ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: PRACTICAL DISCIPLESHIP, Part 2

Another Coffee Break:

Practical Discipleship,
Part 2: Impartation

Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning!

Rich and DeAngela Warren have been a part of our fellowship and our ministry for nearly seven years.  Last weekend, their son, Seth, got married in a setting that I think most couples would envy.  DeAngela's dad, Leroy Blankenship (I've talked about him on numerous occasions during the past years), officiated at the wedding.  We might as well have been in the Garden of Eden.  The beauty of the waterfall in the background and surrounded by lush greenery provided a spectacular and perfect setting.

Leroy was his usual poetic self as he described the first union between Adam and Eve, and at the conclusion of the ceremony, he sang an original love song to both bridegroom and bride.  All I can say is, WOW!!!

When I wrapped up the last Coffee Break I'd thought to move on to another topic, but the Holy Spirit reminded me that I'd missed sharing one of the most important aspects of discipling: the imparting of the anointing, the transfer of the mantle that God has laid upon the one who is mentoring, teaching, sharing and discipling.

Let's begin again today with the command Jesus has given: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB)

There is so much wrapped up in Jesus' command that it is almost hard to know where to begin.  He starts off by saying that all authority -- make sure you get this -- ALL AUTHORITY in Heaven and on earth has been given to Him.  I don't mean to be redundant but "ALL" literally means that there is no part of the authority or dominion in any realm, earthly, natural, spiritual, emotional, mental, of the heavenly realm or dimension, AND the realm of the demonic over which Jesus lacks the final say.  What's more, He has not just the authority, but the power to back up that authority.

He follows up that preface to His command by saying, "Go ye therefore!"  In other words, "Because I have all authority, I'm commissioning and empowering you to go forth on my behalf as my personal representative; and you have the full backing of Heaven to do everything I've commanded you."

"Everything I've commanded you" takes in a lot of territory, folks!

Remember when Jesus sent the 70 out, two by two, and told them to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons"?  Then Jesus said to them, "freely ye have received, freely give."  (Matthew 10:8)

Take a quick look at Mark 16:15-18: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach, declare and proclaim the gospel, the good news of the Kingdom, to all of creation.  (see also Matthew 24:14)  He who actively believes [and puts into action My Word] and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved [and opposed mentally, emotionally and spiritually] shall be condemned.  These signs will accompany those who actively believe and put into action: in My name [in the very character and makeup, the essence of who I AM] they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will take on wily, deceitful men whose purpose is to sway and deter them through clever arguments [and defeat them], and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover and be completely restored.”  (My translation and amplification)

[A quick note before we continue: The phrase which occurs at the beginning of verse 18 -- "They shall take up serpents" -- is a common Hebrew metaphor, and it means to take on those people who try to deceive or sway through clever arguments or manipulation.  The particular phraseology which occurs here makes very clear that Jesus is giving those who believe the authority, the power, the wisdom AND the anointing to combat and defeat such arguments and/or manipulation.]

Both Matthew and Mark use the expanded reference to "the Gospel" by clarifying it this way on four separate occasions: "the Gospel of the Kingdom."  You see, the Gospel is not simply some good news of salvation through Jesus Christ; it is the news that we have access to and available citizenship in a Kingdom -- a sphere and a dimension of living -- which is superior to, and has authority over, all the kingdoms of this natural world.

Thus, when Jesus begins His covenant promise to "those who believe," He instructs us to preach, declare and proclaim the good news -- the angelic tidings -- of His Kingdom to all of creation!  That's more than just preaching to people, folks!  That's the exercise of Kingdom authority over all that is this earthly realm.  That includes the ground we walk on.  That includes the trees, the plants, the vegetation -- the agricultural realm, if you please.  That includes the animal kingdom, birds, marine life, bugs, etc.  That includes the weather.

Get it?  ALL OF CREATION!

We are instructed to preach, proclaim, declare, prophesy, decree -- to enact by the release of the spoken Word -- the Kingdom of God in, upon and throughout all the earth!  That doesn't mean we get to say anything that pops into our heads.  This only works when we speak that rhema -- that same Word we first heard from Holy Spirit -- which is coming (present tense -- not past tense) out of the mouth of God!

One cannot receive that rhema unless one has his or her ears attuned to hear what Holy Spirit is saying.  And......one cannot even hear in the realm of the Spirit unless they spend time in that realm.  When you spend time with the Lord, there is a change that takes place in you, your nature, your character, the way you behave, the way you think.

Notice what happened when Peter and John began to do the works that Jesus did.  "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."  (Acts 4:13)

When Jesus sent forth His disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, there was an impartation that went with the disciples.  What do I mean by this?

There was a transfer that took place in the Spirit realm.  When Jesus sent them forth, He commissioned them.  With that commissioning came an anointing.  With that anointing came an empowering.  With the empowering came a mantle, a covering, a transfer of divine authority and power to accomplish what they had been commissioned to perform.

Let me use some personal experience for the sake of illustration.

Without retracing a lot of ground that I've already discussed in prior posts, I grew up with angels.  They were my early companions.  I saw them on an almost daily basis for three years.  When Jesus appeared at my bedside early one morning and began to lay out His plan and purpose for my life, there was a shift from that moment forward in my life.  The angelic realm was mere preparation.  It laid a foundation of "normalcy" for the realm we generically refer to as "supernatural."  It paved the way for me to think "naturally supernatural, and supernaturally natural."

From the moment that Jesus first appeared at my bedside and began to lay out His purposes and His destiny in and for my life, a transition began to take place in the way that I thought, in the things I expected, and in my perception of unfolding events.  Two years later, when I experienced my first trip to Heaven, communication in the Spirit had become second nature.  Hmmmmm.....let me rephrase that!  Communication in and through Holy Spirit had become the norm.  It was perfectly natural.  From that day to this -- more than 60 years later -- it has been the way I live and breathe.  I wouldn't know how to live any other way!

Though that experience at age nine was only the first time I had the opportunity to visibly walk and talk with the Lord side-by-side, from that day to this we have walked together continually -- whether I've been able to visibly see Him there or not.  And that, my friends, changes a person's outlook on everything!  There is an intertwining of personality that takes place when you walk together.  There is a transfer of character and makeup that happens.  This is absolutely essential and intrinsic to discipleship.  The more I have lived and walked with and in Christ Jesus, the more I have taken on His character and nature.  (Oh, and by the way, He's not finished with me yet.  There is still more change to take place!  [Smile!])

One of the most practical aspects of discipleship and discipling is that one must first be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.  One must always remain in a place of submission to Holy Spirit.  One must not only listen but respond.  The first and most basic tenet of discipleship is -- as Francis of Assisi used to put it -- "to hear and obey."  It is absolutely impossible for me to lead someone into a way of living and walking in Christ Jesus that I have not first lived and walked.  I can't promote a theory and hope it actually works for someone.

One of the reasons why we have seen such a watering down of the Gospel throughout the years is that being "in Christ" and having "Christ in us" has become a religious philosophy -- a theory, if you will -- lacking in reality and practical living.  Christianity is anything but a religion.  It is not a theory.  It is a lifestyle with naturally supernatural implications.  There is a dynamic to it that is absolutely foreign to the societies of this world.

Jesus Christ was and is God incarnate!  In the flesh!  In the here and now!  Without the transfer of character and personality, without the impartation of the divine nature and makeup of who and what Jesus is, made visible and operational and functional on a daily basis in us, anything we have to say becomes "sounding brass and tinkling cymbals" devoid of Kingdom life and reality!

As first, disciples of Jesus Christ, and then disciplers for Him of others also desiring to walk the Kingdom life, we impose the light and the sound of Heaven whenever and wherever we go.  It is impossible to do otherwise.  Our very presence brings change wherever we are.  Our very presence impacts the environment.  At least, it had better do so!  Otherwise we're a bunch of frauds who live a religious lifestyle without the reality of intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Roughly 29 years ago, Della went to work in the jewelry business, beginning as an assistant manager for a family-owned jewelry store in Anchorage.  The main store manager had been brought into the store to run it based on the recommendation of others in the business.  This person -- a lady -- led a very worldly lifestyle and was totally devoid of any sensitivities to Jesus Christ.  It didn't take long for the very presence of the Lord in Della to become threatening to this woman despite the fact that Della was very quiet and non-confrontational.  She became more and more uncomfortable with Della's presence in the store.

Della and I began to pray for this lady.  The more we prayed the more nervous and uncomfortable she became, to the point that she began making accusations about Della to the family that owned the store.  One of the owner's daughters was sent into the store to work with Della just to assess the situation.  This young lady responded enthusiastically to the presence of the Lord in Della and a bond of friendship formed -- one that would last for years to follow.  The existing store manager was shortly thereafter moved out of that store to another location.  The owner's daughter stayed on to groom Della to manage outright one of their stores, and it wasn't long before Della was given a different store to run on her own.

In the years that followed the blessing and the presence of the Lord went with her.  When she transitioned over to work with and manage for Zales Jewelers, the company's corporate managers saw and recognized the anointing of the Lord.  The regional managers began to use her as a trouble-shooter to ferret out corruption and thievery among their stores.  Everywhere she went, dishonest and lazy employees were exposed and removed who were negatively affecting the store's performance and image in the community.  Everywhere she went, she brought profitability and honor, in several instances setting sales records for those locations.

Beyond that, Della became a mentor and a "discipler" in an economic sense training and creating management teams for the company.  But her "discipling" ran far beyond the material and business world.  It became a joy and a pleasure to lead some of those employees into a committed walk with the Lord Jesus Christ and to mentor them spiritually.

I've shared all that just to illustrate the fact that when there is true integrity in your walk with the Lord and a continual pursuit of His presence and the excellence of His character, you cannot help but influence and change the spiritual climate in which you live and operate daily.  The authority of the Lord goes with you and the blessing of the Lord manifests in your labors and your work ethic.

As disciples of Jesus Christ and then Kingdom representatives, we are both ambassadors AND part of Heaven's royalty.  As such we have been given both authority and the responsibility of bringing the earth back under subjection to Heaven.  We DON'T rule over people!  We DO rule, however, over the spiritual realm -- and with it, and in the process thereof, take dominion over thrones and principalities and rulers of the darkness of this world in the realm of the spirit.

THAT, all by itself, brings change in people and influences natural events, spiritual events, political events and economic events around us!  It is our responsibility as active believers to put into action the Word of the Lord in the earth and to enforce the peace of God in our societies.

The apostle Paul put it like this: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."

We cannot force men and women against their will to come to the knowledge of salvation, and we cannot force people to lead a disciplined life in Christ Jesus.  We can, however, fulfill our responsibilities as Kingdom representatives to bring about the change in our society -- change which must first begin in the realm of the Spirit.  We first implement that change through prayer and intercession.  After that, depending on the rhema of Holy Spirit, we begin to declare and decree.

We are first spirit beings.  We are secondly, soul, and thirdly, body -- in that order.  If we desire to bring about the necessary change to our societies, it must begin first as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, living under submission and subjection to Holy Spirit, and then -- as He so orchestrates -- discipling those around us in order to implement Kingdom change in the earth.

Are you hearing this?  Great!  See you next week (I hope!)

"If we are just in the flock of the Lord's companions, the veils will remain and we will only obliquely be able to see His glory and be changed by it. This is why my goal in ministry has never been to make people my personal disciples but to help everyone I can to become a personal disciple of Christ Jesus Himself.

As we also can note from John 10, it is His sheep who know His voice, not His lambs. While we are young in the Lord, we will have to follow others until we learn to know His voice, but my hope is to have my own veils removed and those of all I can help along their way. We must see Him in order to be changed into His image, not just become the image of one of His friends.

What would any man think if his children all looked like his best friend? We need to consider what we're doing when we're leaders who are trying to get people to conform to us rather than to Him. Our lives can and should be good examples for others, but as the Apostle Paul stated, he was in labor until Christ was formed in His people. This is our goal."  (Prophetic Word from Rick Joyner)

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

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ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: PRACTICAL DISCIPLESHIP

Another Coffee Break:

Practical Discipleship

Once again I'm out of sync with my normal publishing schedule for these Coffee Breaks.   Della's mother, Opal Hendershot, went home to be with the Lord just over a month ago.  At 83 years of age she's had a rich and full life, the overwhelming majority of which was spent walking with the Lord.  Ever since Della's step-dad went home in 2001, we've mostly cared for her mom.  She outlived both her first husband (Della's natural father) and her second husband.  The last few years have seen declining health with congestive heart disease and she has repeatedly said -- and especially during the past few months -- that she wanted to go home.

Even though we've prepared for this day and thought we were quite ready for Mom's homegoing, it still caught Della off-guard and turned out to be quite a struggle for her emotionally.  The homegoing service Friday, May 11th was nothing short of spectacular, being filled with praise, worship and testimonies of lives changed or influenced for the sake of the Kingdom of God.  Much of the family was able to gather together for the event with Della's brothers and her sister traveling, along with our daughter, Danielle, and her husband, Anthony, and our youngest son, Joshua, and his wife, Michelle, all of them from Alaska to be here.

Bob Widmann, who pastors Cornerstone Assembly, did a spectacular job of ministering at the funeral, and five people responded to the message of salvation at the conclusion.

The loss of Della's mother meant that we've had estate matters to take care of, and those things have kept us incredibly busy and pushed to long hours with family members helping to dispose of legal matters and distribution of possessions throughout.  Hopefully, the long-overdue release of this Coffee Break will get things back on track.

We really could continue our discussion on the Call of the Bridegroom, and perhaps this Coffee Break will serve as an addendum to that study.  One of the things that seems abundantly clear is that there has been an excessive focus within the structured church world on getting people born again and missing entirely the disciplined walk with the Lord Jesus Christ that must commence immediately upon making the initial commitment.

The Great Commission (as we are so inclined to call it) is not a commission from the Lord to get people "saved."  Contrary to some of the popular translations, Jesus did not simply say, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations....."  His command was that we go forth and "disciple" all nations."

The NASB translates the Greek text accurately, putting it like this: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  (Matthew 28:18-20)

There's a huge difference between simply preaching and teaching, and "discipling."  The truth of this understanding really began to spread throughout the body of Christ during the Charismatic Renewal during the early 1970's.  I remember when -- at a World Map Conference -- Bob Mumford was the scheduled speaker and he stepped aside for Juan Carlos Ortiz to share the remarkable successes of the "discipleship" ministry Juan Carlos was seeing in Argentina.

As has been and continues to be true, whenever real truth begins to be propagated within the body of Christ and Christians begin to grow and mature and become a genuine threat to Satan's lies and deception, he seeks to contaminate the message with extremes and thereby render the truth either unpalatable to most Christians or laced with so much error that it becomes totally rejected.  I watched this take place following Juan Carlos' sharing.

What worked spectacularly for the Argentinean Revival (as it has been sometimes referred) with the teaching and practical applications of the disciplined walk in Christ Jesus mostly failed in North America.  It wasn't that what Juan Carlos Ortiz shared was wrong, or that his methods and applications were wrong.  The problem was that the message and applications of discipleship as integrated into Argentinean culture and life simply did not translate well into American (or more accurately, "westernized") lifestyles and culture.

Many of my pastor friends attempted to apply Juan Carlos' methodologies within their American churches with explosive and disastrous results.  It became known within this country as "the Discipleship Controversy," and because of the failures and damaged lives that resulted from the misapplication of the truth, large segments of the body of Christ rejected the whole idea of being discipled.

Just because South American methodologies mostly failed in North America doesn't mean that the message of discipleship and discipling was or is wrong!  Far from it!  Each part of the world -- OK, let's make it more personal -- each and every segment of society has a uniqueness to it that requires a practical understanding and application which makes it work.

Let's talk for a minute about some of the practical aspects and principles of true discipleship.

The whole idea of a "disciple" is found in the core word: discipline.  A disciple is one who lives his or her life in a disciplined manner obeying the tenets and principles set forth by the mentor or the teacher or leader under whom they've submitted.

Living a disciplined life is a whole lot more than simply refraining from certain activities you might otherwise enjoy, or engaging in a certain careful and controlled lifestyle.  The "disciple" learns to adopt the mindset, the thought processes, the character and the nature of his/her mentor or instructor.

What was it that happened to Peter when he stood outside warming himself by the fire while Jesus was being interrogated by those who shortly thereafter crucified Him?  (See Matthew 26:69-73)  First a young girl says to Peter, "You were with Jesus of Galilee."  Shortly thereafter another young woman says to those standing by, "This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth."

A short period of time ensues during which conversation takes place between all those gathered together -- conversation which includes Peter.  Pretty soon some of those participating in the conversation stop and say to him, "You certainly are one of them.  Your manner of speaking clearly identifies you.”

You get the idea, I'm sure.  Years ago when I was ministering with Dwain McKenzie at Long Beach Christian Center, Dwain and I periodically participated in conferences at Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California.  Anyone who's been around Jack Hayford for any length of time knows that he has a very distinctive speaking style and expressions you can identify anywhere.

We often chuckled when we heard some of the elders or young men he was mentoring in ministry.  If you didn't see them and simply heard them speak, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were listening to Jack.  They had his speaking style down to a "T" along with many of his phrases or expressions.

That's how it was with Peter.  He'd been discipled by the Lord Jesus Christ.  His mannerisms were affected.  He carried on a conversation like Jesus did.  He spoke like Jesus.  He had yet to be filled with Holy Spirit, however, and as a consequence lacked the boldness that comes with that infilling.

Because Jesus was being accused before Caiaphas of blasphemy, Peter's fears kicked in and he was afraid of being known in this court setting as an associate or friend of Jesus, or being one of His disciples.  In order, therefore, to convince the bystanders with whom he'd been carrying on a conversation that he was not part of Jesus' disciples, he did something that was so uncharacteristic of Jesus as to express himself first with an oath, swearing [on his mother's grave?] that he didn't even know Jesus.  Then after being identified for the third time as one who was normally seen with Jesus, he tried to convince his accusers with the use of cursing and vulgar language.

But Jesus' mannerisms, His speech and His countenance were known for peace, for authority and (mostly) for exceptional gentleness.  Peter may have temporarily put off those who questioned his association, but Jesus' mentoring, His teaching, His instruction and His discipling of Peter had made real change.  When Peter heard the cock crow, it shook him to the core of his being.  He realized that he had done just what Jesus had said he would do: he denied Jesus three times.  And Peter couldn't stick around.  He went out and wept bitter, remorseful tears over his betrayal of Jesus.

You see, Jesus had become Peter's best friend.  Yes, Jesus was Peter's Lord and Savior.  Yes, Jesus was the One who had sent him out to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.  And Peter had seen direct, measurable, tangible results and consequences of functioning in the very onoma, the character and nature of the Lord Jesus Christ.  That ministry had affected his household.  His wife's mother had been raised from her sick bed, made completely whole.

Remember when Jesus sent the 70 out, two by two, and told them to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons"?  Then Jesus said to them, "freely ye have received, freely give."  (Matthew 10:8)

The Greek text uses a fascinating word which our KJV translators rendered as "received."  The Greek lambano is one of those picture words which conveys a whole lot more than our simplified "received."  This word communicates the transfer or impartation of some idea, some truth, some concept by the one (in this case, Jesus) discipling.  That transfer or impartation is then seized upon, laid claim to and possessed by the one receiving the impartation.

Does that make it clearer for you?

Then let's take this the next step.  One cannot disciple or bring under certain discipline if one is not himself under discipline.  Consider the centurion who came to Jesus in desperation on behalf of his servant.  Pay attention to the very particular wording in this example in the Word.

Luke 7:2-10: "And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.  And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.  And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:  For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.  Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:  Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.  For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.  When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.  And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick."

First of all, the centurion comes to Jesus recognizing that He (Jesus) is under Father's authority.  He understands what being "under authority" actually means, namely, that he willingly has subjected himself to the authority of his superiors.  He lives a life of absolute discipline.  As a result, he himself has been commissioned and placed in authority over 100 soldiers who are "under authority" to him as their superior.

The centurion recognizes that Jesus operates under the authority of Father with Father's commissioning, and that with that place of submission comes the full backing and commitment of Heaven to support whatever command He gives.  He has both seen and heard of the miracles that Jesus does and knows that He could never do those things without first having been commissioned and authorized by direct command.

This is perhaps the most basic and fundamental aspect of "discipling."  The one who disciples others must first be under the authority of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The discipler must have personally seen, heard and -- through personal experience -- lived and walked the discipline of Father through Jesus Christ, operating through the power and enabling of Holy Spirit.

In the past 65+ years of walking with the Lord, it has been my pleasure to lead many to salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.  I've lost track of the number of people laid hands on to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the attendant signs, and couldn't begin to tell you how many people I've baptized in water.  That's all well and good, but the command of Jesus is a whole lot more than that.  The issue isn't how many folks I've led to the New Birth: the issue is how many I've successfully discipled in such a way that they duplicate the same presence, authority and power of Holy Spirit manifested in and through me.  That number, I'm sorry to say, is a whole lot smaller than the number of those with whom I've prayed for salvation.

Evangelism is a whole lot more than preaching and leading souls to the Lord.  Evangelism -- at least Jesus' definition of evangelism -- incorporates living a disciplined life under the command of Holy Spirit.  True evangelism involves becoming involved with those whom you lead to Jesus and discipling them so that the same Word of Life, the same Word of Faith, the same Word of Love exhibited in your life is duplicated and manifested in them.

Make sense?  Good!  Let me share a personal experience -- one from 65 years ago for the sake of illustration.

As a five-year-old, I lived, breathed, walked and talked Jesus.  My father was my discipler at the time, and I wanted in the worst way to duplicate the pattern I saw in him.  I preached, testified, cajoled and did everything I could to persuade my friends and playmates that they needed to commit themselves to Jesus Christ.

It was the winter of 1947.  We lived at the time in Nome, Alaska.  It was a particularly brutal winter with temperatures at or near 40 below zero for a period of several weeks.  The winter had begun with a huge snowfall and subsequent winds had piled the snow in drifts so high you could literally climb up on the roof of our church building.

Of course the blowing wind, coupled with the cold temperatures, made the snow rock hard; and that made it perfect for a bunch of kids who wanted to make snow caves, igloos, or whatever.  My brother and I, however, had a different plan.  We borrowed one of Dad's hand saws and cut out a room roughly 8 X 8 X 5 in a huge snow bank that swept over our house and church.  Naturally, we cut out a neat door and window.  We followed that with cutting blocks of hardened snow which made a perfect bench, an altar, a podium to preach from; and, presto! Mom gave us some candles to use for light, and we had ourselves a little church!  Now, don't laugh.  It was serious business to us.

The first order of business was to gather our friends and playmates to "have church."  Howie (my brother) led the singing.  I preached a 15 or 20-minute salvation message and had "an altar call" just like Dad's.  It wasn't a game, and I wasn't pretending.  This took place during a three-year period between the ages of four and seven when I had constant visitations from angels.  Mom had taught me to read by reading the Bible, and by this time I knew it fairly well -- at least I knew the pertinent parts of it as far as salvation and baptism were concerned.

You see, I was learning from Dad's example and the pattern he'd set for me.  He was my discipler.  Three of my playmates that day responded to the salvation message and knelt at that snow altar to receive Jesus Christ.  Their response was real and from that day forward I continued to teach them from the Word.  I could only teach, of course, those things that were real to me, but my objective was to transmit them into the lives of my three friends.

Well, at forty below zero, you don't baptize anyone in water, so you wait until spring when water (especially after an abundant winter like that one) abounds.  Seems like it was in May or early June when the temperatures were between 40 and 50 degrees (above zero, of course) and deep mud puddles flourished everywhere.  (When Dad built the church in Nome he didn't include a baptismal tank, so we just did the logical thing.)  By now I had passed my sixth birthday.  My friends were ready to be baptized, and we found a suitable mud puddle where they could be immersed.  We didn't think about changes of clothes or anything like that.  I walked into the water and, one by one, they came in after me to be baptized.  I never knew whether they got in trouble with their folks for coming home soaking wet in their clothes, but we all knew that we had taken the proper steps as far as the Lord was concerned!  (OK, no fair laughing!  Like I said, it was real and we were serious!)

In the years that followed, all three of those first converts went on to become strong Christian believers, and one of them went on into pastoral ministry.  It was my first experience at discipling, and I followed the pattern that my discipler, Dad, had set for me.

Let me wrap up this Coffee Break with a simple and practical definition of discipleship.

To disciple (according to Jesus' command) means to essentially duplicate the Jesus in you in someone else.  There's more to this picture, but I think I'll leave it there for today.

See you again in a few days.

"Ministry by definition is the spiritual work or service of any Christian or a group of Christians. One of the greatest revelations we can ever embrace is that whatever we do in life, is ministry, because the light of God in us and through us never goes dim. Every job, every assignment, our family, our leisure and whatever pathway that the Holy Spirit may lead us, is ministry."   (Robert Ricciardelli)

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

709 South 7^th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact.  Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.  Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.

CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM, Part 5

Another Coffee Break:

THE CALL OF THE BRIDEGROOM

Part 5

This is a bit tardy, but allow me to express my thanks to the more than one thousand people who sent me individual birthday greetings for my 70th birthday!  Have to say that I was more than a little astonished to receive so many cards, letters and e-notes.  It more than doubled the largest number of birthday wishes I've received in any prior years.  All I can say is, WOW!!!  Anyway, once again, Thank You!

This past weekend was one of the most rewarding experiences in intimate worship that I've seen in more than a decade.  Asked to lead worship for a Full Gospel Businessmen's retreat, Rich Warren (close friend, brother, fellow-musician and bassist) joined me in leading somewhere between 120 and 150 men into the presence of the Lord.  It would not be overstating things to say that there were more than a few moments when we experienced the Glory of the Lord tangibly.

When you hear more than a hundred men singing at the top of their voice, "Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power be unto the Lamb forever and ever" ..... well, words fail me!!  Like I shared with a few folks with whom we fellowship regularly, your goose bumps get goose pimples!  (Grin)

There were more than a few occasions when a holy hush settled over everyone and we just basked in the immediate presence of the Lord.  One brother told me that he visibly saw angels with us as we worshiped.

 As we have done for more than 20 years, the overwhelming majority of the worship and praise music was spontaneous.  We had no list of songs to work from, no sheet music in front of any of the musicians, and -- except for Rich and me -- none of them had ever worked with us before; and none of them had ever been involved in a completely spontaneous setting like this before.

Last fall, Rich and I were invited to share this kind of worship at a Seattle high school.  Afterwards the band director requested us to stay on and speak with the band class and simply share with them what we were doing, how we got there, and how these young budding musicians could begin moving in this realm themselves.  We spent better than an hour sharing with the class.  Three of those students came to the retreat and brought their instruments to join in with us.  You'd have thought they'd been playing with us for years!  Those young men had been working together in the months since we'd shared with them and were ready to flow in the Spirit with us.

Craig Manley brought his (and his church's) drums and percussion, and he joined us for the first time -- again, flowing with us in the Spirit and (as he experienced) doing things in rhythm and percussion he'd never done before.

Finally, another young man from Spain joined us on the keyboard.  A trained classical pianist with a stellar reputation as a musician, this was a totally new experience for Jorge.  It was a bit reminiscent of our days back in the early 90's when Marcia Treend brought her cello into the mix.  Marcia had been principal cellist with the Detroit and Spokane Symphonies with a long career as a classical musician.  It was a struggle for her to adapt to a totally spontaneous mode without any sheet music in front of her, playing only what she heard in her spirit.  That same thing applied to Jorge, and it was marvelous to watch him adapt in less than three days and flow with us!

It really is a work of the Holy Spirit to bring such a group of musicians together and orchestrate a flow of worship with all of them in such a way that you would think they'd worked together for years!  But it is in exactly that kind of unstructured atmosphere with folks who have one mind and one spirit to minister to the Lord that the Holy Spirit can create the most extravagant flow, exhibiting the Glory of the Lord in such a profound manner!

 Once again, all I can say is, WOW !!!  What a way to live!

 Instead of just ending this Coffee Break in my usual manner with a note from one of the prophetic individuals I've come to know and appreciate, it seemed appropriate to begin this one with a word from Arthur (Art) Katz, a Messianic Jewish brother whose ministry I was introduced to some 40 years ago.

“‘The time is surely coming,’” says the Lord God, ‘that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord’” (Amos 8:11-12).

"The thought strikes me that the famine is not so much for the lack of speaking as the lack of hearing. I have had the increasing impression that God’s people do not know how to hear the word of God. Or, unlike the Thessalonian converts from paganism, they do not believe that the word they are hearing is indeed God’s word.

Therefore, the word is received casually if not indifferently as the word of man, that is to say, without effect. Perhaps we have been filling up on verbal “junk food” and have dulled our appetites for “real food” by the profusion of much speaking of our own that leaves us sated if not bloated, and therefore we suffer malnutrition in the midst of seeming plenty. Certainly we lack the evidence of growth and change that the word of God should accomplish, and we seem fixed in our immaturity and shallowness.

Perhaps we need to consider that the act of hearing is as much an act of grace as that of speaking itself.  Surely God's Word requires an attentiveness and retention for which the world has not schooled us.  The sobering caution, "When you hear My voice, harden not your hearts" implies that God's Word will not allow our indifference.  If there is not a hearing, then there will certainly be a hardening!"

This is an excellent admonition for God's people today.  Art's comment that "we have been filling up on verbal "junk food" and have dulled our appetites for "real food" hits the nail on the head.  That "verbal junk food" is partly a product -- as Art notes -- of much speaking, as well as the "mixture of truth with poison" to which I referred as we wrapped up the last Coffee Break.

Oftentimes, attempts by ministers to apply the formulas learned in Bible College or seminary to deal with critical situations in the lives of people they're supposed to be responsible for results in tragedy or even greater chaos.  When the formulas fail, and the lives of those people who depend on him crash, condemnation sets in.  Because the "minister" has put his dependence on formulas and doctrines which are now ingrained into the very core of his existence -- in the name of putting that dependence in the Lord -- the "minister" now feels that the Lord has failed him.  Despair sets in, depression reigns, and questions arise by the multitude.  What's the problem?

The "minister" never heard from the Lord.  Much of his upbringing and preparation for "ministry" was predicated on "profane, empty babblings which only serve to advance ungodliness."  Much of his upbringing and training was based in "performance."

This results in judgment and criticism of the people who fail in their efforts to apply the formulas he is teaching.  Condemnation and despair set in for those who cannot make their "faith" work according to the formulaic methodology they are taught and, all too often, they decide to give up trying because "they are not spiritual enough."  

This is not relationship with the Lord!   This is legalism and performance!   Those who have suffered these guilt pangs need to dump them as coming from Satan, and not from the Lord!  (I share these things from the perspective of having spent most of my life "in the ministry" [to use the common cliché] and having seen many of my brethren suffer in this manner.)

Referring back once again to the last Coffee Break (and the retranslation of II Timothy 2:15 from the Greek text) there is another side to this concept of "study" which affects all of us -- and particularly, those of us who have over the years received visions or experienced something where the Lord has revealed a truth with a specific application to us.

Like so many of my brethren, I experienced much in the way of revelation from the Lord in my early youth.   Although I was extremely blessed by the character and dimension of the experiences which the Lord gave to me, I grew up in classical Pentecostal circles with all of the attendant church structure.  The things which the Lord spoke within my spirit in those early days were of such a nature that I could not find a way to make them fit within my understanding.  When I attempted to share them with men and women in leadership within the denomination, the most common response was, "Well, that's wonderful, son!  Some day the Lord will use you as a pastor, or a missionary, or even an evangelist, and you'll win lots of souls for Christ."

In my spirit, I knew this was a wrong interpretation and application of what the Lord was saying, but there was absolutely nothing within the church structure which would permit me to function as the Lord had revealed Himself to me.  By the same token, I had no example of that which had penetrated my being by the Holy Spirit among any leaders whom I knew (or knew of), nor among my peers.  In my thirst for revelation knowledge, I read -- voraciously!  I couldn't stand books on doctrine, and I detested the great majority of the so-called religious books which were available, so I read the Bible -- from cover to cover -- again, and again, and again.  By the time I got ready to attend Bible college, I had been through the Bible, from cover to cover, at least 25 times, had memorized hundreds of verses, some entire books of the Bible, and many chapters verbatim from the KJV.

The primary thing Bible college did for me was to program me to fit those things which the Lord had revealed to me in my early youth into the framework of the church system or structure.  I became "a pastor."  For much of the first 25 years of pastoral ministry, I struggled to fit the mold.  At least three times, different pastors -- brethren with whom I was closely associated, labored with and deeply respected -- came to me and said, "Regner, I'm not sure what you are, but you certainly are not a pastor!"

The more they said it, the more frustrated I became, and the greater the internal drive to fit the stereotypical model.  It was not until the summer of 1974 that I received a direct word from the Lord which clarified the situation, and delivered me from the necessity of fitting the structural and religious mold.  I have from time to time continued on in a kind of pastoral ministry but I've now just pastored as a part of what God called me to.  I've been able to minister freely without the structural requirement or the pressure of fulfilling someone else's expectations of what "a pastor" is supposed to be.

Enter the next phase of deliverance.  (This was only the first of several stages of deliverance from "religion.")   In 1975, the Lord began the revelation to me of the vision which most of you have heard related as "The House of Praise."  Without relating all of the detail, suffice it to say that this vision began with a perspective of David, the tabernacle he set up, and the praisers and worshipers he appointed, and employed on a 24-hour-per-day basis to minister to the Lord.  Being still stuck in the "structure" of the church, I related everything the Lord was showing me to church structure, and tried to make it fit within that structure.   As a  result, I saw "The House of Praise" as a modern-day version of the ministry David instituted, with singers and musicians on a payroll, ministering to the Lord in a building, or structure, which would be called "The House of Praise." 

For fifteen years I was stuck with this "vision." It was not that the vision was flawed, or that the revelation came out of eating chocolate-covered jalapeno peppers before going to bed one night.  The problem was that I interpreted what the Lord showed me within the framework of my religious understanding, even going so far as to place advertisements in the Anchorage Daily News for musicians and singers who were "oriented towards praise" music, and then interviewing the respondents in an effort to "put this thing together."  From where the Lord has brought us today, this comes across as sincere stupidity.  (I was genuinely sincere -- and stupid!)   We laugh every time we talk about it.

Some months after Earle, Marcia, Della and I began to gather together daily for worship, the real truth of the revelation hit me like a ton of bricks.  Where our worship began with a few minutes each day, as the daily gathering continued throughout the months, we found that we were ministering to the Lord -- in the corporate sense -- for anywhere from an hour to three or four hours.

When we would break up and head to our respective homes at the end of the day, the worship continued in our beings on nonstop basis.  It became so strong that we would awaken in the middle of the night singing in the spirit.  When we arose in the morning, worship was going through our spirits.  During the workday, in the midst of performing normal work duties which would seemingly have nothing whatever to do with spiritual things, worship would be flowing uninterrupted through our spirits to the Lord. 

What David accomplished, and had to pay singers and musicians to accomplish after the flesh, the Lord accomplished in us after the Spirit.  We didn't have 128 singers and musicians like David did -- it just started with the four of us -- and we couldn't be gathered together 24 hours per day like those singers and musicians did in shifts, but worship was going forth, nonetheless -- in our spirits -- 24 hours per day.  We were the House of Praise!  We had become a House of Worship.

This is the very thing which the Lord is addressing in us, NOW.  Most of us have received visions of things to come; and most of us have, in some way, become involved in activities related to these visions in an honest effort to carry out what we believe the Lord has spoken to us.

Has the Lord spoken to us?  YES!   Has He given us a vision of His purposes for these end-times?  YES!  Have we tried to fulfill that which the Lord has given us according to our understanding?  With all of our hearts!  Is that understanding flawed by religious doctrines and years of indoctrination within the church structure?   Without question!   Have we missed the mark?   Sure we have!

Does that mean that we've completely set aside the idea of a physical location for a 24-hour ministry of praise and worship similar to the Tabernacle of David?  NO!

You see, sometimes it is necessary for Holy Spirit to rid us of preconceived notions and religious programming before He can move us forward with the vision He has imparted.  We must first be free of religion and religious concepts if we are to respond and act according to the Lord's plans and purpose.  We must first become that to which we are being called.  We must first become the visual of that which Holy Spirit has shown us before we can go any further!

Let's get one thing straight!  The call of the Bridegroom is to intimacy with Him!  The call of the Bridegroom is to and for a people who will fulfill Him, His heart's desires and His destiny for each of us within His Kingdom.  This is a call for an overcoming people -- not a people who are content with who they are in Christ Jesus, and not a people who are content with "business as usual."

Those "business as usual" Christians (and I use that word rather loosely) may actually make it to Heaven by the stupendous grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, just by virtue of their acceptance and acknowledgement of His shed blood on the Cross, but they will NEVER be invited into the Bridal Chamber.

Finally -- and most of all -- the call of the Bridegroom is to and for a people who will literally and demonstrably BECOME HIS BRIDE, His Counterpart, His Other Self!

Are we clear?  Good!  Next week we'll move this discussion along as we talk about Practical Discipleship.

"God is waiting for those to arise who will lay down their own lives and agendas to become the intercessors He must have. He's waiting for preachers to arise who are willing to stand against any amount of scorn, ridicule, or persecution to declare God's truth, righteousness, and justice without compromise. He is willing. Are we?  The Lord lit the fire on the altars of His tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem. He then commanded the priests to keep these fires going. Likewise, only God can start an authentic revival, but only man can end it by not keeping the fire going. For this to be done, there must be an underlying hunger for God and willingness on the part of His people to sacrifice their own purposes to give themselves for His purposes."   (Prophetic Word from Rick Joyner)

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

709 South 7^th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact.  Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.  Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.

CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.