Bathroom Breakthrough: Puppets Can't Subdue Tyranny... You Can

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKyU17b4DbQ&w=640&h=360] There is a term that is used loosely and innocently by many in the church.  The intentions of this phrase is good but it slightly misrepresents the truth of who God is, who we are, and the state of the world.  In fact, most believers, at some point in their life are guilty of saying it at some point or another.  It is a phrase used to bring comfort and assists in the justification of why bad things happen.  However, one must understand that God's will is not everything that happens and everything that happens is not God's will.  The phrase I am referring to is: God is in control.

When God made Adam and Eve, He did not create puppets.  God is not a puppet on a string.  Therefore, He could not truly create anyone in His image if they were under control.  Instead, He gave dominion to mankind (Genesis 1:26-28).  Psalms 115:16 states that the heavens belong to the Lord but the earth He has given to man.  But we do not have control over the earth.  We simply have what Jesus gave: authority.

There is a major difference between authority and control.  If God is in control, why is there racism?  Why is there war or terror?  Why is there murder and rape?  Why is there human trafficking?  Why are there natural disasters wiping out entire cities?  Why is anybody sick?  God is either in control and mad, or we are co-heirs and seated in heavenly realms with Him operating in His authority, and He is madly in love with the entire world.

I Timothy 2:4 and II Peter 3:9 tell us that it is God's will that all be saved and come to the knowledge of salvation.  The entire world was chosen, elected, and predestined to be in Christ.  However, we know that many reject His love and the knowledge of His salvation.  It still does not remove their inclusion in the finished work of the cross or mean that they were chosen by God not to be saved.  It just means they simply choose to reject.

When we walk in the authority of Christ, sickness becomes extinct, solutions come easy, divine inspiration and creativity change nations for good, poverty becomes a thing of the past, the hungry are fed, the lonely are loved, and the orphans and widows are taken good care of.  Heaven on earth is a utopia.  We can know God's will when we look at Jesus.  We can see what isn't God's will when we look at the absence of His authority.  But now, there is no absence of authority for the believer whose goal is God's kingdom on earth.

Jonathan Fawcett

Bathroom Breakthrough: I Like Big Buts

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY3ZGckmtt8]That's right!  Big buts!  When millions stop short with I Corinthians 2:9, Paul was bold enough in verse 10 to say, "But God".  That is a very big but and utterly destroys every excuse for not understanding the mysteries of God.  Jesus has revealed the mysteries of the universe by His Holy Spirit.  The beauty in hearing God's voice is that it requires us to be teachable.  It took time for me to arrive to the realization that Christ already accomplished what I was trying to in my own efforts.  To quote two statuses from this past week's Facebook activity:

"Who is guilty of using the phrase "standing in the gap"? I'm raising my hand. NEWSFLASH: There is no gap! Jesus is closer to you than you are to you. Gap: closed. Old Covenant vernacular: over. When we remain teachable, the Good News continues to get better and better because we can look back on the silly things we once believed and be glad that Jesus didn't keep a secret. Only people can take the upfront truth of God's grace and twist it to require more of our effort. With that said, if we continue to believe in our striving, the only gap remaining is the one between our ears and the one where our teeth get knocked out by the self-inflicted beating that accompanies religion."

And...

"Repent of your constant repentance! Even though the platform of some ministries is to get people to repent, the question is- of what?! The word "repent" means to change your mind. When you received the mind of Christ, your days of crying out in repentance were over!"

In other words, because of your union with Christ, you now have the mind of Christ.  His thoughts have become your thoughts and His ways have become your ways.  The mind of Christ does not need to be changed.  We are continually being made in the image of God.  We already are!  Your moments of denial are just the nature of the old, dead, zombie - the person you once were who was co-crucified, co-buried, and c0-raised.  You deserved hell and death.  But God... He made you a new creature - one that can never be separated from Him.  That old, sick, crippled zombie stayed buried.  The new you was raised in perfect union with Christ.

Don't let repentance and ritualistic religion (no matter how charismatic it might seem) keep you from experiencing the freedom of the rest that accompanies His grace.

Jonathan Fawcett

Bathroom Breakthrough: The Unchanging God-Man: Jesus

With tornadoes and death ensuing in an onslaught of torrential storms, many voices begin sounding in their attempts to justify why God "allowed" this to happen.  Isn't God "in control"?  It's the common phrase heard by Christians around the globe.  Jonathan tackles this issue by focusing on a simple Truth: Jesus.  He is the unchanging God-Man who perfectly demonstrated "Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" better than anybody else in history.  He is the blueprint for life and heaven.  He embodies truth, grace and love.  If we look at His patterns, we will discover that Jesus had no stomach for religion, unbelief, and condemnation.  Here's food for thought: If Jesus uses the devil to accomplish His will in the earth, does that make Him an adulterer for using someone besides His bride to accomplish what she is supposed to carry out?  The devil is not a co-heir with Christ.  We are.  Watch this and other Bathroom Breakthroughs at www.youtube.com/somethingmoreinc.  Help a friend detox from poisonous thinking and SHARE this with them from our Facebook page.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5HvP5uvaZA?rel=0]

Bathroom Breakthrough: Under the Spell of Almighty Pastor

*Disclaimer: Jonathan is not down on pastors.  In fact, Jonathan and Keeli have been pastors to college students for years.  Jonathan is, however, down on "pastors" who make it their goal to manipulate and create formulas for success in order for the "stupid sheep" to be under the control of their shepherd.  Ever hear of the Shepherding Movement?  It was a hellish thing and left a wake of destruction in the lives of many believers.  Let's not repeat history for the sake of building one's ministry. In this video blog, Jonathan reveals the truth about controlling pastors and church leaders.  Pastors (along with apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers) are a gift to the Body of Christ so that its members may be fully equipped to do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16), not to convince them that their purpose in life is abandon their hopes and dreams to get behind their pastor's vision.  Pastors are not a position to control, but rather a gift to edify and build (the people - not just a bigger building).  If the supernatural power and love of Jesus does not regularly transform the lives of people in your community... RUN until you find a church who sees "the stuff" confirming the Word that is preached with signs and wonders (Mark 16:15-20).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBp321h3snU?rel=0]

For more Bathroom Breakthrough, visit youtube.com/somethingmoreinc.