“COVER THE EARTH” The ministry of Paul Maurer

This is a powerful video of me ministering in Burundi, Africa at a Christ for all Nations gospel crusade in 2014.  Evangelist Daniel Kolenda gave me time to minister the last night of the crusade with 200,000 people present.

God is calling me to some of the most remote and darkest places in the world to share the good news of Jesus.  If you would like to partner with me, please click on the following link Partner with Paul Maurer and click on “donate.”

Many thanks to my friends at hipcreativeinc.com for making this video possible!  Check them out.  If this video was a blessing to you please share it on Facebook or social media with one of the links below!

Check out my new website that is full of exciting videos, news, and info!  http://www.paulmaurer.org

Blessings,

Paul

Adventures in Singapore… Jesus heals a man at a Hindu Temple!

In my last blog I wrote about sharing the love of Jesus in Singapore with my friend Jeff Yuan inside a Buddhist temple.  Two Buddhist ladies were healed in the temple and the Kingdom was demonstrated in power. (if you missed it you can read it below) As we were walking along on streets and celebrating what Jesus just did, we were looking for other places where we could show the love of Jesus.  We spotted a Hindu Temple and stepped inside.

If you don’t know much about Hinduism they believe that all paths lead to God.    As we walked in the temple I saw a shrine built to a Indian guru.  His name is Sai Baba.   When he was 14 years old he claimed to have gone through a mystical transformation and that he was the reincarnation of a spiritual teacher.  He claimed to have spiritual powers and many Hindus consider him to be a god.  He has over 6 million followers worldwide.  He gave a lot of money away to charity and he was well respected because of this.  I don’t know if it’s true or not but several men came forward during his life and claimed that Sai Baba sexually abused them.   Sai Baba died in 2011.  There is a picture of the Shine built to him below…

A shrine built to the Indian guru, Sai Baba, in the Hindu Temple.

It broke my heart to see people walk into the temple and worship this dead indian man like he was a god.  There were a few Hindu workers sitting around a table in the temple so we started chatting.  I asked them what they believed and they told me that all religions are equal and they all lead to the same God.  After listening to them share their beliefs I respectfully shared mine.  I shared my testimony of how Jesus set me free from the power of sin and death and gave me new life.  I went on to share how Jesus claimed to be the only way to heaven.  I told her that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and how we must all come to one of three conclusions about Jesus…

Either Jesus was  1) a liar… because he claimed to be the Son of God and claimed to be the only way to heaven. 2) OR He was a crazy person.. confused about His identity and who he was.  3) OR He was who he said he was, the Son of the living God.

We had a respectful conversation.  I offered to pray for her that she would have an encounter with Jesus, but she declined.  As I was about to leave the temple I suddenly received a sharp pain in my right shoulder.  At first I didn’t understand what was happening, and I told Jeff that I wasn’t sure what was wrong with my shoulder, but I just started having intense pain.  Right then I saw an Indian man step out of his car and start to walk up the temple.  Jeff pointed to his direction and all the sudden it made sense why I was having the pain in my shoulder.  It was a word of knowledge showing that Jesus wanted to heal this man’s right shoulder.  I stepped out in faith and went up to the man and said, “sir do you happen to have any pain in your right shoulder?”  And he said, “well actually Yes I do!”  He looked puzzled as to how I knew that.

Asking the Indian temple worker if he had pain in his right shoulder…

He told me that three weeks before he was working in the Hindu temple and he tore his right shoulder and he was in a lot of pain.  I said, “sir I believe that Jesus wants to heal you right now,” and I asked if I could pray for his shoulder.  He agreed so I laid my hand on his right shoulder and said, “In the name of Jesus be healed.”

Praying for his right shoulder to be healed in Jesus name.

I asked him to test it out to see if his shoulder was any better…  A huge smile came across his face and he said, YES! It feels much better!  He was very surprised and very grateful.  Right after I prayed for his healing the pain I had in my right shoulder left!  

I went on to share with him that there is power in the name of Jesus.  I said you could have used Buddah’s, Mohammad’s, or any other name and nothing would have happened… but there is power in the name of Jesus because He is the only name under heaven by which men can be saved.

I shared with him how we must turn from our sin and put our faith and trust in Jesus.  I told him that Jesus could forgive him of all his sin and give him eternal life.  I shared my testimony and about Jesus being the only way to heaven.  I asked him if I could pray for him to have an encounter with Jesus and he agreed.  So once again I laid my hands on him and prayed that he would have an encounter with Jesus Christ.  After I prayed for him Jeff and I went on our way.   This all happened within the gates of the Hindu temple.

Light shines the best in darkness.  We need to stop being so afraid of demons and other religions and start being the light that God is calling us all to be.  We need to love people like Jesus did, and we need to step out in faith.  If God can use me he surely can use you.  The more we step out in faith the more amazing God adventures we will have!  If lived out right… serving Jesus is the greatest adventure you can ever have!

If you would like to partner with me financially, and help support my gospel crusades in the nations to reach those that have never heard the gospel, please click on the following link Partner with Paul Maurer and click on “donate.”

If this blog has been a blessing to you please share it with the links below.

Thanks for reading!

Paul

 

 

I walked into a Buddhist temple… What happens next will surprise you…

I was in Singapore recently with Evangelist Daniel Kolenda for the CFAN “Reinhard Bonnke School of Evangelism” and “Fire Conference.”  While I was in the area I  ministered at a few churches and on my free time I did some street evangelism with my new friend, Jeff Yuan.  In Singapore there is an interesting mix of religion.  Buddhism is the most prevalent region, followed by Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.  I asked Jeff to take me out for a day on the streets for some God adventures to see what the Holy Spirit wanted to do.  As we were walking along Jeff and I spotted a Buddhist temple and we decided to walk inside.

One of the idols in the Buddhist temple

Another idol in the temple…

As we were walking around the temple Jeff had a word of knowledge about one of the workers in the temple.  He went up to her and asked her if she had any knee problems and she said, “Yes, actually I do!”  Both of her knees were in pain and had been causing her problems for quite some time now.  Jeff asked if we could pray for her healing and she agreed.  He laid his hands on her knees and prayed for her healing and she was instantly healed!  I saw her bending her knees and jumping up and down as she was testing out what had just happened.  Jesus had just healed her and she was so happy!

Jesus healed this woman inside of the Buddhist temple!

Jeff shared a few things with her about the Lord and gave her some instruction, and then as we started walking around to other parts of the temple to see what else the Holy Spirit wanted to do…

Some men burning incense to their gods in the Buddhist temple…

A few minutes later another Buddhist temple worker came up to us and pointed to her knee brace…  She said, “My friend told me that Jesus healed her knees… can you pray for my knee to get healed as well?”   He said, “of course!”  So we both laid our hands on her and released the healing power of Jesus to touch her knee.   She walked around to test it out and she discovered that her pain was gone and she was healed!  Her brace was no longer needed.  She was very grateful and Jeff again shared a few things with her about the Lord.

Jeff and I praying for the second Buddhist woman’s knee to be healed…

The Buddhist woman testing out her knee…

Jesus touched this precious Buddhist woman and healed her knee!

All of this happened WITHIN the Buddhist temple!  As people are coming in praying to Buddha and idols carved by human hands… two temple workers are healed in the name of Jesus and the kingdom is demonstrated in power!  I think many Christians would have been scared or intimidated to go into a temple to pray for the sick.  Perhaps they think demons would attack them or they would fall under some type of curse.  Why do we think this way?  Why are we so afraid of the darkness?

Consider the following scripture about Jesus healing a man with leprosy…

Mark 1:40-41

40 “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

41 Jesus was indignant.  He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.”

You have to understand that this man had leprosy which was contagious and can be spread by skin contact.  This is why they had leper colonies… they were meant to keep those that were unclean away from those that were clean.  Jesus was willing to take the risk of getting leprosy to heal this man.

Just like the man with leprosy… the people of this world are saying to Christians everywhere, “are you willing to leave your comfortable churches to go where we are?  Are you willing to be around someone like me who worships gods that are different than yours?”  We cannot expect non-christians to show up to our churches on Sunday.  We need to be like Jesus and go to where they are.

Light is meant to penetrate the darkness!  That’s the purpose of light.  We need to stop being afraid of the darkness and we need to start being a light.  We must realize that the Holy Spirit lives WITHIN us and He wants to come out!  Be bold, have faith, and take risk… the God of the universe is with us!  AMEN!

If you would like to partner with me financially and help support my gospel crusades in the nations please click on the following link Partner with Paul Maurer  and click on “donate.”  

If this blog was a blessing to you please share it on Facebook with the link below…

Reaching the unreached,

 

Paul Maurer

Ps. Stay tuned for my next blog about power evangelism in a Hindu Temple…

“The Secret to Fruitfulness”

Luke 5:1-11

This blog came out an early morning conversation and prayer time with the CfaN apprentices, Eric Gilmour, and David P. I want to encourage you to read the whole thing. I know it will be a blessing to you…

Read Luke 5:1-11

1 “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”

Often we can work really hard in ministry, but often we don’t get the results that we want to see. We want to be fruitful and be successful so we try new ideas, strategies, and methods hoping that something will work.

We often think if only we can find the right idea or strategy then we will be fruitful for the kingdom

In verse 5 Simon had been working really hard in his human strength and ability to catch fish, but he came up with nothing. Not a single fish. Then in verse 4 Jesus gave some instruction, ““Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon thought it was pointless at first, but when he implemented what Jesus told him he caught more fish than he could handle. In fact, he caught so many fish that his nets were breaking and he had to get help from his fishing buddies!

“Like Simon when we work hard and do things in our own strength we often come up short, but when we respond to the words of Jesus and implement what he tells us we will be fruitful!” (verse 6)

“There is fruitfulness in the Word of the Lord.”

Often the word of the Lord won’t make any sense to our natural mind. It didn’t make any sense to Peter to keep on fishing because he fished all night and caught nothing. Sometimes the Word of the Lord will look like foolishness to us and the people around us, but there is fruitfulness in the Word of the Lord if we will trust and be obedient.

“When we are close enough to Jesus to hear his voice, and we take the time to listen, and when we implement what he says we will get a harvest. Our good ideas and strategies are pointless and go nowhere if it’s not what God is telling us to do. Fruitfulness comes from abiding in Jesus and once he speaks, we need to act!”

Reinhard Bonnke often says that when God speaks to him he jumps! He doesn’t waste any time. If he is not sure what he is supposed to do in a given situation he will lock himself up in prayer unless he hears from the Lord. Once he hears from the Lord he implements what God tells him. He feels the eyes of the Lord are on him to see if he will respond to the word of the Lord.

“When God speaks we need to act”

Sadly instead of abiding and spending time in the secret place of prayer for direction many believers immediately implement whatever ideas come from their own mind or they will look at what other successful ministries are doing and copy it. We cannot rely on human strength and ideas in ministry… we must rely on the Word of the Lord. I believe that as we enter into these last days that accurately hearing and responding to the voice of God will be a matter of life and death. We cannot afford to waste any time and energy into things that God never told us to do. There are to many too be reached!

If this blog was a blessing to you please share it with the link below.

Paul

Leaving the ninety-nine for the one…

Not long ago I was in Burundi, Africa for a CfaN gospel crusade.  The last day I was there I had some free time to pick up a few gifts for family and friends.  My friends Mica-El and Matthias were with me.   As we were driving through the city looking for places to buy gifts I snapped a few pictures of people at the market and on the streets to remember my time there.

The streets of Burundi, Africa…

Mica-El was looking for some fabric for his mother and we finally found a street market that sold some.  As Mica-El was finding fabric and bargaining I walked around to other little shops to see what they had to offer.  As I was walking along a young boy tugged on my pants.  I looked down and he put his hand out to see if I would give any money.  I was pretty focused on what I was doing and I kind of brushed him aside and went on my way.  A few minutes went by and I felt another tug on my pants.  It was the same boy who previously was begging for money.  This time I stopped what I was doing, and I took a good look at the boy.  I was shocked by what I saw.  They boy was maybe 4 years old.  His hair was filthy.  His shirt had numerous holes in it and looked like it had NEVER been washed.  His shorts were a filthy mess, and he wasn’t wearing any shoes.  In fact his feet looked so dirty and callused that perhaps he never owned a pair of shoes.  I looked around trying to find his parents or a brother or sister.  There was no one to be found.  He was just wondering around begging for money with no one looking after him and no one that seemed to care about him.  I came to the conclusion that the boy must be an orphan.

I guess I could have just walked away from the situation but I felt the Father’s heart for this boy.  I began to see him the way God saw him.  He was a frightened little boy that just needed someone to love him and care about him.  I told the boy to follow me and we went on a search to find him some new clothes.  After lots of bargaining I finally was able to buy him a brand new shirt, a pair of shorts, and a pair of sandals for $10.  Before I gave him the clothes I gave him a big hug and started praying for him.  I don’t think he was used to people hugging him because he was stiff as a board.  Perhaps he had never really felt love coming from another human being before.  As I was praying for him I spoke life into him and broke rejection and curses off his life.  I blessed him and prayed that he would come to know Jesus and experience the love of the Father.  He didn’t speak the same language as me so he didn’t understand what I was saying, but in situations like these I think your actions speak louder than your words anyway.  I gave him the new clothes and he immediately put them on and left his old ones in the street.

 

Showing the love of Jesus to a poor boy in Africa

The venders around me didn’t understand why I was being so nice to this poor orphan boy.  When I was buying his new set of clothes they actually tried to overcharge me…  As we were driving away from the market I watched the little boy with a HUGE smile on his face going up to the venders and showing off his new set of clothes.  I am sure for him it was one of the highlights of his short life.

The night before I met this little boy Evangelist Daniel Kolenda gave me time to minister to 200,000 people at the CfaN crusade here in Burundi.

Ministering to 200,000 people at a CfaN gospel crusade in Burundi, Africa

I can honestly tell you that what I did for this little boy was just as significant in the eyes of God, and to me,  as ministering to the masses.  I felt like God sovereignly placed this boy in my path this day so He could reveal His love to him.

This is the heart of our Heavenly Father!  He leaves the ninety-nine for the one!  We can’t be so busy in our daily lives that we miss the people that God places right in front of us.  Each day is a day to be Jesus with skin on to a lost and dying world.  In Luke chapter 15 we can get a glimpse into the heart of God for people like this little boy…

Luke 15:4

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”  -Jesus

Our Heavenly Father leaves the ninety-nine for the one

This is what God does!  He will leave the ninety-nine to find the one.  He longs to use us so that people can see the Father’s love through us…  We are His hands and feet extended.

Let’s leave the ninety-nine for the one and represent Jesus well…

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CfaN Burundi, Africa gospel crusade… part 3

 

 

Each night of the crusade, after Evangelist Kolenda preached the gospel, he prayed for the sick and bound demonic spirits. During this time you could hear demonic spirits manifesting from different sections of the crowd. Trained counselors would take these people to the deliverance tent where they would cast out these evil spirits. One night the deliverance tent was overflowing with those needing deliverance.  During the prayer for healing Daniel Kolenda called out words of knowledge of dozens of different ailments.  He then would have them take a step of faith and test out that area of the body that was ill.  Then something I will never forget happened; you could hear shouting and commotion coming from different sections of the crowd.  You would see crutches and braces rise above the crowd as people were being healed!  If someone received a healing in their body evangelist Kolenda asked them to come forward to testify.  Each night of the crusade there were incredible testimonies of those who received a healing touch from Jesus…

Notable miracles at this CfaN Gospel crusade…

 I was standing on the platform and I saw a young man come up to testify.  He was standing to my right just a few feet away from me.  Tears were streaming down his face and you could tell that he had just received a touch from Jesus.  He came forward to share.  As it turns out this young man never spoke a word in his life!  He was dumb from birth.  The first word that came out of his mouth was “JESUS!”  It was glorious!

The young man in this picture was dumb from birth, and spoke for the first time in his life at the crusade! Jesus is the healer!

Other notable miracles…

Man who was deaf for 23 years in his left ear was healed.

Baby who was deaf and blind was healed. The baby could clearly see and respond to sound.

Man who had a tumor for 14 years had found that it had vanished.

A woman testifying of her healing…

There was great rejoicing as people received a healing touch from Jesus!

The last night of the crusade the President of Burundi invited us to his home for dinner as his special guests. Many delegates and government officials were present as well.  It was a huge celebration as to what God had done at the crusade.  The President asked Daniel Kolenda to share with everyone present.  He shared about the resurrection power of Jesus.  Before dinner started the President asked Evangelist Kolenda, and Peter Van Den Berg to lay hands on him and bless him and the country of Burundi.

CfaN leadership, the President of Burundi (center) and his family, and I

The President of Burundi and his wife with Daniel & Rebekah Kolenda

Having dinner at the Presidents house with my good friend Mica-El Mumba

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda preaching a clear gospel message the last night of the crusade with 200,000 people present

My lens was not wide enough to get a full picture of the crowd… 200,000 people present. 1 of 3

Crowd shot…. 2 of 3

Crowd shot… 3 of 3

Over this 4 night gospel crusade a total of  313,550 people gave their lives to Jesus, filled out a decision card, and have now been ushered into the church follow up system!   CfaN partners with local churches of all different denominations, and the local churches always explode with new converts. Over 50% of the CfaN crusade budget goes towards follow up! Only eternity will tell the full impact this ministry has made for the Kingdom. All glory to JESUS!

 

CfaN Burundi, Africa gospel crusade… part 2

Crowd shot on the last night of the crusade.

This gospel crusade included a three-day fire conference in the morning for all the pastors and church leaders in the surrounding area.  Peter Van Den Berg, the Vice–President of CfaN, and Evangelist Kolenda ministered at it. The leaders were encouraged and equipped to carry on the work of the gospel once the CfaN team left the area. The last day of the conference Evangelist Kolenda prayed for a fresh baptism in the Holy Spirit and many leaders and pastors were filled.  It was a powerful conference!  Daniel Kolenda asked my friend, Mica-El Mumba, and I to help him pray and lay hands on the pastors and leaders for a fresh touch from God.  It was an honor to pray for these precious leaders and pastors in this impoverished nation.

Peter Van Den Berg, the Vice–President of CfaN, ministering at the morning Fire Conference

At the morning Fire Conference praying for pastors with Evangelist Daniel Kolenda

After the morning fire conferences we had time for lunch and had a short break before we left for the evening service in the late afternoon.  We usually left for the night crusade around 3:30-4:00pm so that we could end the service on time.  There was a curfew in the city because of heightened rebel activity at night.  The President of Burundi offered us his personal security detail to use while we were there.  They followed us wherever we went and looked after us.  We didn’t have any security issues that I was aware of.

Lunch with Daniel & Rebekah Kolenda, Mica-El Mumba, and Peter Van Den Berg

Africans can be very superstitious.  Many of them grow up seeing the power of witchdoctors and have seen the supernatural first hand.  You don’t have to convince them of the supernatural; they already know that it’s a reality.  They are often given charms or amulets from witchdoctors and are told that it will bring them luck, good health, good fortune, and so on.  In reality by wearing these cursed items they are welcoming demonic spirits into their lives.  On the third night of the crusade we had everyone bring their charms and amulets that were prayed over by witchdoctors to the crusade so we could burn them.  There was great rejoicing as the witchcraft items were burned in a flaming barrel.

There was great rejoicing as witchcraft items were burned on the third night of the crusade.

Every night of this four night crusade Evangelist Daniel Kolenda preached a crystal clear gospel message.  He gave incredible illustrations that everyone could relate to, and he preached the gospel in power!  Every night of the crusade tens of thousands made a decision to make Jesus Lord.  The first night of the crusade there were 70,000 people present.  The crowd grew to 100,000 on the second night, and swelled to 150,000 on the third night!  People get radically born again- miracles and healings break out and they invite their friends to come and experience what God is doing!  I like what Reinhard Bonnke says, “When you preach the original gospel, you get the original results.”  The last night of the crusade there were 200,000 people present and ready to hear the good news of the gospel.

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda preaching a clear gospel message the second night of the crusade.

The crowd listening to a clear gospel message

Stay tuned for part 3…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CfaN Burundi, Africa gospel crusade… part 1

 

I recently got back from a CfaN gospel crusade in the country of Burundi, Africa in the capitol city of Bujumbura. Burundi is one the most impoverished nations in the world, and CfaN was led by the Holy Spirit to have a crusade there. Witchcraft had a heavy presence in the area, and people would often carry charms or amulets on them that were prayed over by witchdoctors.

The last night of the crusade there were so many people crammed into the front of the field, that it looked like someone could possibly suffocate. The ushers removed the barriers so the people could fill the space in the front of the platform. It looked like a sea of humanity as 200,000 people were present ready to hear the good news of the gospel. That evening, after the President of Burundi addressed the crowd, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda gave me time to preach the gospel.

The President of Burundi addressing the crowd

 

 

Panoramic of me ministering to 200,000 people on the last night of the crusade

Evangelist Kolenda told me to preach whatever God put on my heart so I lifted up the name of Jesus, built faith within the people, broke witchcraft curses, and preached on sin, repentance, and salvation through Jesus. About a minute into my message a small fight broke out in the crowd about 30 feet from the platform. A man started pushing people around him, and the people turned on him and started beating him with their shoes! I addressed the situation and within a minute or so they quieted down. It was definitely the craziest experience I have had preaching!

Preaching the gospel the last night of the crusade

 

It was such an honor to lift up the name of Jesus to so many people, and I’m extremely grateful to Evangelist Kolenda and Peter Van Den Berg for the opportunity. Just a few weeks before this crusade I had a prophetic word from a friend of mine that I would preach before Presidents and it happened that night! We serve a big God that is able to do abundantly beyond what we could ever ask for or dream of! After I preached I handed the microphone back to Evangelist Kolenda and he shared a powerful gospel message and prayed for the sick.

The President of Christ for all Nations, Daniel Kolenda, preaching a powerful gospel message (cfan.org)

Signs and wonders followed the preaching of the gospel and Evangelist Kolenda saw incredible miracles; deaf ears opened and cripples walked. The results that came back from that evening were astounding; 138,770 people gave their lives to Jesus in a single service! Afterwards, as I was thanking Evangelist Kolenda for giving me time to preach he told me, “Paul, this is only the beginning.”  This was a fulfillment of prophetic words that have been spoken over my life since 2003.

My good friend Mica-El Mumba, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda, and I on the last night of the crusade.

 

Part two coming soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHOCKING STATISTICS ABOUT THE AMERICAN CHURCH…

WHY IS THE AMERICAN CHURCH NOT THRIVING?                                                  

      

According to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, there are more than 600,000 ministers in the United States.  In America there is one Christian pastor for every couple hundred Americans.  For comparisons sake Muslim nations have one Christian leader for every 420,000!  It’s understandable why there are so few believers in these Muslim nations!  But with 600,000 ministers; what is wrong with American church?

If we have so many Christian leaders and ministers in America then why are not seeing more results?  Why are we not making a huge impact in our nation?  Where is the fruit?  If we are implementing heavens agenda and ideas in our churches and congregations then why are we not getting God results? If an idea truly came from heaven shouldn’t it be fruitful?  I think that there are a variety of factors to consider, but today I want to get what I believe is the root of the problem.

Consider the following shocking statistics about Christian leaders…

 

•70% of pastors constantly fight depression and regularly think about leaving the ministry

•In one survey 31.75% of clergy admitted they had sexual intercourse with a church member-who was not their spouse.

•Only 26% of pastors said they regularly had personal devotions

Read that last statistic again… only 1 out of 4 pastors pray and have devotions on a regular basis.  Let’s see what Jesus said about being fruitful for the kingdom.

In John 15:4 Jesus said…

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered…”

The only way to bear lasting fruit in your personal life and for the kingdom is to abide in Jesus.  Here lies the root of the problem! What these statistics tell us is that the majority of Christian ministers (74%) are not abiding in Jesus and therefore you can assume that those under their leadership are not abiding either; because you teach what you know, but you reproduce who are.  I believe you can often tell the condition of a congregation by looking at the spiritual lives of the pastors and leaders in that church.  I’m not writing this to be critical; I’m writing this as a wake up call to what this thing called Christianity is all about.  It’s not about programs, big buildings, and big budgets… it’s about KNOWING HIM.

There is a lack of intimacy with Jesus in the American church, which leads to a lack of hearing His voice, which leads to a lack of implementing heavens ideas and strategies, which leads to a lack of fruit.

And by fruit I’m not talking about numbers, or church goers giving Jesus lip service… I’m talking about authentically changed hearts and lives.  By fruit I am talking about giving people an encounter with Jesus.  When is the last time you felt the presence of God in a church service?  Not goose bumps or tingles; but the manifested presence of God?  I believe there are many believers that go their entire Christian lives with out ever experiencing the presence of God in a church setting.  We as ministers owe people an encounter with God.  This is how lives are changed for eternity; when people experience Him.

Many Christians leaders say they are abiding, but when you take a look at their priorities and what they value; prayer is often found at the bottom of the list. We teach it much more than we practice it.  We are professionals when it comes to busyness and getting things done, but we are amateurs when it comes to spending time in the secret place of prayer.  The sad reality is that Christian leaders who are not spending time in the secret place are giving their people moldy bread.  Christ said, “give us today our daily bread.” Mt 6:11

“It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God’s children starving while actually seated at the Father’s table.” –A.W. Tozer

Just like the manna in Exodus 16 was only good for day and then it went bad; Every day we need fresh bread from heaven for ourselves and for those we lead in ministry.  We owe it to the people to bring them a fresh word from heaven and not a piece of moldy, stale bread.

The month after 9/11/01 could have been one of the churches greatest hours.  Every church was packed full of scared, hungry people looking for answers.  Seekers came to find Jesus and instead experienced dead religion.  They heard doctrine but they didn’t experience what their heart craved.  Consider the words of A.W. Tozer in his classic work, “The Pursuit of God.”

 “There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy.”

After 9/11 the lost came to church but they quickly left.  The truth is that the Spirit has left the building because we stopped abiding.  Many of those searching for truth after 9/11 saw withered, dried out branches that were not connected to the vine. -Jn 15:6

The reason for those shocking statistics you read earlier is because those pastors and leaders stopped abiding.  They disconnected themselves from the vine.  They were all around the river, but they didn’t jump in.

The enemy knows that if he can keep us from the secret place he has nothing to worry about; no true lasting fruit will come from our lives or ministries.  

When you abide in Jesus it doesn’t matter what comes your way; No sickness, death, tragedy, or hardship can stop you when you abide in Him.  We WILL go through difficult things in this life.  Jesus said trials and tribulations will come and the only way to get through these without being bitter, disillusioned, and defeated is to stay connected to the vine.  When we are in Him, and He is in us, we can have a peace and a joy that goes way beyond our circumstances.

This is what I believe the Holy Spirit is saying to the American church in this hour…“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Rev 3:17  We should take the advice from Jesus and buy Gold from him. Rev 3:18

The only thing that can fix the church is Jesus, and He tells us the answer; “abide in me.”  Apart from Him we can do nothing.

If this blog was a blessing to you please share it…

Paul

 

Thoughts on pain, suffering, and atheism…

The past 6 months I have talked to more atheists than I have in my entire life.  It seems like they are popping up everywhere.  I’ve had some really interesting conversations and I wanted to give you an insight from these discussions.

I’ve observed that…

Most atheists don’t believe in God because they have an offense towards Him.  They refuse to believe in a “God” that would be so unkind towards humanity.  

Either they have an offense towards God personally or they know someone else that had an offense, and it has affected them.  It’s one thing to be an atheist, but it’s another thing to poison people’s minds with your version of a distorted reality.

We all filter life through our previous experiences, for better or for worse.

Not long ago I had a conversation with an atheist from Europe.  He didn’t know much about Christianity, but he told me that he had a hard time believing that a loving God that would let 5 members of his family pass away within a 2 year period of time.  My heart went out to him because I could relate- my own father passed away in a tragic car accident when I was a teenager.  Throughout my life I have seen countless people blame God for the bad things that happen to them and their loved ones.  

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (Jn 10:10)

Jesus came to bring life and life more abundantly

Satan would love for us to blame God for everything that he does.  He would love to separate us from the one thing that can bring us the freedom that we need!  The truth is that we live in a fallen… sin filled world.  This is why bad things happen to good people.  This was never God’s intention.  In the book of Genesis 1:31 we read that God made the the heavens and the earth and “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”  God delegated authority to mankind to govern and manage the affairs of the earth.  To put it lightly Adam and Eve really screwed things up.  They disobeyed God and brought sin into the human race.  Now a world that was perfect was full of sin and death.  It’s not God’s fault that the world is so screwed up, it’s humanity’s.

“One of satan’s biggest tactics is to get us to blame God for his actions.  He would love for us to question the character and nature of God.”

I have heard it a million times… “If God is a God of love then why did my loved one die from cancer?  If God is a loving God why are there starving people all over the world?”  I am sure that you have heard similar statements.

“If we don’t understand what the nature and character of God is we can easily be offended by the hurts of life.”

People are interesting.  We hate pain and suffering.  We are very limited in our understanding of God, and who He is,  and out of our lack of understanding we end up blaming Him for things that He never did.  So many people end up making their own version of God in their minds (which is idolatry) because they can’t deal with their version of reality.  The way to not get offended with God is to understand His character and who He is.

If you want to know the nature and character of God… look to Jesus, He was the perfect reflection of the Father.

Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”  In John 10:30 Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.”  If we study the life and person of Jesus we will see the perfect picture of our Heavenly Father and His personality.

I can relate to pain, suffering, and grief.  When I was 16 years old my father died in a sudden and tragic car accident.  This left my large family with no support system.  It was the time in my life that I really wanted my dad to be involved.  I had gone through a rebellious stage and had recently made my heart right with God.  My fathers death was the most difficult thing I’ve ever been through in my entire life.

I had a choice.  I could blame God, be offended, and hate Him… or I could choose to trust Him with things that I didn’t understand.  I chose to trust Him.

It was an extremely difficult season in my life, but I never blamed God.  I remember during that time that I could physically feel people praying for me, and the church was really there for us.  To me, this felt like God’s loving embrace being extended towards my family and I.

Since my father passed away the Lord has sent numerous mentors and men of God into my life to make up for my father’s absence.  I know first hand that God is truly a Father to the fatherless.  I still have questions as to why it had to happen, and I am sure that I will have these questions the rest of my life, but I chose to trust Him with the things that don’t make sense.  I know His nature and character and I know that He is good.

God is truly a father to the fatherless

Just like our loving Father comforted me… He wants to comfort you.  Open your heart to Him.  Make the decision today to give your offense to God, and trust Him with your heart and your life.  We have a loving Father that deeply cares about even the smallest details of our lives.

Paul