Evaluating Spirituality 10 March 1998 — George Verwer

This is the ICT prayer meeting on Tuesday the 10th of March 98. Thank you for your prayers. Comes right after Titus Tucked in there before Hebrews.

Paul's Letter to Philemon: Christian Love and Restoration

Okay, let's Let's read this. Paul a prisoner of Christ Jesus. And Timothy our brother to the NIV to Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker to Appiah our sister. To Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I Always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers. Little phrase isn't it but If we took that seriously it would revolutionize our lives. Because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the Saints.

I Pray that you may be active in sharing your faith. So that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement because You brother have refreshed the hearts of the Saints.

Therefore, although in Christ, I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do. Yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. Amazing. I then as Paul an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

I appeal to you for my son Onesimus. Who became my son while I was in chains formerly. He was useless to you. Heard that before. But now he has become useful both to you and to me. I'm sending him who is my very heart Back to you.

I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your consent. So that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced.

Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good. No longer as a slave. But better than a slave a dear brother. He is a very dear to me, but even dearer to you both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner Welcome him as you would welcome me. That's strong, isn't it? If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything Charge it to me. I Paul I'm writing this with my own hand I will pay it back not to mention That you owe me your very self.

I Do wish brother that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience. I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I ask. And one thing more prepare a guest room for me.

Because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. Epaphras my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus sends you greetings and So do mark Aristarchus Demas and Luke my fellow workers the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Be with your spirit. What a phenomenal love what a phenomenal epistle we we don't have time to Give a great exposition and go into detail but I would encourage you to study. Believing I've heard messages on this book and read Of course a lot that you read as life goes on.

You're not able to remember and so just reading this afresh in preparation for tonight was a great Ministry to my own heart the thing that God put on my heart especially for tonight. And I wish it was in a more work through form because I've been working on it for a long time and Still don't really Necessarily have God's mind on how to express it is simply that I believe one of the great mistakes.

Evaluating Spirituality in Bible College and OM

We've made many mistakes speaking of myself speaking of The movement people in the movement from the early days. But it's been impressed upon me again that one of the great mistakes is Mistakes in evaluating people In evaluating their spirituality.

The great thrust of OM in the early days, and I hope true to today Was not firstly just evangelism if you've ever listened to the orientation tapes if you know anything about this movements roots was not Primarily just evangelism or missions or unreached people it was spirituality.

And we were reared some of us after our conversion in an environment of heavy challenge about Spirituality if you sit under the feet of Alan Ridpath as I did in Chicago red path. It's all spirituality.

It's the Lordship of Christ if you go to a place like Moody you are hit every single day with some aspect of spirituality and You watch the students around you many of them crumble as they are unable to Really respond to this kind of environment.

And I was reminded of this again as I've just been ministering in Trinity Bible College Florida where Billy Graham went. And if you read his autobiography, which is just at the market in paperback. I even got $2 discount at Walmart I bought half of their stock which is a man.

It's a retail place. But I was so excited that that book finally got out in paperback and very very Attractive but As I poured myself out for two or three days at this college and then over lunch with students realized Many of the students needed they all are required to go to this Chapel, but they didn't go.

I Thought we had the ACMC conference was going on simultaneously Plus missionaries visitors. It's a small relatively small meeting Twice the size of this. And I had enough video equipment in there to make I would have thought a major movie.

But I found out of course a lot of the students didn't even go even though it's required. Of course that that's not the main thing that that's led me to share What's on my heart right now? But it's reminded me of of how Easily at Bible College and also in an OM environment You can get so many challenges about spirituality.

You can no longer absorb it. Now the whole challenge of prayer right now is a huge thing going on in the States. I don't know how many are participating in. Which a particular Christian leader has called people to 40 days of prayer and fast.

Prayer, Fasting, and Spiritual Pressure

Now the average evangelical has never fasted two days they don't even go to any prayer meetings and Yet suddenly out of the blue not quite out of the blue, but It's it's presented that if you really want to see America revived if you really want to see happen what needs to happen go and fast for 40 days.

You imagine the complexity of that for family peoples for some people It's a partial flat fast at least having some kind of fruit juices or something talk to one man who just entered into it and I know that in my own life.

I Have made and I think I'm still making it still struggling at least false evaluation spiritually and whether God can use them or not and Whether they should be on OM. We're hit with all kinds of decisions about people.

Our movement is a movement of people. And I remember once years ago Disagreeing with a particular leader as I felt His his level of Rating people spiritually was too low. People that he thought were were basically spiritual people that God could use.

I can remember my reaction. You know what is he using as his measuring rock of course if you? Spend a lot of time in tozer and a lot of time in watchman knee and a lot of time in Andrew Murray and a lot of time in some of these other books.

Heard all the messages that I've heard. Not many people so it's great to preach these sermons. But how does that work out in practice? What what if you marry someone that doesn't quite seem to fit in with Alan Redpath's?

Definition of Spirituality or tozers or watchman knee. A lot of these writers actually never said that much about there. If you look through the old books, which are actually being pushed very much back on us these days.

You'll find that most of them don't say much About some of the things we face today. What old book tells you how to handle the internet. Pornography on the internet is one of the number one practical problems.

Spirituality, Moral Purity, and New Technology

Christians especially the male species one mission society. I think I shared this with a few of you took a survey and it blew their minds. How many of their mission. I just read that. Some of these companies now are getting names for their Home page or whatever they call it which are very similar to famous names.

So if you punch in Motorola and put an extra R Boom you're into 500 nude women free of charge on your computer. There's apparently one Email or internet address, which is very similar to something in connection with Washington.

And apparently if you hit the wrong Button or add one little letter you go straight into a major Pornography display. It is interesting that last night on the airplane Featured news on the American Airline flight.

They're talking about the internet and the impossibility of controlling things in America. The first amendment provides an enormous amount of freedom of speech and the government debated recently putting any controls on the internet and the first amendment and other factors.

Came out. There is no control whatsoever on the internet not true in other countries. In fact on this interview this particular program was featuring on the American militia movement and aspects of the militia movement that are completely completely racist make the Ku Klux Klan look like they're gentle and They're pushing this stuff on the internet in a neo-nazi movement in Germany clicking in and getting some of the most hateful Material you could ever imagine one of these famous Jewish Institute famous man is it Wasserman?

Incredibly famous Person. I'm probably just pronouncing it a little bit wrong his institute in America. They're based used to be based in Vienna are mainly Watching what's going into the internet, and then they referred.

This program wasn't about that, but they referred to the similar problem in some of the old books on the subject. Somebody will need to say well the basis for all these answers is found in the word That's true.

And so I hope you will be a diligent student with your message on having the New Testament because the basics about discipline and moral purity and the other challenges. Are all there. I guess this is partly on my heart because a friend of mine has been more or less removed from his pastorate.

Because he had some struggle with pornography as far as I can see it wasn't a huge thing but he got into it for a while and When he eventually confessed this people didn't for many many months of counseling and discipline, and it's completely free from this.

He's been asked to leave Founding pastor of this fellowship. He's been asked to leave for one year one year's discipline, and they will not restore him Now until after even though he's been through some discipline.

They want him to go through more of course this is sort of splitting the church as some people feel this is too harsh other people feel it should be more and Though this is happening way over in some little state in America I a heavy conversation from someone who picked up news about it in China and Felt that I you know George for must get more involved and really get this thing for the war.

Sort it out. Right now many churches are going through nightmares. Trying to decide. What is an acceptable level of spirituality for their past? What is an acceptable level of gifting and in the process in a big place like the states with a huge number of churches?

Thousands of pastors are burning out collapsing under the pressure or Things come to the surface even from people's past. I call one city on the east coast none of this. I'm adding to Just out of the blue.

I'm not interested in talking about any negative things. I'm just saying hello to an old high school friend From New Jersey who we discovered because the ship went to that city. And they he just began to share that the whole city is feeling a dark cloud.

Because a pastor who came in from another state the absolute other end of the country where I happen to be at that time and Now people are making accusations about sexual abuse. Lads and he may still be doing it there and of course with what is going on hanging over me I pick up the most negative feedback.

I've ever had concerning Billy Graham of all my years. Three or four or five phone calls yesterday all including the man in the church I preached at Sunday night all sharing something about Billy Graham and apparently a hot interview program.

He was unbelievably soft. Billy just trying is he has his friendship with Clinton. Just tried to be because I heard ten days ago. He had a program with Larry King, and I heard all positive things about that, but this was another one.

And it's been hit big in Maine. I don't know if any of you saw the article about Billy Graham in the Wall Street Journal. Peter May just been given a subscription to Wall Street Journal, so he's digging up the article right now.

Grace, Perfectionism, and False Spiritual Evaluations

Just to try to wind this down. Tell you where is that I believe so often. We either put the level of what true spirituality is too high. I believe many books do that I really feel that very deeply or we put it too long.

And I'd encourage you and maybe we can have some discussion. What is true? spirituality. When can we say have you had anybody say that about just in the places where they like us? Places where they don't like us.

They don't invite us, right? Yeah, we don't you know they don't introduce us and say this guy's a real jerk. He's a nerd, but we've let him here this morning because somebody twisted my arm. You know we thought we'd give him a try.

You know it's like that preacher that got invited back, and he was so encouraged by the re-invitation. But then the pastors gave him the truth. He said well, you know we're very much into forgiveness here and the first time you preached.

It was it was horrendous, and we wanted to give you another another opportunity to try again. Well, I tell you it changed his position very quickly but just just from my own heart. I Lean Towards saying that in a movement like we tend number one to not think we're that spiritual.

We always think of somebody else's spiritual. We do tend to put ourselves down. We do tend to have spiritual inferiority feelings. You know why isn't God using me or we tend to I believe get discouraged when we sin and fail in the same Area of though we may not be heavy deliverance in our practice in our minds.

We tend to think basically we should be delivered of everything. More and more in my counseling among more spiritually minded people I see that they give the impression that basically more or less you should be perfect and especially if you're a pastor and Certainly they're taking this sort of perfectionism.

Promoted very heavily by certain seminars and by certain people and probably even by me years ago. Before the whole grace message gripped me in a more realistic way and a lot of other things got pounded into my heart.

I Believe leads to a lot of people being discouraged. No, even in listening to some of the speakers and tapes in various places. I'm always listening to other people. They often put such Hope he's gonna make it.

They get a bunch of you know, 1 ,000 Moody Bible Institute students are wrestling with all kinds of problems. We don't need to go into the details. They get some high lofty message about true spirituality knowing God.

There's certain knowing God messages knowing God books when you're finished reading in Europe. Absolutely sure you don't know God at all now some temperaments. That's not such a big problem. Unfortunately at that kind of I you know, I'm just Not so easily intimidated a lot of good foundation teaching before I was even 20 years of age.

Somehow when I hear these overwhelming messages, I just you know, repent. Claim and go forward again, but other people of more sensitive temperament. Different emotional and mental makeup different background different family situation.

They get knocked out by these grace killers. Forgive my Charles Wendell and I just believe. Significant right and when you share this You can turn that around and it becomes a grace killing message. Because we're gonna go around and kill all grace killers and you know that you've got a grace killing instinct.

And so it's what you call a no-win Situation how many of you believe in the Christian life? It's possible to get into situations where it's totally lose-lose. Do any of you believe that Peter Cullen with that?

We have a few followers. Rosemary bark. Wow. Rex is going to think about that a little more but somehow with some of the Lord's people that I need a Lose-lose situation. It's not possible. They will not accept that terminology.

I was with a top Christian leader at one of our 82 ,000 meetings and I was sharing that I felt we as a movement failed in a lot of ways. I Mean, how could anyone have a brain and not see the failures of the 82 ,000 movement?

It's beyond me, but this brother he immediately moved into high gear. He does not believe we should use that that is not in our vocabulary. Again, I didn't get into detailed conflict. We the audience was.

Maybe I don't know whose side they were on. Just to try to sum this up a lot more than they realize. I believe people are often Far more spiritual than they realize and I believe that we don't give enough credit to the basics.

If a man is living a life or a woman a basic moment if they are people of basic integrity. They're not lying. They're not cheating. If they are fulfilling some of the very basics of the Christian life and we know.

Many people are not but if they are Much higher than maybe he's struggling in his prayer life. Maybe he's not led anybody to Jesus Christ this week. You know, maybe he isn't feeling the power of God every minute.

Maybe he or she are having some difficulties in their marriage. Maybe he's not the totally spirit-filled driver. But to me if These basics, you know even going back to the Ten Commandments and I just feel in general why because.

Most of the people out there in the churches were going to which we're all talking about. Esteeming, you know. There may be a few and they sometimes become the leading grace killers in the church. Because they believe all the other people who are not quite doing it this way or feeling it this way.

They're they're sort of backslidden and we need to really get with them and pray they get into the victorious life. Which may be true in some cases? But in other cases it may be that they manifest their spirituality differently.

And one of the things that we find hard, especially some of us from the Western so-called objective Oriented world with all the books and all the spiritual intake. Especially people in certain circles.

When we get out across the world and see the people and then discover the problems they still have in their lives. It doesn't fit on the page. It doesn't fit on the paper leading professor in a meeting of charismatic leaders here in London.

Which are trying to bring leaders in the new church charismatic movement in unity with missions had this Professor from one of the leading Bible colleges give all these very elevated things really. Launching major attack and I stood up to the end a few of you know this story and I said, you know I'm sort of in your camp high level.

I said I'm in your camp. But could you explain why for 40 years? I've seen God using so many to bring hundred thousand hundreds of thousands to himself and the whole place. Burst out in applause. It's a mystery.

Philemon and the Biblical Balance of Grace

All right to be a little more grace awakened mature a Bit like Paul when he wrote this letter concerning Philemon the former slave Lord maybe this Ministry of your spirit. As I prepared for this is made maybe it's mainly for me and forgive me when I have misjudged people.

Forgive me when I have made two and two equal eight when I thought Negatively about someone because they didn't seem to have much of a prayer life or they didn't seem to have a passion for world evangelism or they didn't seem to Do it the way I?

Thought perhaps it should be done Lord. Maybe in some circumstances. I was right, but Lord forgive me for false evaluations and Lord help. The body of Christ continue to have high goals while at the same time maintain that that that biblical balance that pays attention to the basics and Realizes how hard it is even to have some of these basics to stay away from from basic Lines to stay away from their morality to stay away from From acts of hatred and violence and anger to stay away from embezzlement and theft.

Things that Lord we can even end up in prison for and there are Christians in prison tonight because they didn't pay attention enough to those basics and enable us Lord to. When we see people have the basics of the Christian faith to be able to to be able to honor.

To be able to introduce them to other Christians or write letters like Paul wrote. For the sake of fleeting perhaps Lord among ourselves and as we hear so many different things and get so many challenges.

Help us and ourselves evaluating ourselves and Measuring and the value in some case commit this to you. Thank you that you've not given up on OM. And us you're still working still changing people's lives.

The gospel is still going out and we think of so many of our graduates. We especially are wanting to be linked with many of them. Many of them are not in what they dreamed they would be when they were 19.

But many of them are going on bottom line. Praise ministry, we would like to see them in or they're in something completely different. If they're going on for you. Loving you attempting to walk with you.

Keeping some kind of right accounts with you. Then we praise you for that and we want to affirm them and love them and encourage them to keep on. Keeping on even when they do have a failure or they do sin.

Do something that they may feel is so completely stupid. We praise you we worship you in the midst of the challenge in Jesus name. Amen. Amen, just before us some here comes. I want to share this burden I almost forgot which is ridiculous because it's it's very serious.

Prayer for the Parsi and Zoroastrian Peoples

How many of you remember the Parsi brothers or Raspian brother Feroz who came and raise your hand. He is one of the few Converts from Zoroastrianism. He has been for now over two years trying to Do something about to my amazement.

I had very little so he's been pressing on his own. He did get his church at least to pray for and support him. Baptist Church in Texas probably. I'm gonna try to follow up with them. But he has persisted.

The word is now out among his his you're much harder than this city in pronounce it will come out wrong. But it's a small place. The fire has been burning in this city. For 3 ,000 years and the high priest.

He's very much on his own. I don't know what else to say except even in sharing his unreached people's vision. He's been sort of pushed aside because there's not enough of these people over a million over half a million.

You don't get on the list. I mean, there's all kinds of things that go on among but here's a group that We know of hardly any converts. We know of hardly anybody in the world's focusing on them or knows that they are Mentioned and you can change the world and we are one of the few that know this this pray for him.

He normally comes and saves with Parsi friends. Don't confuse Parsis or Astron's with Farsi language of Iranians. That's. But because of the His persecution and things against him, you know, if you know someone yes father we unite for this brother.

We realize his life is now in danger. We realize he's very much alone with this. So neglected people's we pray you would show him any others will want to work Among these people rotting not in these people though.

Many of them know these other languages. But it just shows how forgotten how left out the Parsi and Zoroastrian people are understand this headquarters in India is probably even for those of us who might consider ourselves very balanced a very demonized place and We cry out to you and stand against it.

There could come a breakthrough Zoroastrians and Even here in Great Britain where we know no one working among them in Britain. No one working among them in the United States many many thousands of them and we pray raise up some.

Who would put these people on the spiritual map in Jesus name? Amen.

Prayer for Kosovo and the Albanian People

As you know this recently we knew happening from Yugoslavia. The war is over in some parts, but this you can see that in and all we thought in the beginning before the Firmness, I was straight up It will start in this country and spread and what's happened the opposite it started on the top Croatia.

But I came to this country now. This one is the most dangerous for many reasons political reasons and I just read on the paper This is the most dangerous because in this nation we have 90 of the Albanians.

If something happens in this country now Albanians, they cannot say just just find political solution because we are Brothers by blood we are the same nation. We have Albanians in Montenegro in Macedonia if something happened Albanians they would attack here Macedonians.

They cannot remain anymore in the same part because 25 but again to the same Macedonians we don't recognize because their language is not official. According to them Greece is not recognized Macedonia either because of their province called Macedonia and Albanians because of their own Population there and everything is going more and more Complicated now what's happening in this country Serbians they want still to Kill as much as they can Albanians with one aim that is as we call it ethnic cleansing.

They started here somewhere In a place called Renita yesterday I went to some demonstrations and there were a hundred and thousand Albanians in London. At the same time in the capital of Kosovo Pristina there were more than 50 ,000 Albanians and here I've got a picture of ladies waving White paper, which means Albanians have no rights in that country at the same time.

Here I've got something else which is says that they Albanian army is here in Pukesi and It's quite ready to attack last night. I heard from the Albanian president of Albania Fatos Nano who said That in fact he's blaming the Serbian president Milosevic.

Who started this attack? This it won't get changed quite easily. In London today, we had a special meeting Emergency meeting regarding this country and that they have decided in ten days. They give ten days to president Milosevic to do something that means to accept that Albanians Kosovo would have a meeting with Belgrade.

Because everything comes from there. If they have that meeting, that's okay. If they don't have the war won't stop. It will continue more and more. Now the other thing I want to mention is that Turks which are here somewhere, they said we cannot stay indifferent About this country because they have some kind of history in this country.

Because Albanians are Muslim 90 At the same time we have demonstration in Istanbul more than 3 ,000 Albanians, we have demonstrations in Ankara in Athens and In all Western Europe. So I just heard the official number of killed.

I mean they killed 80 people In within a week, that's official. But this number is much higher because many people are dead on the fields and they cannot have access to go and collect Bodies brothers and sisters or mothers and fathers who are they?

Because the Red Cross. Which is recognized in all the world that have not. I mean that didn't get permission To go and heal the wounded people. What they really say is I really what I want to pray is at least so we can find a way and send some aid there.

I Was in touch with an ex-member. He's got One truck or a lorry or more of food and clothes and a bit drugs. And he said that they need to raise 3 ,000 pounds so we have to pray for that as well. God is God's miracle.

It will do before I finish just let me say that this is the Albanian flag if you want if you never seen one. This is the same flag in both countries whenever Albanians rather than black. It's quite old from the 15th century.

Yeah, and I think that's it will be in brief and the real I don't know which prayer request to ask anymore. Because the only thing I want is for this country to find what is what they want or what they deserve.

We cannot say anymore under the Serbia and The most complicated things is this because this country we don't have army. We don't have The police nothing the only thing we have is white paper. That means nothing.

So do pray Then we were born, so I know the station quite right. Yes on the air nor we thank you for this.

Burden you put on our brother some of your start. You know it's especially hard for him to see his countrymen being killed and to see these people have no rights chaotic kind of situation. And we pray for the resolution of this ignorance.

Out this let's have several others pray.