The Kingdom Cowboy

Equipped For The Work Of The Ministry Part-3 / #25

Summary:
The foundational ministries- apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, were never sent to do all the ministering in a church, but rather were created to equip and help all the believers mature and come to the place where they become the ones to get out and do the ministry. Without all five of the foundational ministries, most churches will tend to settle on a much lower level in their maturing process.
 
Show Notes:
Many people, when they have a Bible Belt mindset, think they are supposed to come to church to get fed, and they tend to complain if they think that isn’t happening. But the people who usually complain about being fed rarely do anything with what they are fed. Jack Taylor used to say, “Well, you know, babies have to be fed. Adults feed themselves”.
When you talk to people about ministry, most think they have to get up in front of people, which scares them off. That’s actually is just a small part of what you have to do in ministry. Most ministry happens on the golf course, at a store, or even at your work. It is simply encouraging someone or praying with them for a need that they might have.
When Jesus was walking on the earth, was He ever referred to as a pastor? He was referred to as a shepherd, which is a much better word for a leader.
 
Quotes:
In the Bible Belt, there’s a mindset that the guy who’s up front does all the ministry. He’s expected to be good at everything. That’s just not the case. That’s not even a biblical concept. Their main function is not to do all the ministry, but to train the body of Christ to do the work of the ministry.
Being equipped is a lifetime process. I’ve been doing this a long time, but I’m still being equipped for the work of the ministry. I’m still learning about ministry. Do not wait until you think you’re thoroughly equipped. You are going to be better at doing ministry by simply doing it.
The reason this is so important is that the body of Christ needs to be equipped for those opportunities and open doors that happen out there, because there’s a lot of them, and there’s going to be a lot more of them. So there’s no way one guy can do it.
In the traditional evangelical church, you don’t hear much about the function of apostles and prophets. You do hear about teachers, evangelists and in paying pastors.
An apostle has the God given ability and anointing to see what God wants the church to be, to see where the church is now, and how to move the church from where it is to where it needs to go.
We live in a religious mindset in the Bible Belt that there are not apostles and prophets anymore. To me, that is a subtle, deceptive trick of the enemy, because they are so needed. The apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church.
 
References:
Ephesians 4:11
1 Corinthians 12:8-11
 
Takeaways:
There are so many churches out there that are stuck, doing the same thing week after week, year after year. One of the reasons is they either don’t know about the importance of the 5 fold ministry talked about in Ephesians 5, or they refuse to believe that they still exist and are very much needed in this day. Without true apostles and prophets, churches tend to be stuck and lack life that these ministries can provide. That’s why so many people aren’t equipped for the work of the ministry.
 
 

Equipped For The Work Of The Ministry Part 2 - #24

Summary:
How can any of us even begin to speak the truth in love, as Jesus was able to do, without really being equipped to do so? God has to put these abilities in us and that comes through this equipping process, worked deep within our hearts.
 
Show Notes:
Two things keep coming to me. The number of signs and wonders are not happening near as much in the church as they should be happening. And, the other thing that is not happening as much as it should is the expression of agape, unconditional love among the people in the Body of Christ.
Speaking the truth in love (agape love) really needs to happen or the church is not going to have the testimony with those who are outside unless we’re exercising agape.
Another example of speaking the truth in agape love was when Jesus pulled Peter aside and asked him if he loved Him three times. Peter was grieved, but with great love, Peter wasn’t a bit condemned.
 
Quotes:
We have seen a lot of things around here in 35 years that we would all consider miracles, but not to the degree that I thought I would be seeing at this stage of my life, at the stage of my ministry. I thing there should be more.
When Jesus met the woman at the well, He said, “you have had five husbands but the one you’re with now you are not married to”. That can come across as straight up condemnation. But every thing Jesus said was 100% seasoned with agape. So even though that was a hard, hard truth for her, it came across in a way that was easy on her soul and her spirit.
The atmosphere around Jesus was always 100% charged with agape unconditional love. So Jesus could tell them, that straight up truth in a way that doesn’t come across as condemnation.
There’s a favor blessing anointing that comes when we speak the truth in love. It calibrates their heart and touches them in a right place.
 
References:
Ephesians 4:9-16
John 4:6-26
Matthew 16:18
 
Takeaway:
Without sitting under and learning from the five fold ministries listed in Ephesians 4:1l and being equipped for the work of the ministry, we will not have the where-with-all to speak God’s truths with a deep love that they not only can accept the truth but get melted hearts in the process.
 

Being Equipped For The Work Of The Ministry #23

Summary:
It was never meant for a pastor and/or a few elders to do all the ministering in a church. That is totally a Bible Belt concept that someone started a long time ago, and the people just got used to it. The five-fold ministries were given so that all of us can be equipped to go out and talk to people, bless and pray for them and point them to the Lord. The church was never meant to be full of babies who are always fed, but never grow up to be mature sons and daughters who go out and make things happen.
 
Show Notes:
Ephesians 4 talks about the five-fold ministries for building up, edifying and equipping the saints. This scripture alone should change a person’s thinking about just a few people in a church who are supposed to do all the ministering.
When you get the revelation of being equipped for the work of the ministry, it propels you into a place where you will never be the same again.
The Bible Belt concept that just one person is supposed to do all the ministry is ludicrous. Moses tried, but couldn’t do it, so with the encouragement of Jethro, he commissioned many to help him with the people.
Honestly, most of the ministry should be happening outside the church walls on Monday through Saturday; at your work, when shopping, on the golf course, or a thousand other places. That’s what we are being equipped to do.
When you are out there and the Lord starts dealing with you about praying over someone or giving them a word of encouragement, it can be hard the first or second time you step out, but it does become easier, However, don’t ever start relying on yourself without the help of the Holy Spirit.
One huge open door is when someone comes to you and wants to tell you their problems. That means they are asking you for help, and they have an element of trust in you. Do not break their trust by spreading around what they tell you. It’s not that hard, if you just keep pointing them to the Lord.
 
Quotes:
We have to break through the Bible Belt mindset that there’s a pastor, elders or a group of ministries that does all the ministry. That’s not even a biblical concept.
For people who have been to church in the Bible Belt for most of their lives, it takes repetition, repetition, repetition, and they finally get it.
“I need to talk to the pastor”. Well, what if there’s half a dozen other people who can do those things better than I can? Because there are.
I’m not going to bend or crumble to the request of the people to do things I’m not very good at. I’m going to focus on the things that I am good at, and set people in places of authority where they’re anointed, so they can do a lot of those kinds of things.
It’s going to be challenging getting this idea moving in the right direction, because people have been trained to not do anything.
When people wake up, it changes everything. Then what is just a boring Christian life turns into excitement and an adventure, when you see that God wants to use you. It’s a pretty incredible thing, and people are finding out that they are good at stuff.
If you open yourself up to this and you are willing to do it, immediately you’re in OJT (on the job training) and you’re needed now.
 
References:
Ephesians 4:11
Exodus 18
 
Takeaways:
All Christians need to get past the concept that only a few in the church are supposed to be doing all of the ministry. This is what is referred to as the Bible Belt Mentality. It’s the responsibility for every believer to grow up and start being who we are supposed to be, to the whole body of Christ. At first, it may seem hard to step out, but the Lord will lead you, if you keep allowing the Spirit of God to get more into your heart each day. It will get easier, and more rewarding, each time.

Born Again Into A Relationship With The Father #22

Summary:
It’s one thing the be saved, or born again, where you know you are assured a place in heaven. But why would you want to stop there, when the door is completely open for us to start talking to Him and listening for what He has to say back to us? That’s what starts cultivating a personal, close relationship with the Father. God is not this distant being in the sky who cannot be related to. He’s a loving Father to every one of us, who wants to be in every aspect of our lives, to guide and help us to become just like His Son, Jesus.
 
Show Notes:
As much as Jesus referred to God as a Father throughout His ministry, it is not talked about much around the country in Christian circles.
If Christians don’t really know God as a Father, they tend to disengage when they hear this being talked about, because they know God conceptually, but they never really connected with God as a Father personally.
Having a true relationship with the Father is not quite the same as a relationship with one another. We can touch, feel and even hug one another, but with the Father, it has to be a spiritual thing.
A true relationship with the Father doesn’t just happen when you become saved, it starts to come when you make it a priority, not just to pray or talk to Him but also in learning how to listen for what He has to say back to you.
Being into and learning the Bible is a wonderful thing, but it isn’t meant to be a substitute for our relationship with the Father.
We as Christians have all the faith we need, but it still up to us to activate it. You can use it to move a mountain, or you can choose to let it lay there dormant but you do have it. It is a matter of us moving in the spirit, with the help of the Holy Spirit that gets your faith going.
 
Quotes:
Jesus said to Nicodemus, “you must be born again, or you can’t see the Kingdom”. When we’re born again, we step into the plan that God has for our life, and if we’re not born again, we don’t. So, you can’t fulfill the plan that God has for you.
When I had the encounter with the Father, my prayer was, “God, if You’re out there, You’ve got to help me”. When I prayed that prayer, something obviously happened for me.
God could be anything He wanted to be. It was His choice to be Father. God reveals Himself as Father, because that’s who He really is.
Knowing He is Father is not the same as knowing Him as Father. It’s the relationship aspect of that. That’s where the magic happens. It happens in the relationship with God the Father. Don’t complicate it. It’s really, really simple.
You can check out a book on Abraham Lincoln or anybody like that, and you can learn a lot of stuff about them, but you can’t know them, because you can’t interact with them anymore. It’s different with the Lord.
One of the greatest opportunities of our lives is that we can communicate with God . I don’t mean just talk. We can also listen and discern what God is saying to us. As we do that, we develop what we call relational equity.
If we will start listening and make it a priority to hear what it is that God’s saying, it trims our list of what we need to ask Him way down, because God will talk to us about the things that are in His heart, the things that are pertinent to us. If you give God a little time, He will confirm that it’s Him who you are dealing with.
 
References:
Philippians 4:6-7
John 10:27
Galatians 5:25
Romans 12:3
 
Takeaways:
Being born again is not the end of a walk with God, but just the beginning. Having a true, close relationship with the Father is what our hearts should be desiring, where we can talk with as well as listen to Him, and truly become and walk in all that He has for us.
 

You Must Be Born Again #21

Summary:
Being saved, or born again, is not the complicated action that many make it out to be. It say’s in Revelation 3:20, that the Lord stands at the door and knocks. All we really have to do is just open the door and receive Him into our hearts. Very simple! After that, it is our responsibility not to dwell at that initial salvation experience, but to keep exposing ourselves, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to what the Father wants us to become and to do. The purpose is actullay to become like Jesus.
 
Show Notes:
When Nicodemus came to Jesus at night and Jesus told him that he must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, he asked, “How can a person be born again?” That’s a question most people have in the beginning of their walk with God.
Being born again is not logical to the human reasoning. The understanding only comes when you open up to salvation and His Spirit.
Being saved, or born again, is not the end game. It’s just the beginning to becoming a mature son or daughter in the Lord, and it’s a lifetime process to become like Jesus.
When we first get saved, or have an initial experience with the Father, it can be like going on a honeymoon with Him and it lights you up in your spirit. But the feeling can taper off after a while There really is no such thing in the Bible as a sinner’s prayer. All you actullay have to do is open up when He knocks on the door of your heart, and just receive Him in.
After your salvation experience, at some point the enemy will try to convince you that you aren’t saved. That is the evidence that you are saved.
We don’t have to be a professional at all to help guide someone to Jesus. All we have to do is encourage a person to receive Jesus into their heart. No big prayer or anything. This is happening so much in this season. If you don’t keep reaching into Him with the help of the Holy Spirit.
 
Quotes:
Don’t try to justify with logic that which can only be attained and understood by faith. One is spiritual, the other is flesh.
When you are born again, you are in the Kingdom. Actually, if we are alive and on the planet, we are in the Kingdom. We may not be connected through salvation by being born again, but the Kingdom of God is the domain under which God is the King.
The evangelical church has made being born again the end game. If we are not careful, we get a lot of people saved, but we don’t get a lot of people established and in growing in their faith. We really make a point of that around here.
When I was born again, I knew that something had happened. Because, when I would do something or say something that was out of the character of Jesus, I immediately knew it. And that’s a sensitive asset that the Holy Spirit brings into our lives, that helps guide us and connect us. Hopefully, we never lose that.
No man comes to the Father unless the spirit draws him. The Spirit of God draws us to the Lord. We can either say yes or we can say no.
You can’t find anywhere in the Bible that the 12 were even saved. They just began to walk with Jesus.
All it takes is for you to just say, “Lord, I receive you into my life”.
God is trusting the spiritual well being of these 8 billion people to you, and people like you. That’s a huge responsibility.
 
References:
John 3:1-16
Revelation 3:20
Matthew 16:19
 
Takeaways:
Being born again is not the end of the game for a Christian, but it’s just the first step in growing and maturing in God, so that we are able to have a close relationship with Him, and become like Him in our lives. It’s tragic for any Christian to just receive salvation, when there is so much to have and to be in God.

THe Church and the Kingdom Part 2 #20

Summary:
There are so many people who have accepted Christ into their hearts, but don’t attend church. Sometimes it is because of past bad experiences with church people. You can be a part of the Kingdom and not go to church, but if it is true that we are all compared to body parts, like Paul talked about in 1 Corinthians 12:12, aren’t we robbing the body of it’s wholeness if we don’t come together? Relationships become one of the focal points of His Kingdom because relationships are the adhesive that helps hold it all together. It’s so important to do all we can to maintain these relationships and not run away or break oneness when things get a little challenging at times. This holds true for both personal and church relationships.
 
Show Notes:
Do you have to be in the church to get into the Kingdom of God? You don’t have to attend a church, or do anything. For leaders, to say that a person has to attend church automatically puts people who are doing fine into a bad place.
We are encouraged in Hebrews to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. It’s important that we do come together, because there’s an exponential thing that happens.
There’s a mindset out there that says, “I can find the Lord out in my deer blind, or at the fishing hole. I don’t need to go to church to do that”. I totally agree with that. You can. He’s everywhere. But some people just use that as an excuse for not showing up and going to church.
If you get right down to that mindset, it’s selfish, because Christ refers to all of us as body parts. So, if you are a body part that’s not present when the body comes together, the body can’t totally function properly.
How does the church and the kingdom relate to one another?
The church is a facilitator: It’s the church’s responsibility to teach the Bible, the Word of God, and what it is saying. Its also responsible for presenting what God is still speaking in this present day. It’s to carry out the elements of the Kingdom, to teach and bring out the mysteries of the Kingdom.
It’s a purveyor: It brings the good news about grace, the peace of God, the joy of the Lord, the power to overcome, and the intimacy of being in a relationship with the Lord
It’s a distributor: The elements of the Kingdom are distributed to the people, to make the Gospel of the Kingdom simple and understandable, so that people who hear it can take it, understand it, sink their teeth into it, and find out how to work it into their lives, so that they can go teach it to others, as well.
The Kingdom of God is relationships; first with the Father Himself, and then with one another. The more time you spend together, the more relational equity we have. If we trust one another, we are able to get down to the heart stuff. To help advance the Kingdom of God, give attention, time and prioritize your relationships.
In relationships, problems usually arise at some point. So, we must make the relationship more important than the problem. It’s so important to submit to the process and, if necessary, get a mediator to help.
To enter the Kingdom of God, you must be born again. That’s what Jesus told Nicodemus. If you are born again, you can see the kingdom through spiritual eyes, with the help of the Holy Spirit. When our hearts genuinely, authentically, want the will of God, it attracts the elements of God, His grace, and His favor.
 
Quotes:
Most of the time, people have been hurt by church people.
I don’t hear enough leaders talking about the body of Christ and their care, concern, and love for the whole body. That’s one of those things that has kind of been at the front of my mind all these years.
People are looking for the perfect church. There is the perfect church for you, but when you get there, it’s not perfect, because it’s still full of imperfect people, myself included. But we are being perfected and conformed into the image of Jesus.
Find somewhere that feels like home, where they’re teaching the Word. I think they need to be talking about the Kingdom some, and learning about the Kingdom. Some place where you’re encouraged to not just know about the Lord, but to actually know Him. That’s the key. That’s where the magic happens. That’s where you find your significance and your purpose in life. It’s in the relationship.
If you make it a priority to hear Him, He will make sure that you do. He speaks through the still small voice, words of wisdom and knowledge, the prophetic word, tongues and interpretations, the elements, colors, and animals.
I’m embarrassed that not enough believers, Christians, people in our own family here, that people will have a problem and they will turn and walk away and leave the relationship.
God not only restores the relationship, but He makes it better and stronger.
 
References:
Hebrews 10:25
Matthew 18:19-20
John 5:39
John 10:27
2 Timothy 2;2
John 3:1-21
John 6:44
Revelation 3:20
 
Takeaways:
The Kingdom of God encompasses so much, and the church is an integral part of it. The church is a facilitator, a purveyor, and a distributor of all that God wants the world to have. Relationships are one of the main keys of what the kingdom is. They work like a glue to hold everything that God wants to do all together. Because relationships are so important, we shouldn’t cut and run when they get a little challenging, but rather do all we can do to maintain the relationships that God has given to us.
 

The Church and the Kingdom Part 1 #19

Summary:
As we read through the New Testament, you can find many places where both John the Baptist and Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven and it being at hand and it is within us. This is why the church needs to be putting much more emphasis on it. The church and the Kingdom are very intertwined. One of the parts of the kingdom message is how important it is that we open up and allow the Father to come in to our hearts, and how He uses trails and challenges to refine and purify our hearts to become like Jesus. That allows us to see our walk with God as more of an adventure rather than just walking through life.
 
Show Notes:
The reason we are doing this Podcast is to help people along and get moving in their walk with the Lord. When you listen to this Podcast, there’s a whole team of people who help us with this project, who do both the audio editing and the show notes. Also, none of this could have happened without an unnamed benefactor and some credit to the family right here at Trinity Fellowship, who have helped us flesh this stuff out for almost 35 years.
 
So, how does the church and the kingdom relate together? The church is not the kingdom, but it’s included in the kingdom.
 
My uncle, Jack Taylor, said this years ago, “When God said, Let there be light, the light started going in every direction at the speed of light, and it hasn’t stopped since God said that”. So, if you can believe this, that’s the domain, the King’s domain of which He rules, and it is an ever expanding kingdom. All we can do right now is speculate a little bit.
 
We can teach on the kingdom from now on, and never exhaust the content. That’s the most profound, broad, vast subject that there is. Don’t complicate with logic that which can only be understood and attained by faith.
 
Trials and testings are such an important part of any Christian life. There is redeeming value in the trials, the problems, the roadblocks, and all those things you go through in your life, because those things really figure into us being conformed into the image of Jesus and being refined like gold. That’s God’s plan for us.
 
Eric Metaxas wrote a book entitled, “Letter to the American Church”. In it, he talked about all these challenges that we go through in life, the ups and downs of mountains and valleys and all that. He called it the Abrahamic adventure.
 
If we could look at all these ups and downs, challenges, heartbreaks, and those kinds of things as an adventure, rather than looking at all of this as a negative thing, it would change all our lives in a very profound way.
 
Quotes:
The Kingdom of God should be at the forefront of the mind of leaders who are leading the churches in this season. I think it’s that important.
 
The church is the answer for every negative thing that we see in the world. It’s more important than just a counterculture, or where people go and get a spiritual touch.
 
 
It’s the church’s responsibility to offset the darkness that exists in the world, with the light that comes from Jesus. It’s the only organism on the whole planet that God has given the authority and the power to cooperate with Him and co-labor with Him as He establishes His kingdom of the earth.
 
I get asked all the time where in the Bible is that sinner’s prayer. It’s not there. And, you would think that a principle that we’ve built the whole evangelical Christian faith on, is praying a prayer that we don’t find anywhere in the Bible. It’s kind of interesting. All we really have to do is open the door of our heart, and allow Him to come in.
 
The kingdom is the new frontier. I believe that this generation has the golden opportunity to see the Kingdom of God manifest in a greater way than any generation prior to now.
 
Everyone I know right now is undergoing extreme testing. He doesn’t test our faith so He’ll know where we are in terms of our faith. He tests our faith so we can know where we are. It’s kind of like one of those signs in a mall that shows you right were you are.
 
References:
Matthew 6:33
Matthew 16:18-19
Revelation 3:20
Genesis 12:1
 
Take Away:
If we can open up to this, the Kingdom of God is probably the greatest adventure that we can ever live. The Kingdom is so close to us right now, and it’s so important that the whole church start to teach and live it the kingdom now, rather than putting it off to some future event.

Gettingin the Game - Finding a Church #18

Summary:
There are so many Christians who accept Christ as their Savior and get born again, but end up not doing much with it. They don’t understand that salvation is just the start of the game, and not the end of the game. To be a real player in God’s Kingdom requires much teaching and training, even to be able to wear a uniform, let along play in the game. That’s why we are not only to be born again and be baptized in water, but also we are to hook up with a church where you can grow and become everything that God wants you to walk in. Don’t miss God’s Kingdom, thinking it’s off in the future. Open up to it’s fullness now, and walk it out.
 
Show Notes:
Books that Andy Taylor has written: “Reading Your Bible for all it’s Worth”, which is a very good way to help someone to start to learn to read their Bible. Also: “The Best Kept Secrets in the Kingdom”, which talks about getting a relationship with the Father and spending some time with Him.
Salvation is just a matter of receiving Jesus; “Lord, I receive you into my life”. That’s all that it takes. After that, the Bible encourages us to be baptized in water. You will be able to tell that something is different when you get born again.
When you do get born again, you can enter in and see the Kingdom of God, and you start getting spiritual eyes to see how the Kingdom is manifesting right now in the world.
True words from God should start resonating with your spirit about the past, your intellect, your mind and emotions, which touches something deep down inside of you. That’s what the Word of God does, especially when there’s the anointing of the Holy Spirit on that Word.
So, how do you then find a church? “God has determined our pre-appointed times and the boundaries of our dwelling”. Where you go to church, where you hook up and connect, is really, really important.
Find a church that preaches the Bible.
It’s ultra important that the church is talking about not just what you do, but teaches you who you are in the Lord, and teaches you about the Father.
One of the key things that causes people to come to church and stay in church is that they start building relationships. The Kingdom of God is Relationships. They are able to connect relationally.
It has to feel like you fit, and it feels like home to you.
The Bible says that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. You should really feel that the people are being encouraged to be together often.
It should be a place where you are able to find and move in your gifting.
Find a church where people understand they are being equipped for the work of the ministry. That is how the whole body takes shape.
It needs to be a church where they’re at least talking about, and helping people to understand the Kingdom of God.
Look for a church where they love to worship. God is looking for those true worshipers who worship in spirit and truth.
 
Quotes:
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because he saw something in Jesus, that going through the religious motions didn’t do for Him. He saw a life. Jesus told Nicodemus, “you must be born again or you can’t see the Kingdom of God”.
The first thing that has to happen if we are going to get in the game is to have that relationship with the Lord.
If you have not made a decision to receive Jesus as your Savior, and then make Him the Lord of your life, that has to happen before any thing else can happen. So, you have to be born again.
Look for a church that sounds like they’re speaking your language, it resonates with your spirit and it just feels right, which is your spirit agreeing with what’s going on there. You’ll know; it just bears witness with your spirit.
If all these aspects of a church are coming together for you, then you roll your sleeves up and learn how your gifted. We find those things out by just doing and learning to do ministry.
Look around and see where there is help needed and step in, volunteer and help in that spot. Finding where you are not gifted is as important as finding out how you are gifted.
The Kingdom of God exists in its perfection, in its fullness, and its completion, but it’s not manifested in the natural realm, the realm we live in, until we are obedient to the Lord.
 
References:
Acts 17:26
Matthew 6:33
Matthew 24:14
 
Takeaways:
Get in the game and stop playing around on the fringes of what God is doing right now in His Kingdom. Open up to what God is doing right now, and stop putting this off, thinking that there will be a better time to get in the game down the way. The Kingdom of God is now!