The God Of No Pleasure

Psalm 16:11 declares that at the right hand of the LORD there are pleasures forevermore. I’m often refreshed by considering that verse, because deep down inside, we all know that we were created to enjoy God and to drink deeply and eternally from the river of His pleasures.

However, there is one thing (at least) that God takes no pleasure in, and that particular thing is articulated in Ezekiel 33:11 (ESV) -

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

We are living in a tremendously volatile season in America right now, in which the Spirit of God is exposing evil and sin in all its ugliness at many levels. National leaders in government, media, sports, entertainment – all through the seven spheres of influence – are in the spotlight as things that have been hidden are brought out into the open.

In such a time as this, there is a temptation, even as godly people, to rejoice over the downfall of people who have acted wickedly, especially when they have presumed to stand in judgment of others who fell short of God’s perfection. We must beware of this temptation to rejoice or gloat, because that attitude is contrary to the heart of our Father, God. His purpose in bringing such matters to light is not destruction, but repentance, and His heart is grieved over the brokenness of humanity, and of the individuals whose lives are crumbling before the glare of the spotlight.

We Christians are not to gloat or rejoice over such things. We are to weep and intercede, to be agents of mercy even as we speak the truth in love. We are to be without compromise, even as we hold out arms of compassion to those whose failure is being exposed.

None of us is without sin – I certainly have no room to cast stones of judgment or celebration at the demise of another, even if I vehemently disagree with their politics, their worldview, or their orientation on a number of issues. When I speak, I must speak truthfully but kindly. When I criticize, I must do it with a gentle spirit, lest the same thing come my way – see Galatians 6:1 about that.

The assignment given to us as God’s representatives in this world is the same as it was in Moses’ time, as he recalled God’s instruction to the Levitical priests: they were to be carriers of God’s presence, they were to minister to the Lord in worship, and they were to speak blessings in His Name (Deuteronomy 10:8). If we are faithful in those three things, the power of God will indeed be released in our time, and we will see His Kingdom come like never before.

Gary Wiens

The Best Christmas Gift Ever

This morning I’m reflecting on Isaiah 49 and 50, where the Holy Spirit is showing the contrast between the unresponsiveness of God’s people, and the complete and perfect responsiveness of the Servant Son, Jesus. It’s a wonderful meditation for the Christmas season, and my heart is moved with thankfulness for God’s indescribable gift of love – that He Himself would become the obedient Son, and then include me (and us!) in His amazing mercy and grace.

In the first several verses of this chapter, God simply states the fact that the distance between Himself and His people is not due to His rejection, but to their lack of response to His initiatives. It is a simple thing to see myself in this passage – preoccupation with life, worries about a variety of things, and – too often – just plain avoidance of God’s invitations to draw near.

But then, in verse 4 and following, there is the testimony of the Servant Son, whose availability and response to the Sovereign Lord is perfect. Where I do not heed the Lord’s call (v.2), the Servant Son is ever a listener (v.4). Where I am unconvinced about the Lord’s love (49:14) and power (49:22), the Servant Son is confident in the Lord’s help (50:7,9) and nearness (50:8). Where I suffer because of sin and rebellion (50:1ff), the Servant Son suffers because He is obedient (50:5ff). The enemy has a right to accuse me because of offenses (50:1ff), but the Servant Son knows that no charge can be sustained against Him (50:8-9). Where I have failed, He has not. Ever.

The reality that turns this passage from bad news to good news is that the Heavenly Father, because of His great love for me and for you, sent this obedient, responsive Servant Son into the world to live the perfect human life, to suffer and die in my place as a substitute for me, and to welcome me into the Father’s family by the power of His resurrection life.

Because of His great love, I am not forgotten, rejected, or left out. Neither are you. All He asks is for me to love Him and respond to Him in thanksgiving and trust. This is the first and best Christmas gift. Ever.

Gary Wiens

Called, Kept, and Given

I’m meditating this morning on Isaiah 42:6-7, where the LORD makes this declaration over His Servant (the Messiah – and by implication, all those who are His followers by the power of the Holy Spirit):

“I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you;  I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

Several things impact my heart as I consider these verses: first, it is Yehovah, the I AM, who is speaking here. He is the One we believe in, convinced that He exists, and that He is faithful to do what He has promised, because He cannot be unfaithful to His own character. Hebrews 11:6 calls us to have faith in this reality.

Second, Yehovah declares that He has called you (the Servant Messiah, and us as His followers) in righteousness. In other words, He has summoned us to live according to how He has designed us, to be fully congruent with how we are formed in His heart from the foundations of the world. There is no hope for fulfillment apart from this calling, but with that call comes the grace and power to live it out.

Third, He promises His presence and involvement through the course of our lives. He will take us by the hand and keep us. In other words, He will be intimately present to us, guarding and protecting us in the assignment He gives. His intimate presence is the assurance of the successful completion of our task, and the fulfillment of our destiny.

Finally, God pledges to give us to the nations as a covenant and a light, to be expressed in spiritual and literal healing and deliverance. The power of His Name and the power of His life within us is His promise, which first transforms us, and then presents us to the people around us with His stamp of approval. The authorization that comes with being given by God to the nations results in the power of His Kingdom being released that His will might be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

I’m strengthened and encouraged by this word today. May your hearts and minds be settled and emboldened as well.

Gary Wiens

Faith and the Renewal of the Mind

In the midst of the increasing turmoil of our times, I find that it is more and more necessary to exercise faith in God, in His purposes and in His ways, just to remain upright in the face of the storms of daily life. The raging hate of Satan is being expressed daily in current events, natural disasters, political and cultural unrest, disunity and murderous anger in the culture.

How do we as followers of Jesus stand firm in faith in the context of cultural upheaval? The Bible gives us help in this, so I want to highlight two passages that are profoundly important as anchors for our souls in times like these.

Hebrews 11:6 says this: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” This verse says that faith is an essential commodity for successful living, but faith is more than a doctrinal position or a vague emotional state. Faith is defined in this verse in this way – the foundational belief that God is who He says He is, and that He will do what He said He will do.

It is one thing to believe that verse intellectually, but under the pressures of the day, intellectual belief is not enough. There must be an internal confidence that grows out of encounter with God in worship, gazing on the beauty and the glory of the Lord, the majesty of Jesus as King and sovereign Lord of all creation. Encounter with God in worship is the key to taking our intellectual beliefs to a deeper place, so that the root systems of our faith go deep in the experiential knowledge of God. As that happens, we find strength to stand in stormy seasons.

In order for this to happen, the dynamic of Romans 12:2 must be in play in our lives. We must be “transformed by the renewal of our minds.” We must learn to see reality differently, to think differently, and therefore to act and react differently under the pressures of the day. We are to see from the perspective of Heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father, unshaken and immovable in His sovereign authority over the affairs of earth.

How does this renewal happen? Again, through encountering the reality of who God is, meditating on His Word in the context of worship encounters. We are to fix our gaze on Him, not on what is going on around us. We become conformed to what we stare at, and the primary goal of Satan is to get our gaze off of Jesus and onto something less. To the degree that he can accomplish that, he will drag us down into instability and fear.

Set your mind and heart to worship God today, and again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Turn off the distractions, and fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, so that your mind will be preoccupied with who He is, and that as a result you may be steadfast and immovable in shaky times.

Gary Wiens

Consider Him Who Endured Such Things

I’m a Seattle Seahawks fan, and this morning I’m considering the unjust treatment of one of the Seahawks best players, Michael Bennett, who was wrongly treated, and who is bringing this example of injustice to light.

In a time when injustice seems to be rampant at many levels – personal, corporate, national and international – it is good to be reminded that there is One – and only One – who was absolutely innocent and yet was the recipient of absolutely unjust prosecution and punishment. That One is Jesus of Nazareth, who although He was without sin or flaw of any kind, stood willingly in the place of the condemned instead of us.

We are instructed in the Bible (Hebrews 12:3) to consider Him, this One who suffered and endured such things at the hands of wicked men, so that in our struggles for justice we will not grow weary or lose heart. We’re told, also in the Bible (1 Peter 2:23) that when Jesus was treated in that way, He continually entrusted Himself to the One (His Father, God) who judges justly.

There is coming a day when justice will prevail. It won’t come by human struggle, although it is good to struggle for justice. It won’t come through civil disobedience, for although laws may change, only God can change the human heart. Justice will prevail because that same One, Jesus of Nazareth, is returning to the earth as the triumphant King of kings, and He will set all things right, in true alignment with His Father’s design and purpose. This will be true justice, and it will be established in all the earth. Jesus will not rest until this is fully accomplished (see Isaiah 42:1-4).

Until then, when we have worked for justice at every level to the best of our ability, sometimes we just have to stand there and wait, and trust, that Jesus will prevail, and that true justice will come. He Himself stood in that place, waiting and trusting, and was vindicated by His own resurrection from the dead. That One – Jesus – will set everything right, every situation will be known as it really is, and the best news of all is that He is coming soon.

Unity BEFORE Catastrophe

What If The Church Was In Unity BEFORE The Catastrophe?

As I shared in a previous post, the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me – and to many others – about the central importance of brothers dwelling in unity. Our Father’s desire is to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, and He wants that process to intensify now, even as we await the culmination at the return of Jesus.

This week, through the tragedy of Harvey hitting Houston, we have read accounts of the Body of Christ coming together to serve the community, and those stories are powerful and encouraging. However, my question is – what could have been prevented, or at least re-directed, if the commanded blessing of God was over a city and region because the fragrant aroma of brotherly unity was fresh in the Lord’s nostrils? Would this be the way to stop the hurricane in Houston, or the tornado in Kansas, or the earthquake in California, or the volcanic eruption in Washington?

As hurricane Harvey was developing and beginning to engulf the Houston area, I was meditating on John 17, where the focus of Jesus’ prayer – just before His ultimate self-sacrifice on the cross – was that His disciples would know the same love and unity that is between Jesus and Father, SO THAT the world might recognize and acknowledge who Jesus is as the sent Son of God.

Beloved, get this: the focus of Jesus’ prayer just before the cross was unity among His followers, with the end in mind that the whole world would comprehend who Jesus is! In other words, the power that will make the outreach efforts of our local congregations successful is released through unity among the followers of Jesus.

Where do we begin? It all goes back to Psalm 133, where the oil of blessing flows from the Father onto Aaron’s head. Aaron’s ministry is vertical ministry – the service of worship. Yes, there must come and will come a time when we have all knowledge and agreement on theology and practice, but we must begin by worshipping together. We are called to lay down our tribal priorities – not permanently, but just for a moment – and come together to minister to the Lord and to speak blessings in His Name. That fragrant aroma pleases Him, brings the promise of commanded blessing, and who knows – maybe the result is the authority to divert the storm that otherwise would devastate.

It begins with worship. We must find a way to come together.
Gary Wiens

The Mind of God: Unity unto Reformation

Over the past months, the Holy Spirit has impressed on me again and again the central importance of unity of Spirit among God’s people in order for the full blessing of His purposes to be fulfilled. The prayer Jesus taught us – “on earth as it is in Heaven” – can only be fully answered when God’s commanded blessing is released over a city, a region, and a nation.

This blessing is promised in Psalm 133, and is contingent upon the brothers dwelling in unity. A few days ago, a brother shared a prophetic word given to him in March of 2015, declaring that God’s purpose is not merely for revival, but for a new reformation in the Church. That reformation can only be received by those who have cooperated with our Father’s agenda for unity of the Spirit.

Psalm 133 declares that the pleasure in the heart of God over unity is like oil running down from Mt. Hermon onto Aaron’s head, filling the atmosphere with the pleasant fragrance of Heaven’s anointing. Aaron’s head speaks of the priestly ministry of worship, and it is in the context of worship – loving and exalting the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together –  that the unity of the Spirit will be established.

I am convinced that unity will not come initially in the arenas of doctrine, of joint activity, or of common purpose. Like the tribes of Israel, each “tribe” in the Body of Christ focuses on different purpose, different assignments to fulfill, different emphases to implement. But in worship, we all come together, we lay down our banners and our ball caps with the names that declare our tribal identities, and we become the people of God, ministering to Him, carrying His presence, and declaring His blessings over one another, our cities, regions, and nations.

It is time for the leaders of the Body of Christ to come together – not primarily to agree on fine points of doctrine, or to strategize on how to evangelize the city or serve the poor – these things are good, but they are functions of the “tribes” more than of the whole people. The place to come together is the place of worship, laying down every other agenda, coming as every tribe, tongue and nation among the people of God, and lifting up praise and worship to the One Lord Jesus Christ who is worthy to receive it all. From that foundational place, the commanded blessing of God will flow, and we will receive grace to participate in the new reformation that our Father has in mind for His Church in these last days.

Gary Wiens

Pressing Past the Lord's "NO!"

I’m reflecting today on a couple of passages where an individual who has a calling and destiny from the Lord is required to push past an apparent “No!” from God in the quest to realize that destiny. The stories in focus deal first of all with Jacob in Genesis 32 where a heavenly Man – who Jacob later called “God” – wrestled with him all night. During that wrestling match, Jacob was demanding a blessing to be given, and the angelic Man was resisting, insisting that Jacob let Him go. Finally, Jacob prevailed through simple persistence and refusal to give up. The Man blessed him, and changed his name to “Israel,” one who prevails with God.

The other story concerns the relationship between Elijah and Elisha, found in 1 Kings 19 and in 2 Kings 2. In both those chapters, Elijah resists Elisha as the younger man attempts to press into God’s call on his life. Now, if I’m a young man, and the prophet Elijah tells me to go home and leave him alone, I’m not sure I’d push past his resistance. This is the guy that calls down fire from heaven – three different times! And not only did he call it down – it came! It’s one thing to declare something – it’s another thing to have what you declare actually happen! That sort of thing separates the men prophets from the boy prophets, and Elijah was THE man of God during that season.

Yet, Elisha pushed back against Elijah’s resistance, followed and served the cranky old prophet, and stuck beside him until the moment the Lord carried him away in the chariots of fire. Only then did he receive his calling and destiny, and only then did God uphold his words in the same way that Elijah’s words were upheld.

The New Testament stories that give the same message involve the Canaanite woman with the demonized daughter in Mark 7, and the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18. In both cases, the first answer is “NO,” but that isn’t the real answer. Sometimes when God says “NO” He really means “How badly do you want this promise? Enough to fight for it?”

If what God has promised is worth it to you, you won’t take “NO” for an answer. Instead, you’ll put on your big-boy pants and fight it out with God until He sees that you mean business, that you, too, are part of the Israel inheritance, and that you mean to have His Kingdom manifested in your life and experience here and now.

God’s our good Father. He loves to wrestle with His children, and He loves to have us defeat Him in the wrestling match. Take Him on, and don’t let go until He says “YES!”

Gary Wiens

Understanding Times and Seasons

I had a cool experience on a very hot day in Redding, California, a couple of weeks ago. Marie and I were there with some friends for the Kingdom Culture conference, the temperature was around 110 degrees, but the cool experience was this:

We went to see the Sundial Bridge, which is constructed over the Sacramento River through the middle of town. By sheer providence, we were there on June 21, right at noon. As we walked across the bridge, the shadow from the sundial tower was moving toward a point on the perimeter markings around the park area. I came across a point on the arc that informed me that the shadow would cross that point on June 21 at 12:30 PM. I realized that we were indeed right there at the right time to see the shadow touch that point. That hot day gave rise to a cool moment!

Yesterday, I was meditating on Acts 1, where the disciples are asking Jesus about the timing of His return and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth. He said, “It is not for you to know the times (kronos – linear time) and the seasons (kairos – divine moments in time) that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you …” (Acts 1:7-8).

As I read those verses, something clicked in my mind. The timing of God’s activity is set by His own authority, just as the timing of the sundial’s shadow is a fixed reality. I can’t make it happen, and I can’t change it by any means. But, by being in the right place at the right time, I can experience and delight in His amazing activity.

By walking in the Spirit, obeying His voice through intimacy of relationship, we will find ourselves in the right place at the right time to see and experience all that He has for us, and the surprise will be delightful, powerful, and more than cool! Stay faithful, stay obedient, stay in intimate friendship with Jesus, and in the fullness of time the moment will happen, and the blessings of God will be poured out on you!

It's Time To Praise The Lord!

It’s Saturday morning, and I’m preparing for our monthly Pavilion Worship Gathering tonight at Peninsula Baptist Church in Gig Harbor (by the way, if you're free tonight at 6:30, come join us!).

As I was praying over this time this morning, the Holy Spirit brought to mind a worship song that I learned in the 1980’s called, simply, “Praise The Lord.” I looked it up on the internet because I couldn’t remember all the lyrics, and the words of the chorus impacted me in a fresh way. It goes like this:

Praise the Lord! He will work through those who praise Him,
Praise the Lord! For our God inhabits praise!
Praise the Lord – for the chains that seem to bind you,
Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you,
When you praise Him!

Then the second verse of the song goes on to make some powerful declarations:

Now Satan is a liar, and he wants to make us think
That we are paupers when he knows himself we’re children of the King!
So lift up the mighty shield of faith, for the battle must be won
We know that Jesus Christ has risen, and the work’s already done!
Praise the Lord!

This is why we gather as the people of God in a city to praise Jesus Christ, to declare His power and worth, and to agree with Heaven concerning who we are as His children, and with His desire that the will of God to be done on the earth as it is in His presence.

Worship is the essential element of spiritual warfare, and when we gather together as God’s people, not separated by denomination or theological position, we stand as one in agreement with Him and with His purposes on earth.

Wherever you are today, whatever physical location or spiritual condition you’re in, give yourself to worshipping the King of Glory. If you can find other believers to join with in this, all the better! It’s more important than any other activity you can give yourself to, for the worship of Jesus and the glory of God is the eternal priority of Heaven.

Let it be so! Amen.

Gary Wiens

Deferring to the King of Glory

Psalm 24:3-5 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. 5. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

These verses from Psalm 24 have long been a challenge to my own heart, one that on my best days calls me to a standard of holiness and purity that leads to the powerful place of encounter with the Living God. On those good days, I find myself with some measure of confidence that I, too, may stand on the holy hill of God’s Presence, and live in the full blessing that He has promised to the generation that seeks Him with a whole heart.

However, like Joshua standing before the Lord in Zechariah 3, the enemy of my soul is right alongside, even on my best days. Satan does his job well, pointing out that my hands in fact are not clean, that my heart is not pure, that I have in fact lifted up my soul to false things, looking for fulfillment where it can’t be found. Again, like Joshua, I’m faced with the fact that my garments are soiled, and that I too, on my best day, am disqualified, and need the cleansing that only God can provide.

As the enemy’s voice echoes in my ears, the hope of Psalm 24 seems very distant, unreachable for me. If on my best day, I stand accused and disqualified, where’s the hope?

This past week, I was meditating on that Psalm, again in that familiar place of being weighed in the scales of righteousness and found wanting. Suddenly, another voice came into my mind, and the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me. He said, “There is One who ascended the hill of the Lord, with clean hands and a pure heart. He never lifted up His soul to anything false, He was never deceitful, and He has inherited all righteousness and all blessing from His Father. And He carries you with Him into the Father’s Presence, qualified by His life.”

Something quickened in my heart in that moment, a new ray of light and understanding. Psalm 24 is speaking, primarily, about the entrance of Jesus, the King of Glory, into the exalted place of the Father’s Presence. He alone is qualified to do so, He alone has been weighed in the most exacting way and found to be worthy. He has opened the way to the Father, and He carries me, and He carries you, with Him into the Most Holy Place of the Presence of God.

Because He carries me, because I am in Him, my best days and my worst days are the same. I need Him, and He is willing. I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is for me; therefore, every day He  washes me, He gives me His own garment of righteousness, He places a new and clean covering on my head, and enables me to stand with Him in the Holy Place, before the Father, having been qualified by the King of Glory.

So, I will no longer measure myself against Psalm 24. Rather, I will worship Him who is the fulfillment of that Psalm. I will defer to the King of Glory, receive His merciful cleansing, letting His Word wash me every day, and receive the grace I need to live like a son of God, a brother to the King.

That’s a good day.

Gary Wiens

Jesus' Gift To The Church

It's Pentecost Sunday this weekend, and I wanted to share some thoughts on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I read this article in my prayer time this morning, and realized that I couldn't say it any better. 

The Father's Gift in Christ – St. Hilary of Poitiers

Our Lord commanded us to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In baptism, then, we profess faith in the Creator, in the only-begotten Son and in the gift which is the Spirit. There is one Creator of all things, for in God there is one Father from whom all things have their being. And there is one only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things exist. And there is one Spirit, the gift who is in all. So all follow their due order, according to the proper operation of each: one power, which brings all things into being, one Son, through whom all things come to be, and one gift of perfect hope. Nothing is wanting to this flawless union: in Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there is infinity of endless being, perfect reflection of the divine image, and mutual enjoyment of the gift.

Our Lord has described the purpose of the Spirit’s presence in us. Let us listen to his words: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. It is to your advantage that I go away; if I go, I will send you the Advocate. And also: I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth. He will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine.” (From John 15).

From among many of our Lord’s sayings, these have been chosen to guide our understanding, for they reveal to us the intention of the giver, the nature of the gift and the condition for its reception. Since our weak minds cannot comprehend the Father or the Son, we have been given the Holy Spirit as our intermediary and advocate, to shed light on that hard doctrine of our faith, the incarnation of God.

We receive the Spirit of truth so that we can know the things of God. In order to grasp this, consider how useless the faculties of the human body would become if they were denied their exercise. Our eyes cannot fulfill their task without light, either natural or artificial; our ears cannot react without sound vibrations, and in the absence of any odor our nostrils are ignorant of their function. Not that these senses would lose their own nature if they were not used; rather, they demand objects of experience in order to function. It is the same with the human soul. Unless it absorbs the gift of the Spirit through faith, the mind has the ability to know God but lacks the light necessary for that knowledge.

This unique gift which is in Christ is offered in its fullness to everyone. It is everywhere available, but it is given to each man in proportion to his readiness to receive it. Its presence is the fuller, the greater a man’s desire to be worthy of it. This gift will remain with us until the end of the world, and will be our comfort in the time of waiting. By the favors it bestows, it is the pledge of our hope for the future, the light of our minds, and the splendor that irradiates our understanding.

May the Lord bless you this weekend with His great gift of the Holy Spirit!

Gary Wiens

Still Waiting On God?

Psalm 105:17-19 (God) sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave. 18 They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.

Every person I know who loves Jesus and lives with the desire to follow Him and be pleasing to Him has something in common with me, and probably with you: we are waiting for some dimension of our word from Him to come to pass. Let me ask you that question – are you, or is anyone you know, living in the complete fulfillment of what the Lord has spoken to you?

Waiting for God to fulfill His promises to us is a challenging thing. Although I’ve certainly never had the experience of Joseph (recorded in Genesis 37-50), with my feet fettered, nor have I been laid in irons like he was, I’ve endured times of waiting for the words spoken over my life to be fulfilled. So have you. In fact, we are still waiting, and in the waiting, being “tested.”

What is the waiting and the testing all about?

For Joseph, the word of the Lord came to him through a pair of dreams when he was seventeen years old. It was a stunning word about his destiny as the savior and deliverer of not only his family, but the nation of Egypt as well. There was no way Joseph could produce his own destiny by his own efforts; as a matter of fact, when he shared the vision, he was mocked and reviled by the very ones he was destined to save. If you are willing to hear it, Joseph’s story was clearly a prophetic picture of the life and work of Jesus Himself.

Joseph had to endure a time of “testing” while he waited for the promise to be fulfilled. The method of testing that would prove him worthy of the reward was brutal: family rejection, being sold into slavery, false accusation of sexual harassment and attempted rape, imprisonment, neglect by self-serving prison inmates – probably 20 years of hassle and abuse that the Holy Spirit terms “testing.”

How would Joseph respond while he endured the firestorm of the proving process? The word “testing” here literally implies a fire – it’s the word that means to be melting in an extremely hot fire so that any impurities will be forced to the surface to be removed. For gold and silver, the fire is that smelting furnace. For the believer, that Fire is God Himself – see Proverbs 17:3.

During the testing time – 20 years of hassle during which Joseph was being trained to rule – his response to his brothers was being forged: “You meant this for evil, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). I am convinced that Joseph must have repeated this phrase a thousand times during the 20 year testing process. As he waited, in prison, in pain and confusion, he would have battled the enemy’s accusing voice:

“Where is your God now? What about your word, that promise? It’s nothing, and you’re nothing, so give in to bitterness and hate, and plan the revenge that your brothers deserve, just in case you ever get a chance to repay them.”

Joseph never gave in to that voice. He knew God, and knew that his word, his destiny, was a certain thing. So, Joseph commanded his soul, declared the truth of his word from God, chose the long view, and waited until the time for fulfillment came.

You have a word from God. His view is the long one – eternal in its scope. Declare His word over you every day, let the testing, refining process of waiting do its work, and know that the day will come when your word will come to pass in full measure, to a degree that you do not imagine. The God of Joseph is your God – He is faithful, and He will do what He said.

Gary Wiens

Enlisting the Help of Angels

“Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” – Hebrews 1:14

Over the past few months, the Holy Spirit has been shaking us awake regarding the ministry of angels in our everyday experiences. Beginning with a blog entry from Kris Vallotton, in which he challenged us that believers have neglected this very Biblical resource, there has been a steady stream of reminders from many sources that God is emphasizing the ministry of angels in this season.

The first thing we became aware of is the almost 300 Biblical references to angelic activity in which these heavenly messengers are sent to assist humans that need help from Heaven. Two of those situations struck me personally – both involving angelic ministry to Jesus Himself when He was at a point of need. Once in the wilderness, after His season of testing by Satan, and once in Gethsemane as He was strengthened for His ultimate test, the cross by which He provided salvation and everything involved in that reality for us, angels came to minister to Him.

If Jesus needed and benefitted from angelic ministry, how much more do we need the assistance brought by these ministering spirits?

Two stories that directly involve angelic ministry: Last fall, during a transition in our lives, Marie and I had sold our home, and were looking for a different house to purchase. In the interim, we lived in a motor home for two months. The RV had an awning over the doorway that operated by hand, using a mechanism to roll the awning in and out. This mechanism had broken, and when it came time to move into our home, we needed to move the RV, but I couldn’t get the awning to retract. I worked on it for more than 30 minutes, getting more frustrated by the second. It simply would not work, and I couldn’t move the RV until I got that fixed. As I was stewing in my frustration, the simple thought came into my mind – “Ask for an angel to help.”

Now understand – I was not in a particularly spiritual mood, at least not a holy spiritual mood! So I blurted out “God, I need an angel to help me here, right now!” The prayer lasted 3 seconds. I tried the awning again, and it went right into place as though it was new. Bang – done! I started laughing and called Marie to tell her.

Second story (this one just happened within the last ten days) – Marie has a sister, Laura, who lives in Minnesota. She is a horse woman, and has a favorite horse she has ridden and loved for years. Recently, she asked her veterinarian to administer an inoculation against the West Nile virus, and the horse had a severe reaction against the drug. It went into convulsions, thrashing on the ground, unable to rise, its organs beginning to shut down, eyes bulging, tongue hanging out of its mouth. Laura and the vet worked with the horse for several hours, and at around 1 AM the vet told her that there was nothing more to do, that the horse would likely not live through the night.

Now, Marie had been telling Laura about angelic activity, sharing stories with her. So, Laura immediately went into the tack room of her stable, and in her anguish began to call out to God for an angel to help. After some time, she suddenly felt very sleepy, and went to her bed. In a deep sleep, suddenly a “man” came to her in a dream, and said “Wake up! Your horse has been healed.”

Laura went back out to the stable, and her horse was standing in his stall, perfectly well, even looking younger and stronger. Laura insists that he was even a lighter color than before the incident. She called her vet the next morning, explained what had happened, to his surprise and shock. The angel she had asked for did the healing work.

Angelic activity is real and available to those who inherit the Kingdom of God. Marie and I urge you: begin to study out the Scriptures concerning angelic activity. Read books about angels – James Goll and Billy Graham have written two of the best. Watch the movie “I Am Gabriel” on YouTube. God is doing something amazing in our time, and angelic activity is a big part of it.

Blessings on you all.
Gary Wiens

Stones and Bread - What to do While Waiting for God

This morning I’m meditating on Matthew 4, the account of Jesus’ preparation for His ministry that occurred in the wilderness. This story is profoundly important for us, as we are given insight into the ways of God as He prepares His Servant-Son for the assignment laid out before Him. This impacts you and me because in the same way that the Father prepared Jesus to receive ultimate authority over all creation, so He prepares you and me to realize the destiny promised to us as the Bride of Christ.

The first thing to notice in this story is that it is the Holy Spirit who DRIVES Jesus into the wilderness experience! Our Father God specifically designs seasons in the wilderness for our preparation, times where His presence seems to be withdrawn, so that we might make the choices for trust and faithfulness that Jesus Himself needed to make. If the tangible presence of the Lord has been withdrawn from you, it is because He has a purpose in it, and your response in this season is critically important for your destiny to be realized.

The second thing to remember here is that this withdrawal was not related to Jesus’ disobedience in any way. The Father had just declared His pleasure upon Jesus, and now it was time to demonstrate Jesus’ qualification to receive the authority for which He was destined. In that deprived state – fasting from food and water with no sense of the Father’s presence – Jesus was faced with options: “If You are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.”

The question before Jesus was this: would He use His power to comfort Himself, or would He wait for God, trusting Him even when His presence was withdrawn for a season?

The same question comes to us in our “wilderness seasons.” Will we generate something on our own in order to comfort ourselves, or will we wait for God to release His Word and His provision in His own way and His own timing?

Jesus responded perfectly to the tempting situations. He relied on the written Word of God, and chose to wait for His Father to release Him. At the end of His wilderness exam, Jesus was found worthy, and angels came and ministered to Him! I imagine the meal He ate and drank at that moment was worth the wait!

If you are in a wilderness season, take heart from the example of Jesus. Rest in the Father’s pleasure that is over you, rely on the promises in His written Word, and simply wait for God to release you. He wants to entrust you with the destiny He has planned, and your choices in this season will ensure the proper reward.

Who knows – maybe there is an encounter with angels at the end of the story!

Gary Wiens

Loving Justice and Righteousness

Psalm 106:3 Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times!

Having grown up in a religious, church-centered culture, the words “justice” and “righteousness” were part of my vocabulary, nearly from the beginning. However, I had virtually no comprehension or understanding of what those terms actually mean – they just became synonyms for “behave yourself, and you won’t get in trouble with God.”

I’ll acknowledge that there is a nugget of truth there, but the reality is far more appealing and fulfilling. “Righteousness” and “justice” are words that refer to the essence of who God is, and how He sees reality from His eternal perspective. God creates everything – including you and me – from His perfect vision of what we will be when the process of our lives is complete, when mercy and grace have had their full effect, and we are fully transformed into the likeness of Jesus.

In Psalm 45:7, the Messianic King (Jesus!) is said to “love righteousness and hate wickedness.” This is not primarily speaking of behavior, but of loving the perfect essence of every person and situation that is in God’s heart, and hating the sin-caused distortion of that perfect essence. So, “righteousness” is essentially the true nature of who you are in God’s vision of you.

“Justice,” then, is the process of bringing you and me into that perfect state of righteousness. According to Isaiah 42:4, King Jesus will not rest or give up until justice is established in the entire earth – in other words, until all things are fully conformed to the vision God had when He created it and called it “very good.”

Here’s some really good news – Jesus’ righteousness (His perfect alignment with the Father’s design and will) is given to us as a free gift (Romans 5:17-18), which includes the power to become what we were created to be! He has infused into you and me the desire and the capability of being fully conformed to God’s design, and loving the process!

This is why Jesus says in Matthew 5:6 that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” will be fully satisfied! He’s not just talking about learning to love good behavior, but receiving the revelation of who we are in the mind of God, and then pursuing that reality with everything in us. The result? Full satisfaction, every longing fulfilled, every desire realized!

Psalm 106:3 tells us that if we “keep justice” and “do righteousness,” we will be blessed. In other words, guard and protect this understanding, live in line with the revelation of God’s heart concerning you, your family, your friends, your city, and full joy and blessing will be the result.

Gary Wiens

It Takes Light To See Light

Psalm 36:9 – “In Your Light We See Light”

I’m drawn to this little phrase from Psalm 36 this morning, because it is one of those short, pithy sentences that articulates a deep and powerful truth – it takes light to see light. Seems obvious, but this is the revelation of one of the basic principles of how the Holy Spirit works, both to initiate relationship with individuals, and to help us understand how we as followers of Jesus approach life in contrast to those who have no relationship with Him.

C.S. Lewis said something like this: “I believe in the truth of God’s Word for the same reason I believe in the sun; not only because I can see it, but because by it I can see everything else clearly.” When God, in His mercy, sends the Spirit of revelation to someone, the eyes of that person’s heart are “enlightened,” and they are able to see things as they are.

In the ninth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus encountered a blind man seeking healing. He described Himself as “the Light of the world” (v.5), and then healed the man’s eyes. When questioned about the miracle, the man simply said, “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” (V.25).

In Luke 15, Jesus told the story of the prodigal son, who left his father’s home to attempt to find fulfillment in the far country of self-indulgent living. When he became bankrupt in every way, he “came to himself,” and went back to his father’s home, where he was restored. One interpretation of that phrase is that “he saw things as they really were.” In other words, it dawned on him, a light bulb went on in his head, the shadows cleared away, and he woke up to reality.

In 2 Corinthians 4:6, the writer tells us that salvation has come to us because God the Father shined in our hearts the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. He sent the light of truth, and those who believe in Jesus woke up and saw the light, and decided to follow Him.

By the mercies of God, “those who walk in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2, quoted about Jesus in Matthew 4:16). Because our Father takes the initiative to shine the light of the Gospel of Jesus, anyone who chooses to see can see. The seekers of Light will find Him, even though there are many who will remain in darkness because they love it (John 3:19). That is the choice that condemns people – in love with darkness, they reject the Light, and nothing can be done for those who refuse to see.

Jesus, in Your light we see light, the freedom to choose truth and goodness over evil and darkness. Send Your Spirit of revelation, awaken the hearts that still sleep in darkness, and let brightness of Your Kingdom fill all the earth. Amen.

Gary Wiens

Gaining Access to the Presence of God

In Psalm 15, the question is asked, “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?” The writer is identified as David, who has touched God’s presence in such wonder and amazement that he longs to not just go there from time to time, but to stay there, to live and remain in the presence of his God.

So the Lord responds to David  with some powerful statements of the character qualities that He is looking for in those who would enter into His Presence and remain there. I want to focus this article on two of the phrases that God speaks in verse 2: the one who wants to be in the presence of God all the time must “work righteousness,” and must “speak truth in his heart.”

It’s really important here to be clear on the meaning of the word “righteousness.” This is not primarily good behavior; rather, righteousness is being aligned with God’s definition of reality, conformity by the power of the Holy Spirit to God’s design of your life and character. Right behavior arises out of being aligned with His definition of your life, and living out of that true place.

The fundamental thing that every believer in Jesus must understand about this passage is that Jesus Himself has done this perfectly, and is now in the Father’s presence as the perfect fulfillment of every demand of righteousness and truth. Through the miracle of the new birth, by the Holy Spirit’s presence in us, Jesus has infused His righteousness into you and me, and given us the raw material we need to walk in righteousness even as He did.

Practically, this simply means to seek out, from the Word of God, by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, what God’s definition of your life really is. The more we comprehend what He intended when He thought us up, the more we are able to be aligned with that reality, and live in agreement with His thoughts – namely, live in righteousness.

Speaking the truth in the heart, then, is simply the outworking of internal righteousness. We agree with what God thinks, the truth concerning ourselves, those around us, the world situation, and we speak in our hearts, and then through our lips what He thinks. The more that our minds and hearts are in agreement with Him, the freer we are to simply stay in His presence, to abide there.

This kind of person is a world-changer. We think of ourselves and others according to righteousness – agreement with God’s opinion – speak those things in the secret places of the heart and then in the open places of our relationships, and the atmosphere begins to change by the power of the Word of the Lord.

Jesus has done it. He is in the Father’s presence, speaking the truth about you and me, and about everything else. He has invited us to listen in, and to agree with what He is thinking and saying. As we do, the influence of the Kingdom of God changes our environment, His presence increases, and the glory of the Lord begins to fill the earth, just as He promised it would.

Gary Wiens

I Believed, Therefore I Spoke

Psalm 116:10 I believed, therefore I spoke, "I am greatly afflicted."

Last Sunday, Marie and I had the privilege of attending Harbor Life Church in Gig Harbor, Washington, where we live. Tyson Lash, the pastor of this congregation, brought a strong and helpful message from the Book of Lamentations, a message focused on giving the people permission to grieve and mourn, and help in understanding how to do so in a way that actually brings comfort to the soul.

Through this week, I’ve reflected on that topic, and this morning’s reading from Psalm 116 brought another insight that seems profound to me. The Psalmist writes in verse 10: “I believed, therefore I spoke – ‘I am greatly afflicted.’”

Here is a powerful understanding of true faith in the presence and goodness of God – the one who believes is the one who can truly be honest and real about the troublesome situations of life. The individual who knows God has the freedom to be brutally honest and transparent in the midst of dark days because he is firmly planted on the rock of intimate relationship with the Living God. No pretense in this relationship, no “putting on a game face,” no slight comfort here – my Heavenly Father is real, and true, and present, and good, and faithful. He has promised to me the sure mercies of David (Isaiah 55:3), which He enacted most powerfully in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (see Acts 13:34).

When faith is shaky, or when my perception of God’s character is inaccurate, I cannot afford to be real about difficult times. If my belief in a good and powerful God Who works all things for my good is not settled, then I am forced to pretend that all is OK, that I’m on top of things, and that hard situations don’t really bother me. Strong emotions get pushed down under the surface, with all manner of predictable and negative results.

The Psalmist knows God in a different way than that. He knows that God’s mercy and love are unshakeable, permanent, and never wavering. The God of Psalm 116 is not subject to mood swings, nor is He impatient with His children when they acknowledge weakness in the face of difficulty. Rather, this God is the Father of our Lord Jesus, who faced the deepest and darkest pressures of the enemy, and emerged victorious yet compassionate.

As I write this, the song playing on my Pandora station is repeating this phrase: “I believe in God the Father, I believe in Christ the Son, I believe in the Holy Spirit – our God is Three in One. I believe in the resurrection, that we will live again, I believe in the Name of Jesus.”

Because this is so, I can confidently speak about the realities of my life, knowing that I am loved, I am understood, and like my older Brother, I will emerge victorious.

The Pavilion Gig Harbor - Why We Worship

Misty Edwards wrote a song a few years ago that arose out of an awareness of something transcendent that is happening right now, and has been forever. The lyrics:

There’s something bigger going on, there’s Someone bigger than me,
There’s something bigger going on – “Holy! Holy!”
Take me up in the Spirit! O-oh!

Day and night, night and day the incense rises in the Heavenly worship center. Angels, saints, elders, and living creatures are all gathered around a throne complex in Heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. The seven Spirits of God move all around like flaming torches, and ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands upon thousands of angels minister to the Lord, exalting the worthiness of the Lamb who was slain for the redemption of all humanity.

Jesus told us to pray that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in Heaven. A significant part of that will is unending, heartfelt worship focused on the greatness of God, magnifying His Name, declaring His holiness, His goodness, His beauty, His righteousness and justice.

When we gather to worship at the Pavilion, we come as saints from across the spectrum of the Body of Christ in our area. It is our purpose to enter into that heavenly atmosphere, to fix our gaze on the One who is worthy of our full attention, and the undiluted affection of our hearts. As we do that, our spiritual eyes are opened to the majesty and power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We grow in the knowledge of His will, and in the confidence to declare aloud His purposes for ourselves, our churches, our city, our nation, and the earth.

In this process, God’s governmental authority is released. Something changes in the atmosphere, the barriers to the Gospel are weakened and torn down, the enemy is seen for what he really is, and the physical return of Jesus to establish His Kingdom on the earth draws one day closer.

Why do we gather to worship? To take another step toward reality, to experience firsthand that we are indeed part of something bigger than we can imagine, to touch the heart of God, to release angels to assist the saints on the earth, and to align ourselves a little closer to the purpose for which we were created.

Come join us – Sunday, March 19, 6:30 PM at the Gig Harbor Yacht Club.

Breaking Down To Build Up

Jeremiah 1:10 “See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

As I sit in my living room this morning, I’m looking at a very disheveled situation in our home. The refrigerator is in the dining room, along with the gas range. The microwave is in the back yard, all the dishes are on the dining table, the coffee maker is in the bathroom, the dishwasher is in the garage, and the comfort of our home is significantly disturbed. (This is the place for a wild-eyed emoji that communicates unrest and dis-ease.)

What is going on? Our kitchen is being remodeled, with new cabinets and countertops going in. The problem is that before the new stuff can go in, the old stuff had to come out. The process is long and somewhat messy, with necessary precautions being taken not to damage existing flooring or furnishings that are not part of the process. At some point, in a couple more weeks, the project will be finished and we’ll be glad we did it. Right now – not so much.

This process reminds me of a dream I had a number of years ago. It was several years after my father had passed away, and I was in the midst of a time of powerful spiritual growth and re-wiring as God was shifting me out of my denominational roots into the move of the Holy Spirit. In the dream, my father, who clearly represented the Heavenly Father, was knocking on the door of my house. As I answered the door, I saw that he was accompanied by two large men, who I knew to be angels.

As I welcomed my Father into the house, I knew in the dream that he was coming to move in with me. A great dread filled my heart as he looked around the house, and then fixed his eyes on mine in a kind but sober gaze. Then he said, “This isn’t going to be nearly large enough.”

As he spoke those words, I felt a fearsome trembling in my soul as I realized that a great expansion was going to take place in me, but that there would have to be much demolition before the construction could begin. His workers would have to break down and destroy many things before they could build and plant. The strongholds of my mind – those old thought processes and attitudes – would have to be broken down, and replaced with new patterns of the mind that would conform to those of Heaven. Familiar habits with long-term negative implications would have to be dismantled, and new patterns installed. You get the picture.

I found myself wishing that remodeling could happen instantly, like on TV, in an hour or so, with no inconvenience, no mess, no discomfort – becoming all new without the pain of eliminating the old stuff. But things simply don’t work that way, either in remodeling a kitchen or in transforming the human heart from its natural state into the glorious reality of becoming the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

As I write this, the workers installing our new cabinets are whistling joyfully as they labor in the mess of our kitchen remodel. They have the blueprint attached to the wall, so they can precisely follow the instructions of the designer. They know that the end result will be good, for our benefit and joy. I imagine the angels are whistling away as well as they continue to tear down, pluck up, plant and re-build my heart, following the design of the Master Craftsman that will transform this old heart into the palace God created it to be. It’s a joyful process after all, uncomfortable though it may be for awhile.

Thank you, Jesus, that you who have begun a good work in me will complete it until the day of your return.

Gary Wiens

Impossible Things

Luke 18:27 - “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Sometimes a simple phrase in the Word of God strikes both my heart and my mind with a shot of reality that is at once fundamentally comforting, and uncomfortably challenging. I started pondering these few words, and several thoughts began to form.

In the encounter with the rich young ruler, and the subsequent conversation with His disciples in Luke 18, Jesus had just made the observation that it is more difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye. The answer from the disciples – “Who then can be saved?” – points to the impossibility of the situation before them. Jesus then responds by saying, basically, “You don’t know the power of My Father’s imagination! Whatever enters His heart and mind can be done – all He has to do is speak the Word, and all will be accomplished.”

My point right now is not to debate the pros and cons of having wealth. Rather, it is to let my mind go to all the things that seem impossible. Jesus is opening the door to limitless potentiality here, because He says “whatever is impossible with men…” That’s everything that is beyond us – He can do.

So, I start thinking about impossible things. Join me? Start with small stuff – some situation at home or at work that seems unfixable. If it’s impossible, He can do it. Move on to something more challenging - that sickness in a friend or co-worker – is it impossible? Then it’s in His realm, and He can do it.

Want something harder? How about unity in the Body of Christ in a city? IMPOSSIBLE!! Good – it’s in God’s hands now. He can do it. Do we dare think about revival in a city, or in a nation that seems hell-bent on self-destruction? Once again, impossible, except it’s not. God can speak, and when His Word comes forth, it accomplishes the purposes for which it was sent.

Here’s the big one – can the Kingdom of Heaven come to earth? Can God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven? Jesus told us to ask impossible things, so that when they happen, no one will be confused about Who brought it about. He thinks it, speaks it, and it happens. So the main thing for us is to disengage from what seems impossible and plug into what He’s thinking and speaking. The more we do that, the more we get to play in the realm of the creativity of God.

Impossible, you say? Not so much.

Gary Wiens