Tag Archives: Matt Legere

Beautiful Outlaw

Posted on by mattlegere

So I have just started reading the book Beautiful Outlaw and I love it!  I discovered John Eldredge about 10 years ago when I picked up “Wild at Heart”.  As I read this book I found myself conflicted.  My heart was saying “Yes, this is amazing!”  But my religious mind and background said, “This isn’t realistic.  This would change everything.  John is too ‘out there’.”  But I’m so glad that God kept bringing this message back to me.

Through the years, I’ve been equally impacted by other of John’s writing such as “Way of the Wild Heart” and “Love and War”.  Whenever I have picked up a book of John’s, it seems like it confirms the words that the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me. 

One of John’s best qualities as a writer is to be a bridge between old and new.  He will be quoting from George MacDonald one minute and then make a cultural reference to the movie “Saving Private Ryan” the next.  So many authors can play well in either of those spaces, but not both.  John can.

I also felt like I got to know John and his team a little bit better by listening to the podcasts through Ransomed Heart.  Here, I was able to hear how John and the team interacted by joking, flowing with God, laughing, ministering, etc.

All this being said, when I hear that John was writing a new book, I was excited.  But I also tempered my expectations.  Sometimes when a writer puts out material frequently, there are times that their output becomes “crap” instead of continuing the quality of previous messages.  However, as I read “Beautiful Outlaw”, I found that it was not only very “un-crappy”, but it also, again, confirms what the Lord has been speaking to me about.

To quote John himself from the 1st chapter:

“…millions of people who have spent years attending church, and yet they don’t know God.  Their heads are filled with stuffing about Jesus, but they do not experience him…there are millions more who love Jesus Christ but experience him only occasionally, more often stumbling along short of the life he promised…if you sent someone you loved to school for a decade, yet they remained illiterate, how would you feel about the education?”

Growing up, I was surrounded by well-meaning people that you were so concerned about getting God’s name correctly that they many times were less focused on having a relationship with the One whose name they so loved and defended.  Oh, they knew about Him, they could quote His written words from the Bible, but they very often didn’t hear His voice unless it was read in the Bible or from a preacher at a pulpit.  But if you don’t prioritize hearing His voice for yourself and focus on getting to know Him (intents, personality, etc.), then we will miss Him and all that we could have together.  For the folks I grew up with, they fell into the trap of interpreting random verses of the Bible to mean that God had a dress code and called it holiness, but they miss the fact that the only time Jesus addressed outward appearance is when He told the Pharisees, “you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy – full of greed and wickedness”. 

As you read through “Beautiful Outlaw”, you see how John highlights the personality of Jesus, including areas such as fierce intention, disruptive honesty, cunning, playful, etc.  As you read verses of the Bible such as where Jesus said to the Canaanite woman “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs”, we are tempted to take this to mean that Jesus was being hard on her (waiting for her to come back a 2nd time so He could commend her on her faith).  However, as John says “what if Jesus was being playful – well that would change everything”.

I would encourage you to read this book and open yourself up to the personality of Jesus.

Leaving a church

Posted on by mattlegere

If you have ever changed churches or found yourself without a church through no fault of your own (i.e. moral failure within leadership, etc.), then you know that it can be one of the most stressful experiences of your life.  It can also catch you off-guard.  In April of 2010, our family found ourselves without a church home for the 1st time in our lives!  During that month, while I was reading a book on the train while headed home from a hard day’s work in downtown Boston, I struck up a conversation with a man sitting across from me.  At some point in the conversation, he said:

I noticed that you are reading a Christian book.  Where do you go to church?

I’ve been asked this question many times before so I opened my mouth almost instinctively and, with my mouth hanging open, I realized I didn’t have anything to tell him!  I stumbled through a quick explanation that basically went like this: “Well..um….I don’t have one…”

I went home and cried.  I was embarrassed, frustrated, and angry that I had no church home.  As I was reminiscing of this crazy time of our lives, I thought it would be a good time to share a few tips to keep in mind if you are leaving or have left a church:

Tip #1 – Not everyone is going to be happy about you leaving the church, even if God told you to do it

This was a shocker to me!  :)   I spent a lot of time in one church growing up, but towards the end I had begun to feel like the Lord had something else in store for us.  I felt the Lord tell me in prayer that our time at this church was complete and that we had fulfilled God’s purpose for us in that body.  He was calling us to help out in a new church that was starting up in Framingham, MA and I received multiple confirmations evidenced by my boss transferring me out to the new location with a raise and our house selling in 6 weeks to the first people who looked at it. 

My assumption was that, if God is calling us to do this, then everyone will hear this and see the confirmations and be excited for us!  Not so much….  It was so hard to feel as though we were disappointing everyone in our lives by following God, but we did it anyway and we learned a lot in the process.

Don’t be shocked if not everyone is on board.  Hold close to the Lord during this time and ask Him to affirm His calling as often as needed.  He knows that leaving a church is tough and He’s happy to help you in the transition.

Tip #2 – There will be misunderstandings

You may have good memories of the church and you can think of times standing around the altar singing “Kum-ba-yah” and “You’re my brother, you’re my sister”, but be prepared that, even in the best of church transitions, there will be misunderstandings.  Don’t be blindsided by it, but instead just be aware.  You leaving a church doesn’t just affect you – it does affect those that are left behind as they wrestle with their own questions of “Why”.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you work through these with patience, love, and understanding.

Tip #3 – Don’t defend yourself when people talk “smack”

People will talk and it will hurt.  At our last church, there was a bunch of discussion going around that I stole a car from the pastor.  This hurt and I wanted to defend myself so badly.  They had no idea of the thousands of dollars that I lost on that transaction by trying to help.  But when I went to prayer about it, I felt the Lord say to me:

If you defend yourself, then I can’t defend you.  Do you trust me that I can defend you?  I am your avenger.

Once I decided to keep my mouth shut (a miracle!), I felt peace and later there were people who were able to receive understanding regarding the situation.

Sometimes you just have to pity other people who don’t know the whole story.  You will find people making judgements with their eyes and listening to whatever they hear instead of just asking the person involved.   

Tip #4 – Be careful of the agreements you make in your mind

When we are going through difficult situations, there are times that we make what John Eldredge calls “default agreements”.  It’s assumptions about life to permeate our consciousness and guide how we think and live in the future.  It’s easy to find yourself sayings things like:

Well, I’ll never open myself up like that again!

If this is what church is like then who needs it?

All churches must be like this.

Have the courage to open up again, trust again, and have faith in this model (the church) that God has given.  People aren’t perfect, but God is and we need to trust Him and be careful about the thoughts we let into our minds during these vulnerable times.

Tip #5 – Trust that, if being involved in a community of believers is important to God, He’ll connect you with a new body of believers

This was one of the prayers I kept bringing to the Lord during this time of our lives.  I truly believed that, if belonging to a church family was a critical component of a strong walk with the Lord, then it would be a priority to Him to help us find a new place to be planted.  And he did!

Tip #6 – Gossip is sneaky

Even if you have resigned yourself not to gossip, what will be difficult is when it comes time for you to share your story to help others going through similar transitions.  Depending on the circumstances surrounding your departure, it can be almost impossible to share your story without entering into a grey area of gossiping about the character of the individuals involved.  As I’ve shared some of our own story in this post, I’ve tried to be very careful to not mention names.  Please just keep this in mind as you begin to share your story to help others.  Gossip is sneaky and will look for any foothold that it can.

Tip #7 – Don’t blame God

I had a minister that I trust share with me a story of what his pastor said to him as he was getting ready to leave for bible college.  His pastor called him into his office and said I want to share with you something that will help you in your future years of ministry.  This young minister was all ears and was prepared to write down what was about to be share.  The older pastor said “People are stupid and they’ll do things that won’t make sense”.  That was it!

Now we know that not everyone is stupid, but during church transitions, people will do things that do not always make sense, but we have to be careful to not blame God.  It wasn’t God that was talking about you, it wasn’t God that had a moral failure, it wasn’t God that is misunderstanding you….it was people.  Keep your heart open to God, especially during challenging times. 

Conclusion

I pray that this helps you as you work through church transitions.  I know what it’s like to have people scratch their heads when we left a church.  But the Lord has always been faithful and if I can help you and pray with you in your journey in any way, please let me know.

Servant of a wicked cool God,

Matt Legere

“Couples Who Pray” by Squire Rushnell and Louise Duart

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“Couples Who Pray” is a book that not only talks about the importance of married couples praying together, it enforces that message through scientific research and interviews with those who have tried it.  In addition, the authors have done a great job of outlining WHAT areas of your life will be impacted by praying together, instead of just talking about the fact that you NEED to do it. 

The areas that are impacted by couples praying together, to name a few, are: Communication, Respect, Lovemaking, and Finances. 

This book also provides you as the reader the opportunity to join in on the conversation/practice by completing survey questions and following along with the couples in the book.

I think that this book highlight a very important need.  Marriage is hard work and it doesn’t get any easier because you profess a belief in Jesus Christ – it gets harder.  Most couples do not pray together often and one statistic from the book stated that only 4% of Christian couples pray together. 

One couple who was trying out the prayer experiment said:

 “When we give ourselves to each other as husband and wife, it’s as if God rewards us.”

And, in terms of who should start pursuing this practice in your marriage, take the following quote to heart:

“…each of you should expect to put in much more than your share to make your marriage work.”

I pray that this is something that all of us married couples can put into practice and watch as God transforms our marriages.

“The Principle of the Path” by Andy Stanley

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This book takes the unique approach of addressing the bucket of time known as “process”.  Many books will encourage us to get motivated and start doing something.  Other books talk about the end results and how we should strive to end well.  “The Principle of the Path”, as the tagline says, tells “how to get from where you are to where you want to be”.  It connects the timeline of our life by showing us how the decisions we make now set in motion a process that defines our future.

I thought this book in many ways addressed an unmet need of ours.  It’s more than understanding the consequences of our actions.  Andy Stanley says:

“As you are about to discover, the principle of the path is at work in your life every single day.  Once embraced, this compelling principle will empower you to identify and follow the path that leads to your desired destination.  And this same principle will enable you to avoid life-wasting detours along the way.”

The great thing about this book is that Andy hasn’t written a “one size fits all” book.  It talks about principles versus specific actions.  It’s designed to get you to think things through in regards to your individual situations.

This book made me take inventory of the areas where I’m not getting the end results that I hoped and realize that it may not be due to the fact that “it wasn’t in the cards for me”, but instead, it’s making me think of how I can make decisions know to help me attain desired goals/futures. 

Another helpful aspect of this book is that it includes a study guide.  This allows you to ask yourself the necessary questions and engage in this journey with a friend or colleague.  I’d definitely recommend it.

Book Review: Outlive Your Life

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Book Review: “Outlive your life” by Max Lucado

 

I thought that Outlive Your Life was one of the more thought-provoking books that I’ve read in a while.  I think what also makes this book so intriguing is that it provides tools to answer a question that so many of us either ask ourselves now (or will ask ourselves as we progress in years): “Did my life matter?”

 

During the monotony of the day to day grind, we tend to focus on the urgent, on whatever is screaming the loudest, or whatever is in front of us.  This book is a call to lift up our heads from the latest fire drill our face is buried in and confront deep questions as to what kind of legacy our life will leave behind for those who will follow us.

 

Max Lucado says:

“It’s not enough for you to do well.  You want to do good.  You want your life to matter.  You want to live in such a way that the world will be glad you did…may you live in such a way that your death is just the beginning of your life.”

Another helpful section of the book asks the reader 2 hypothetical questions to consider how they would have responded at that snapshot in time:

1) Had you been a German Christian during World War II, would you have taken a stand against Hitler?

 

2) Had you lived in the South during the civil rights conflict, would you have taken a stand against racism?

 

Before you get a chance to digest the weight of those questions, Lucado asks another question which helps our minds focus on the potential of future impact:

 

When your grandchildren discover you lived during a day in which 1.75 billion people were poor and 1 billion people were hungry, how will they judge your response?

Later in the book, there is a chapter called “Let God Unshell You” that talks about submitting to God’s process of finding out who you are and then how you are wired to make an impact to your generation and the next.  Galatians 6:4 (Message Version) says “make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.”  As part of the “unshelling/discovery” process, Lucado asks the following questions

 

1)      With whom do you feel most fluent?

2)      For whom do you feel the most compassion?

 

These questions highlight one of the things that I loved about this book.  In “Outlive Your Life”, Lucado doesn’t just tell us what to do to “outlive our life’ as if a model would accomplish this; instead, he structures much of his message in a serious of questions that provoke thought, bring clarity, and incite passion to make an impact.  The message of this book speaks to such a deep-seated human desire (to have our lives matter) and presents it in such a God-centered fashion.  I would definitely recommend this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: Transforming Church in Rural America

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Introduction

Shannon O’Dell has challenged the mindset of the American church in his new book “Transforming Church in Rural America – Breaking all the Rurals”.  Right from the very first chapter, he seeks to debunk the myths that the American church has subscribed to in relation to evangelizing Rural America. 

Some of these myths are as follows:

1) Successful churches grow in thriving urban or sprawling suburban America

2) Sparsely populated rural communities are behind the times and not worth our time

3) Cities are strategic and the country is inconsequential

4) If you want to be a successful Pastor, go to the city

5) If you want to drive a minivan with 200,000 miles on it, go to the sticks

If I’m honest, I must say that I had previously subscribed to the fact that, if my mission as a Christian is to lead others to Christ, then I need to focus on where I can have the “biggest” impact.  What Shannon O’Dell’s point is in this book is that, if God has called you and you are following His calling, then whatever the outcome, your impact will be great.  Between sharing his personal story and by sharing the Word of God, the author has helped debunk the myth that Rural America isn’t worth our time or efforts to share the Gospel.

In regards to the myths previously mentioned about rural America, Shannon O’Dell had these thoughts:

Where would thoughts like that come from…from the God who desires that none should perish?  From the One who leave the 99 to find the one?  From the Son who had a carpenter for a dad in a town with a population of less that 500?  No way…when the invitation to join Him at His banquet table fell on indifferent ears in the cities, Jesus invited small town people to His party: “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full” (Luke 14:21)

Early in the book, the author lays out his heartbeat and what the risks are if our mindsets remain unchanged:

I personally believe that rural America is one of the most over-churched, unreached people groups in the world.  The number of church buildings says nothing about the state of Christianity in rural America…..these struggling churches won’t survive the next decade if they cannot grow, and rural churches have challenges unique to the ministry, especially if they are passionate about their family’s church heritage (but are not passionate about the mission of Christ) or have great desire, but little faith, their vision limited by what they see, not by Who is unseen.

While I think it was really helpful for Shannon to share his personal story as an example of the mind transformation he was discussing, I think that there were probably too many references to his specific church as part of the book.  Not that his church isn’t a great example, but I think that with all of the references to their model and church, some individuals may walk away from the book looking to replicate a specific model instead of pursing the mind transformation that God brought Shannon through.

What I’ve taken away from this book is to not make broad judgments in regards to the location that God may call you to.  If God were to call you to rural America to minister, then, regardless of the population of the place where you are called, you should follow the Lord; otherwise, you might miss a fantastic opportunity to be line with the Lord’s will.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Only One Life by C.T. Studd

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Only One Life

By Charles Thomas Studd, Missionary to China, India, and Africa

Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Blogging break

Posted on by mattlegere

For those of you who follow this blog, you know that the last few months have been a blast! 

Highlights

arnoldSo what are my next steps?  More writing?  Another series?  Nope.  A break!

I’m enjoying the season that God has me in right now and I want to spend more time investing in my family.  Blogs are great and sharing thoughts from the Lord with others is awesome, but not at the expense of my family.  It may be a month or two, but don’t worry. 

I’ll be back.

Note: The picture to the right surprisingly is not me.  It’s Arnold.  Just wanted to make sure that nobody got confused.

Influenced to Influence – Part 5

Posted on by mattlegere

This was taken from my sermon notes that I used in preaching at Haven of Hope on Sunday, July 12th, 2009:

It’s time that you and I got our rightful place of authority back! 

Satan’s seat

In Revelations 2:13, John told the Church of Pergamum that he knew that they were living in the city in which Satan’s throne was, but that they were loyal to Him. 

In Ephesians 4:27, we also read that when we allow ourselves to be angry and not deal with it quickly within 24 hours and offence sets in, that Satan then gets a stronghold.

Through these and other examples, we actually allow Satan to get a foothold in our lives.  Throughout history, enough of us have not lived up to God’s plan so Satan and his minions now are sitting in footholds/seats of influence over cities that they have no right to sit over.

Let me ask you this, have you ever been driving and someone cut you off? How did that make you feel?  If you are like me, it gets me pretty fired up!  I had a lane that I was driving in and, because you didn’t want to wait, you felt the need to cut in front of me as if you are better than me?!?  (Wow, getting in my head on a morning commute can be “enlightening”, huh?)  :)

Here’s the sad truth.  You and I are getting more upset about a 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme cutting us off as we drive, than we are seeing an enemy arrogantly sit in a seat of influence in our city while thumbing their nose at us and at God.  There needs to be a righteous anger that rises in us that says, “Give me my seat back!”

In Genesis 21:22-34, Abraham had dug a well and one of Abimelech (King of the Philistines) had seized the wells.  Upon agreeing this was wrong, the King of the Philistines made Abraham a covenant that this wouldn’t happen again.  Therefore, the well was called Beersheba (the oath).  Historically, when someone dug a well, they were claiming the land surrounding the well.  When Abraham had dug the well of Beersheba, he was saying “this is my land my descendants land”

In Genesis 26:15, the Philistines had stopped up the wells that Abraham dug.  What they were trying to do is hide any evidence that the land belonged to anyone else.  Not only did they fill up the wells with dirt, but also dead animals.  While Israel was sowing the land, he discovered His father’s well.  In verse 18, he gave them back their names.  Isaac came into the land, found what was his, and took ownership again.  Isaac went on to dig 5 more wells in that region.  He reclaimed the land.

There are wells of ownership in New England, in our state, in our city, and in the lives of those around us.  Those wells were originally destined to be dug so that they could be influence by heaven and be possessed by God.  The enemy has filled up those wells with death and covered them up so that we don’t even know that those wells ever existed.  

I challenge you today to redig those wells.  Redig the wells of influence that the enemy wishes we never realized were there in the first place.  As we do that, we will be stamping on relationships, people, cities, and nations that God’s people are again in possession of the land.  AND, we not only want to redig the wells that were forgotten, but we are going to move forward.  Israel not only redig the wells that his (Father) had dug, but he also dug 5 more.  We are going for the jugular! 

I not only want to see the well redug that breaks depression’s hold on the land, but I want to see new wells dug out of protest.  Enemy, you tried to hide the well of ownership over depression so now we want the well of ownership over cancer!

Gates in the Bible were places of influence.  If you could get the gate open to a city, then you would have access to be able to step inside the city.  Likewise, there are gates that need to be opened to us.  Literally doors of influence that are currently shut but will be opening.  While we want to be careful of the influence of things from our past on us, don’t be surprised when you end up having influence in areas you thought were shut off to you (i.e. He makes all things new)

We need to be able to move spirits and demons from things that they are sitting on – this will influence our region and the people in it drastically. 

Isaiah 26:2 speaks of a declaration:  “Open ye the gates (entrance, marketplace, palace, place of influence) that the righteous nation which keepeth (to have charge of, as a watchman, preserve, protect, retain, treasure up) truth may enter in.

Life Application

I hope that you have enjoyed this series on influence.  To wrap things up here, I want to ask you to please seek God and ask Him to influence your life in a greater way.  Open up the doors to places in your heart that you have held back and give Him control of your destiny.  Next, begin to speak to the doors of influence in you, in relationships, in the culture around you, etc. and declare that they are now open to the influence of God!  Speak to the walls that are holding you and others back from experiencing the influence of heaven!  Rise up and throw down the things that are arrogantly sitting in your seat and cutting into your spiritual driving lane! 

Be influenced by God so that you can influence others for the glory of God.  Be influenced to influence.

Influenced to Influence – Part 4

Posted on by mattlegere

This was taken from my sermon notes that I used in preaching at Haven of Hope on Sunday, July 12th, 2009:

As I had been praying over the last few weeks regarding what to speak about at Sunday Encounter on July 12th, 2009, this is basically what the Lord has been telling me:

“Doors of influence are coming..doors of influence are going to be opened to us as individuals and as a body.  Some of these doors will simply be natural expressions of the well that is overflowing in us to others.  Some of these doors of influence will be opened because we have taken our God given authority and destroyed the enemy that was holding back the door of influence from opening up.”

One of the primary reasons to be influenced by God, besides the benefits to us personally, is that we need to be ready for when these doors of influence are opened.  When the doors of influence are opened, are they going to see you and I and be disappointed or will they see Jesus and be forever changed?

We need to be overtaken ourselves so that we can overtake.  We need to be influenced so that we can influence others with heaven.

 How will this happen?

 A. God will empower you

Psalms 144:1-2 (NLT) “Praise the Lord who is my rock.  He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.  He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer.  He is my shield and I take refuge in Him.  He makes the nations submit to me.

 **When I looked up what the word “subdue” meant, it is the Hebrew word “radad” and it means: “to spread, to prostrate on the ground, to extend, to spread out (hence to overlay with gold – I Kings 6:32)”

 B. As we go forward in the name of Jesus, He will open doors that will never be shut again!

Isaiah 45:1 says “This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one; whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.  Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again”

 You and I are much like Cyrus.  There are doors that God wants to open for us to walk in that will NEVER BE SHUT AGAIN!  Woot!  Woot!

Check back soon for Part 5 where we talk about getting your place back!

Influenced to influence – Part 3

Posted on by mattlegere

This was taken from my sermon notes that I used in preaching at Haven of Hope on Sunday, July 12th, 2009:

There are two things that I believe are very important in being influenced by God in a greater way:

1) The secret place with God

2) Trusting His ways and His thoughts

1. Secret place

Matt Legere: “The depth of our secret place determines the measure of your influence.”

 You’re right.  I did it.  I shamelessly quoted myself above.  Get over it.  :)

Psalms 91:1 “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”

 David wrote these words in Psalms 91 and, incidentally, it was because of what He did in secret that allowed him to be qualified to be in places of influence over the nation.

 David spent a lot of time with just himself, the sheep, and God.  From reading the Psalms, we find that we meditated on God, talked with Him, looked for His handiwork on the earth, sang to Him, sang songs of God’s greatness, etc.

In Psalms 78:70-72, we read that God chose David and took him from the sheepfolds.  God alone gave David influence and pulled him from sheepfolds into a place of authority at the palace.  David’s performance in handling small things (pregnant sheep/praising God with his harp in the field) when no one else was watching determined how and how quickly God could use him.  David’s first experience with the palace was when Saul asked him to come and play the harp for him.  However, Saul’s servant recommended David because that servant had heard of David playing the harp)  This eventually opened up the door to David being King and reigning in the palace.

In the secret place with God, there is no striving and no earning or wrestling for your place.  It’s communion with God.  It’s peace, rest, and refreshing.  You may feel tucked away or even forgotten.  After all, no one sees you in the secret place with God to know how much you are praying.  But David, who thought he was alone playing the harp, caught the attention of others.

Andrew Murray: “To be alone in secret with the Father should be your highest joy because to the man who withdraws himself from all the visible world and man and waits for God alone, the Father will reveal Himself”

 God delights in using our encounters from the secret place with God to be what impacts people and nations.

 When the demon couldn’t be cast out by the disciples, this kind comes not out but by prayer and fasting.  I always thought it was because they didn’t do enough to earn it.  However, prayer and fasting are things typically done in secret.  Jesus, when he prayed and fasted, he would pull away from the crowd and pray.  His fasting wasn’t on twitter/facebook.

There are things/demons we need to overthrow and, if we don’t build the wells and develop a secret place, we would have enough influence from Him and be influenced enough by Him to, in turn, influence what He wants us to influence.

2. His ways and His thoughts

Isaiah 55 (NLT)

If you get the chance, read the ENTIRE chapter!  Isaiah 55 absolutely rocks!  In these verses, The Lord is saying, “Why are you spending money and energy on things that aren’t going to satisfy you?  Come to me with ears wide open and listen! 

 Just like David who I covenanted with, (in verse 5) “you also will command the nations, and they will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”

Verse 8 - ”My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

Verse 9 -For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

He goes on to speak to the fact that his word is always productive and brings for fruit.  The Lord says in verse 11-12: “It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.  You will live in joy and peace”

Verse 13 is amazing!  

13.Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the LORD’s name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.

Instead of thorns, the cypress tree will come up.  In Scripture, the cypress tree always refers to something noble and it was used in building the Temple. 

 Instead of briers, the myrtle tree will come up.  If the myrtle grows on the bare hillsides it is a low bush, but, under favorable conditions of moisture, it attains a considerable height (compare Zec 1:8,10).  It is mentioned as one of the choice plants of the land (Isa 41:19).

 As you link up with God and follow His ways and thoughts, He begins to speak in your ear – words.  Words that are powerful and will never return to Him void but fall as rain to the earth.   You will go from being common and anonymous (thorn bushes, briers), to being noble (royal, joint-heirs), used in the process of experiencing and carrying the presence of God and something that is designed to flourish to new heights when moisture is present (aka “the Holy Spirit”)

Check back soon for Part 4 where we will talk about what to do with the doors of influence that God will be opening.

Influenced to influence – Part 2

Posted on by mattlegere

This was taken from my sermon notes that I used in preaching at Haven of Hope on Sunday, July 12th, 2009:

God wants to be our PRIMARY source of influence.  He wants to be our primary source of spiritual food, direction, affirmation..our SOURCE and our PORTION!  Take a look at all of the things that the Bible says that He is our source of:

  • Source of joy (Psalms 43:4 “…God, the source of all my joy”)
  • Source of Israel’s life (Psalms 68:26)
  • Source of refuge/shelter (Psalms 119:114)
  • Source of hope (Psalms 119:114)
  • Source of righteousness and strength (Isaiah 45:24)
  • Source of peace (Micah 5:5)
  • Source of every mercy (2 Corinthians 1:3)
  • Source of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9)
  • Source of Spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:4)

What impacted me is that, if you look at this list, you will find that the items on this list are EXACTLY what is lacking in many aspects of our world and even in many churches (i.e. joy, life, peace, and Spiritual Gifts).  Could it be that we have ANOTHER source?  A source that is not satisfying us like He would?

John 7:37-38: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink…From his innermost being (womb) will flow rivers of living water”. 

What I feel very strongly about is that we are trying to minister to people (“rivers flowing from us”) without having first taken a drink from our Source – Jesus Christ!  However, both history and the Bible have awesome examples of how Christ’s influence is supposed to work. 

1. May the dust of your Rabbi be upon you

In the time of Jesus, education was HUGE!  Rabbi’s (teachers of the law) would train children as young as 5 years old in the ways of the law.  At the age of 14, the best of the best took yet another step and approached a Rabbi about becoming His disciple.  If after the Rabbi quizzed you and he felt you were good enough, He would say “Come, take my yoke upon you”.  At that time, the boy would leave everything (home, mother, father, synogague, community, etc.) and devote His entire life to be like the Rabbi.

One of the quotes that was said of this arrangement in support of it was “May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi”.  You see, Rabbi’s were passionate and animated.  They would travel all over with their disciples and the posse would kick up a cloud of dust.  Because the disciples were following the Rabbi, at the end of the day, they would actually be covered in the dust of their Rabbi. 

That’s what God wants for us – that we would be covered with the dust of our Rabbi – Jesus Christ.  To be so close to HIM and being taught and influenced by Him so much that we would be covered with “dust” from His feet.

2. Spirit of Christ dwelling in you / Roman Colonization

Another very telling example we find is in Romans 8:9.  When God decided to communicate through Paul the way that He desires to dwell in us, He used an example of Roman colonization.

Romans 8:9 – But you are in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you…”

The word “dwell” in the Greek means ““to occupy a house”.  Going deeper, the root of that Greek word refers to ““land, the subjects of the Roman Empire“.  When the Spirit of God dwells in us, it’s for a far better purpose than to give us goosebumps.  He wants possession of us.  The Holy Ghost desires to dwell in us just like the Romans would occupy a land and have control of it’s inhabitants. 

When the Romans would conquer a land, they would begin to colonize it.  They permeated the culture, the language, the art, the traditions, everthing! – and made it Roman.  Likewise, the Lord Jesus Christ desires to dwell in us and colonize our minds, our hearts, our motives until everything in us looks like, smells like, acts like, prays like, heals like, He did! 

When the Holy Ghost dwells in us, it’s londiniumsomething that won’t just change us, it will change those around us and the generations to come!  Britain was invaded by the Romans in 55 B.C. The city of London, England started as a Roman colony called Londinium.  What was once a city colonized by the greatest empire the world has seen (Roman Empire) became the capital of the British empire.  The British empire went on to be the largest empire in history and was heavily impacted by the Roman empire.  The British Empire eventually was responsible for the colonization of what would eventually become the United States of America.

Through the simple colonization of one city by the Romans (Londinium), there is now a very strong country known as the United States of America.  If you will allow God to colonize your heart, what spiritual things could be accomplished as a result of YOUR colonization?

If we allow the Holy Spirit to colonize our hearts and minds – we can be instrumental in continuing the e xpansion of His kingdom with His influence and culture being spread into new areas. 

Check back soon for Part 3 of this series where we talk about 2 ways that I believe are key to being influenced by God in a greater way.

Influenced to influence – Part I

Posted on by mattlegere

This was taken from my sermon notes that I used in preaching at Haven of Hope on Sunday, July 12th, 2009:

I believe that God is challenging us to allow Him to influence our lives in a greater way.  Then, it’s His plan for us to use that influence from Heaven to influence other people, nations, and the enemy for the glory of God and His Kingdom.

What is influence?  One definition I was able to find said:

Influence occurs when an individual’s thoughts or actions are affected by other people. Social influence takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, sales, and marketing.

For example, have you ever been walking through the grocery store or the mall and by the time you walk out, you are humming or singing a song?  At first you think, where did I hear this from?  Then you realize that the song must have been playing in the store. 

When I was typing this message together, I tried to think of one of the most annoying songs I had ever heard and “Umm Bop” by the Hanson brothers immediately came to my mind.  I searching online for a Youtube clip to use during my sermon as an illustration.  I decided against it (but still think it would have been hilarious).  However, about 10 minutes later, while I was continuing to type out my notes, to my horror I caught myself singing “Umm bop..bop..bop..umm bop”!!!!  I was mortified and thankful that the house was empty.  I laughed, but it illustrated my point beautifully. 

As another example, have you ever hung around someone and start to pick up their catch phrases or accents? 

Andy Stanley once said it this way:

Who or what you listen to will ultimately determine what you do.

Whether we intend to or not, we are influenced by the people that we spend time with, the music that we listen to, how we steward our time, etc.

Check back soon for Part 2 of this series where we will talk about how God wants to be our primary source of influence.

Can’t hide your motives

Posted on by mattlegere

In Matthew Chapter 22 and verses 15 through 22, we find that the Pharisees are up to their old tricks.  They want to try to trap Jesus into saying something that will get him arrested by the Roman authorities.  So they asked Him:

Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

In the New Living Translation (which is becoming my new favorite), it says that Jesus knew their evil motives.  If you read Matthew 22:16, you will find that just prior to their question, they were trying to be MAJOR “teacher’s pets”.  They said to Him:

Teacher, we know how honest you are.  You teach the way of God truthfully.  You are impartial and don’t play favorites.

But Jesus was able to look straight through all the “smoke & mirrors” and look right into their heart at their motives. 

My challenge to you today is to be real.  Be real to yourself, others, and your God.  God is able to see straight through it all.  By “be real”, I don’t mean that you know have license to be a pain in the butt just because you happen to be one.  What I mean is to be AUTHENTIC.  When you talk to God, throw out the King James speak (unless you really talk like that), and speak what is REALLY on your heart – He sees it anyways.  When you talk to others, be transparent and be real.  Check your motives. 

It is impossible to paint God into a corner.  When we pray something, He can look right down to the core root of why we are praying that way.

For example, if I were to hear you pray something like “God, I am asking for a sovereign move of your Spirit on the hearts of men and women.”, I might think “Wow, that sounds pretty cool”.  But God could look into your heart and see that, what you are really saying is, “God, I am way to afraid to talk to anyone else about you.  I just don’t see the point in sharing my faith with others.  Please just step in and pour out your Spirit on everyone so that I don’t have to talk to them.  That would make me feel better”.  Ouch.

God is not nearly impressed with your words as He is impressed with what words are truly flowing from your heart (whether you are speaking them out loud or not).

Check your motives at the door and be real.  Authenticity is one of the next levels God is taking His church.