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OFFENDED OR UNOFFENDABLE? FEEDBACK, MINISTRY AND
TESTIMONIES
"WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE OF GOOD REPORT…THINK ON THESE THINGS" PHIL. 4:8
Hello and welcome to this month's report, which is packed with exciting
information and testimonies from our ministry in March. We were in New
Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Make sure you send us your feedback
and don't forget the latest "GOD THOUGHTS" at the end. ENJOY THE
REPORT!!! #
EDITORIAL - OFFENDED OR UNOFFENDABLE?
INTRODUCTION
As an Australian I have always admired America's culture of affirmation.
At their best Aussies are honest; at their worst; brash and rude, but you
will always know where you stand with them. From a young age Americans
are taught to try and be kind and polite to everyone. At its best, this
demands a certain amount of self-control; at it's worst, it can be hard
to know what people are really thinking. But have our efforts to
continually affirm each other heightened our sensitivity and made us
easily offended when confronted with the truth, or are we already
over-sensitive and have compensated with complicated protocols in an
effort to keep everybody happy? Either way, it has ultimately given rise
to the "doctrine" of political correctness, with its twisted excesses,
that could only have arisen out of an affirmation culture.
"…DOES THIS OFFEND YOU?"
When Jesus, speaking in spiritual terms, confronted His followers with
the truth of His mission, which they took too literally, they "grumbled".
He asked them "…Does this offend you?" (John 6:61). Grumbling indicates
offence in the heart. The word "offence" comes from the Greek word, "scandalon:
a trap stick (bent sapling).. stumbling block." In a recent article ("Are
You Offended?"), Jay Ferris said; "Surely it does not go too far to say
that the [level of offence] of the church in our day is a scandal, to
borrow a Greek word. The degree of the division in the church is the
degree of the [level of offence] in the hearts of the saints." The
western church may be in danger of being labeled the "offended church"!
Being offended can cause negative thoughts and destructive reactions. But
one aspect of spiritual maturity is an increasing sensitivity to
thoughts, words and deeds, while at the same time becoming less outwardly
reactive to them. A spiritual person is redemptive, not alienated. II
Corinthians 10:4 says; 'For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
but mighty through God... and bringing into captivity every thought to
the obedience of Christ.' God has equipped us to deal with the battle
against negative thoughts and we have a responsibility to use these
weapons to guard against being offended, and Faith is chief among them!
"As a man thinks, so he is", therefore Faith determines the contents of
our thoughts.
UNOFFENDABLE!
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us how to deal with offenses. Peter wants to
know just how many times he should forgive his "brother". Jesus replies;
"...seventy times seven!" This can only mean that we need to be
continually demonstrating that major cornerstone of Christianity;
FORGIVENESS! If we do then we will be unoffendable! Why should we not be
offended? Because Jesus was offended for us ('the offence of the cross')!
From that cross, He forgave those who crucified Him. There was never more
justification for anyone to be offended. Or, in the words of Jeremiah,
'Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by? Behold, and see if there be
any sorrow like my sorrow, which is done to me, whereby the Lord has
afflicted me in the day of His fierce anger.' (Lamentations 1:12). Yet He
never complained about His "fate", never tried to justify or defend
Himself, never judged or condemned anyone, never demanded revenge or
justice, and of course, the enemy never thought he had a chance!
AN UNOFFENDABLE CHURCH
The problem is that when we hang on to offenses, it makes "a place for
the devil". Offenses retained fester, rot and smell like death. If we
hold on to them a long time, we even get used to the smell, but others
notice right away, especially the Devil and his crowd. They will hang
around like vultures hovering over a dead carcass in the desert.
What is it in you that causes you to be offended, except perhaps your
sense of how things ought to be? Jesus had a sense of how things should
be, the question is; do our ideas match up with His? A mature church is
an unoffendable church. There is no place given to division and is
therefore a united church! #
FEEDBACK
" "Hello, Jeff! …It was crazy to read that a group of you were discussing
Paul's journey to Athens (See Editorial, FMI Report Feb '02) and the fact
that he went alone, because that's exactly what God pointed out to me…
here in Costa Rica. God always seems to keep His body moving together,
huh? In addition, with the whole "Christian" title, (see "God's Not A
Christian" FMI Report Jan '02) I find with my generation, it's important
to separate the false assumptions behind this word ("Christian") by
simply telling whoever asks that I have a relationship with Jesus,
period! I hope to see you at Grace and Peace when I return in April.
You've blessed me in the past more so than you might imagine! Thank you
and His presence be with you. MELISSA LEONETTI"
" Dear Jeff, Once again you've hit the mark with your article (see FMI
Report Feb '02 'Out Of Rubble, Sprout The Seeds Of Revival'). I grew up
in New York and was sad to find out I lost a classmate in the WTC crisis.
He was a fire fighter for FH#4.... I was stunned and for the first time
felt the whole loss of life in a personal way. Your theory on Paul and
the Athenians sounds solid. How often we've done things in ministry that
were correct, but our modalities weren't quite what the Lord had in mind?
Though we'd love to join the other ministries in New York in the work
there, time may be better spent holding them up in continual prayer, what
do you think? Many blessings and keep writing! CANDI WEIKERT POST FALLS
IDAHO
JB - Yes, they need as much prayer as they can get.
MARCH MINISTRY AND TESTIMONIES
"Jeff: …God truly touched me through your messages [at NEW HARVEST
CHRISTIAN CHURCH, Hudson Valley NY). To know where I have come from over
the past year… I am truly the [typical] 'stoic, white-male" Christian. My
[religious] upbringing was much less than fulfilling… Standing up and
proclaiming my testimony [in front of the whole church the last night of
your meetings] was way outside my comfort zone; it truly is/was. The most
I would utter was an 'amen' when prodded to do so, but that's about it.
While I am not yet ON FIRE for the Lord, the fire is growing NOW. Before
this week, I was still blowing on smoking embers. Thanks for your
ministry. In Jesus' name! PETER A. HOLST."
"Brother Jeff, It was a real blessing to have you with us a few weekends
ago.
Thank you for your obedience to the Lord to tackle such up-to-date issues
as America's struggle with terrorism… Your observations as one coming
from another culture are very much needed by the American church [which]
has a very short-sighted view of itself and it's place in God's economy.
All that we are is only by God's grace and we've got a long way to go in
comparison with the riches of God's purpose and plan…
One downfall of the U.S. churches that are moving in revival is to
perceive the revival from our own limited context; to craft a "new move"
theology through our limited perspective. We need a global view-point to
properly appreciate all that the Lord is doing and where our part fits
into His plan. Your message on Friday really began to touch this core
issue and it was a great "eye-opener" for us…
On a personal note, I thank the Lord that you are a person who is
obviously moving ahead with the Lord. All of us are blessed to have the
work of the Holy Spirit drawing us to Christ-likeness. And God is blessed
when we cooperate. Some people are stuck in methods & ministry styles
that are more imitation of the current "church" culture than outflow of
their own experiences with the Lord. This is not true of you… As you
know, the apostle Paul said that he doesn't trust or yield to the opinion
of others or even of his own assumptions and conscience, but rather, he
follows the opinion and conscience of his Lord. I'm glad that you have
that same conviction. I know that there have been many rough places of
ministry for you here in the U.S. and I thank God that you are keeping
your eyes on Him… MATT POTTIGER, ASSOCIATE PASTOR, CAPITAL AG, TRENTON
NJ"
"Dear Brother Jeff, I was not able to hear you speak 1 month ago [at
Capital AG Trenton]; although, I did hear testimonies. I was so blessed
to hear you preach 4 times this weekend. I've never been shy about my
faith, my personal relationship with Jesus or witnessing… I look forward
to sharing [your messages] even further. I purchased a copy of the tape…
Already I've heard… "wow, that's amazing", "that's so interesting". I
know the Lord uses me to touch lives but l think sharing this message,
because people are LIVING it now, is very effective. I chose the SAMUEL
fast for the lenten season for revival & soul winning & I've seen great
results for the Lord and your message is one more instrument, one more
weapon to put hell into a recession. Warm Christian Love, GAN ARNOLD,
ROBBINSVILLE, NJ."
"Dear Brother Jeff, Thank you for your heart as you ministered at Capital
AG [over] these past two [months]. You will never know until you get to
heaven how very much you have touched so many lives in this place. You
have stoked fires that were waning, encouraged hearts, and watered dry
visions. The first time you came, back in 1998, many of our youth were
first saved and others sold out completely at that time. I remember
testifying about how my own life was changed… When you come… you leave a
'residue' behind… It's seems that the change within [us] sticks. We are
catapulted to a new level...
Thank you for your heart for our youth. They love you and feel your love
for them. When you passed the baton' to them, you have no idea how much
that meant to both me and them. Thank you, thank you, the youth are so
frequently overlooked by ministers. Your ministry has been the one, that
my daughter Jaci looks back on [where] her life and heart were
dramatically changed back in October of 98' and between the passing of
the baton and words spoken over her this time is a major advancement in
her walk. My knee bows to our Lord in thanksgiving to Him for you and
your ministry. Praying that Lord keeps a constant door open to you at
Capital. LYNN D'ULISSE CAPITAL AG HAMILTON, NJ."
" "Dear Jeff, I want to thank you for being with us on March 1st and
speaking straightforwardly to the
youth (at the Mid Hudson "Graffiti" Combined Youth Meeting New York). It
was a wonderful evening in God. Steve and I really were blessed to get to
know you a bit and as we listened to you speak to the leaders and during
the week at Ralph's, we realized we were on the same page as you in many
areas. We hope that this was just your first trip to our small part of
the Hudson Valley and that our paths will cross many, many more times. If
you are open to it, another time with the Graffiti bunch might be good. I
believe the kids really can receive from you with open hearts - and
that's what they need. Blessings on
your family and ministry, MICHELLE BUNKOFF"
RESOURCES
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Dr. John Trent. http://www.botcw.com/cgi-bin/se/jump.cgi?ID=16919
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We hope you will seriously consider joining with us in this great
adventure with God.
Heather and I bless you in Jesus' wonderful name and look forward to
being in touch with you again next month. Much love,
JEFF BEACHAM
Pastor / Evangelist
Firepower Ministries International
2 Rt. 37 WEST, Toms River, NJ 08753
Ph.(732) 349-1550, ext. 205 Fax (732) 286-6311
Email:
info@firepowerint.com Website:
http://www.firepowerint.com
**** CHECK JEFF BEACHAM'S MINISTRY ITINERARY AT: www.firepowerint.com
****
GOD THOUGHTS
"As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the
demand." --Josh Billings
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