a dark world, seeing local communities touched by God as churches turn back from perilous apathy to become Holy Spirit centers of divine activity.

The heroes of church history whom we now revere were not known for their cleverness; they were warriors for God. Moody was never ordained to the ministry. Finney never went to seminary. Yet whole cities were visited by God as a result of their anointed work.

When I read this passage, I immediately thought of Greg. This is who he is. He didn't go to seminary, he's not polished, he won't be ordained, but he has been schooled and trained by God for hand-to-hand warfare in the spiritual realm. He fears nothing and no one. Several godly men have told him that they would follow him anywhere, because God is with him. He has a gentle style of leadership that makes you trust him no matter where the battle is, who it is against, or what is at stake. I think that's why I have so much peace about going to the west side. Not all my faith is in Greg, of course, I have a lot in God right off the bat. But you can just tell by being around Greg that he has a direct, open, clear line of communication with God and a confidence and assurance of where we're going is absolutely right.

This also reminds me of Jesus. He had a confidence. He spoke with authority. He got in your face when it was necessary, which upset some people and made them feel uncomfortable, but he was always going about his father's business. That's Greg.

I'm very excited about Easter. We've got some great stuff planned. If you can make it to your church on Saturday night and this service on Sunday, I pray you will have an awesome encounter with God. 10:30 a.m. I'd love to see you there.

Blessings to you on this beautiful Tuesday.