What is God Most Interested In?

To find out what God is most interested in regarding our lives and situations is a huge key in accomplishing our mission.

In the past year, I have had two very strong prophetic experiences where seasoned prophets who knew nothing about me spoke directly from the heart of God to me... they read my mail!  One was from India and gave me the prophetic prayer in Malaysia and the other was from Holland and gave me the prophetic prayer in the Philippines.

As I have been contemplating what God has spoken to me through these experiences and through other direct and indirect communications He has been sending me, the one thing that hit me this morning is not what was in the messages, but what was not.

The Lord has literally been ignoring some of my questions.  In the case of the Dutch guy who prophesied over me just last Monday, I had been asking God very specific questions during the worship service and about 75% of them were answered in the prophecy.  It went something like this.  "You have been asking ___________ and the Lord is saying ______________."  It was very specific.  But yet 25% of what I asked was ignored.  On purpose  :-)

So what has been missing?  What questions are being ignored by the Lord?  He has told me very little about the ministries and the Church that I oversee.  That is, He is not giving me any new information at the moment even though I am asking Him.

Instead, He has been focusing on me, personally.  Telling me to keep developing, keep growing, keep going, look at the big picture, don't get stuck, stay light on my feet and so much more.

To me, that seems weird.  I would assume that the Lord would be much more interested in the ministries that I oversee than me personally.  After all, the well being of many people is at stake!  But that is where my human mind-set is wrong.  God is always more interested in the minister than in the ministry.  In the person and His personal relationship with them than He is in what they do, even if what they do is for Him.  The ministries are His responsibility and He really is in control.

He wants me to focus on growing my character, my capacity, my intimacy with Him!  If I will continue to work on my relationship with the Lord, the natural out-flow of that will be that I am more able to help others!

Is God concerned about the Church I Pastor?  The other ministries?  Absolutely!  But it would be a mistake for me to think that I am irreplaceable and it would be a mistake to work on the Church more than to work on me.

What is God Most Interested In?  Every single person individually.  Every single one is precious to Him and He doesn't look at them primarily grouped in Fellowships.  He reaches each one.  Does He use a ministry to reach an individual?  Yes!  But the point always will be to reach the individual.  Not just to grow a group.

Now I do want to clarify.  There are times that God does speak to me about the specific ministries. Our whole mission and all of our goals are based exclusively on having heard from Him.  But those issues are not as important and the communication about them is not as regular as about my personal relationship with Him.  They are not as important as God's individual plan and communication for each person.

My final thought that I hope to drive home is this.  Could it be that what is getting in the way of many people moving forward in God, an over emphasis or too high of a priority on ministry rather than on relationship?  I believe so!

We need Funding.. Would you Partner with Us?

Hi everyone!  Sometimes I feel like the guy shipwrecked on the deserted island, throwing the message in a bottle out into the vast ocean, hoping that someday, someone will read it.  Or actually, even more so, I feel like the Apostle Paul, out on a missionary journey, writing yet another letter, marveling at the fact that God has been faithful but at the same time explaining that I have learned how to be content during the miracle moments of high provision and the other times when I have to do very normal types of things to survive like writing fund raising letters.  It's hard to imagine the Apostle Paul, one of the greatest men to ever live, having to make tents or make appeals for funds, but he did...

This has been an amazing year!  The ministries are doing very well, the church is thriving, organizing, uniting, maturing, growing!  The outreach efforts in their various forms are doing very well.  Every week, dozens of people are touched and impacted with the love of Jesus in homes, offices and public areas!

Personally, I haven't been so happy and content since I was a kid.  My marriage to Amy has been wonderful!  She brings so much peace and stability into our home and has become a partner in every area of life both to me and also to Ethan who is now 14.  We will celebrate our one year anniversary on March 07.  Thank you for your kind love and show of support.  I cannot explain to you how much it means to receive the messages of kind words from you which are like anti-oxidants to my soul!  Though the numbers of negative jabs we receive have been many, your kindness far over-powers the attempts by the enemy to discourage.  God is great!

The challenge that we have is that the fuel light is blinking red on our dash.  We are about out of gas.  I look on the horizon and I don't see a filling station anywhere in sight, but God sent a message to me from a trusted prophetic lady minister from Bangalore (India) saying, "I have instructed my people to give, once again, to the ministry that I have entrusted to you.  Raise the banner.  Send out the message.  They will give."  So, I trust the Lord.  Here goes!

As missionaries, our support comes from the Lord through His faithful people who give offerings.  Sometimes that comes when I guest speak and other people just send funds as they are led, either monthly or occasionally or one time.

Many of our previous supporters have dropped off in the last couple of years.  Some are now with the Lord, others are now under-employed or their businesses are not doing well.  Things are pretty tough everywhere including in the States.  We are left with 2 consistent supporters.  One Church in Tacoma, Washington which faithfully sends $230 a month and one couple who sends $50 bi-monthly.  That's $330 per month. 

Our budget isn't large.  We could really use $1,200 a month or as close to it as we can get.  That covers most everything.  Housing, food, fuel & transportation, electricity, utilities, school expenses for Ethan and incidentals.  It of course doesn't cover things like emergencies or medical, but we have a private Physician named Jesus! 

Calculate with me and you will see that what I'm looking for is $870 per month in support.

Would you be so kind as to consider the possibility of doing something?  A one-time gift?  A monthly amount?  Something large?  Something small?  It doesn't matter how much you can do, God takes small things and makes them big!  If all you can do is $20, please don't feel bad about that.  $20 pays for gasoline for an entire week!  That's a tremendous help that propels us to the places God sends us!  But if you can do more, that would be greatly appreciated as well!

Thanks for your kind consideration!

The best way to send funds to us from America is through our good church friends in Tacoma, Washington.  They issue all the donors a tax deductible receipt and they get the funds to us within a week.  For those in other countries who don't require a USA tax deduction, there are faster and more direct ways to send to us including Xoom, Western Union, Bank Transfer and more.  Please contact me directly to coordinate at pastorstevemckinney@gmail.com.

Abundant Life Fellowship

5917 South Thompson Ave

Tacoma, WA 98408

USA

- Make checks payable to "Abundant Life Fellowship"

- Include a note and write in the memo section, "Steve McKinney"

Check them out at www.alfellowship.org or call Pastor Rick at (253) 472-3600

Place Everything in God's Hands

I recently preached for a week-end at an amazing church in Singapore, Eternal Life Assembly.  The fantastic Lead Pastor is Bob Lum who also serves as the Assistant General Superintendent of the the Singapore Assemblies of God.  This is the Sunday morning service.  Eternal Life Assembly is celebrating it's 49th year which means they are completing 7 cycles of 7 years.  We call this a "Sabbath's Sabbath!"  And so this year for them has to do with Sabbath Rest and this sermon describes true rest not as sleeping or relaxing, but as placing everything in the hands of God.  The first 45 minutes are the sermon and the rest of the video is a time of response and worship.  The intro is by Pastor Bob and the worship at the end is with the mightily anointed Worship Pastor Daphne Lau on keyboards.  

In addition to the main text of  Hebrews 4, I also tie in the stories of Jericho and of the Loaves and Fish as examples of resting in Jesus.  Enjoy!

"You Are Like a Veggie Tale"

I preached in Singapore recently for a Church for a special week-end as they embark on their 49th year in ministry.  A "Sabbath's Sabath."  That's 7 times 7 and a very significant time leading into the Jubilee that the Bible speaks of where debts are canceled, slaves are freed, etc.  Exciting!

We had a wonderful and impactful time.  A few days later, I was still in Singapore, preparing to go to Jakarta for the next week-end of ministry.  One of the Church families invited me to an amazing dinner.

During the dinner, the daughter in the family asked me, "do you know Veggie Tales?"  I responded that I know Veggie Tales very well as my youngest son Ethan watched them for years, often in the car as I drove and so I know the sound of Veggie Tales more since I wasn't watching, but listening.

Then she said, "Did you know that you are like a Veggie Tale?"  Before I could answer, and because something got stuck in my throat at that very moment due to being startled, she further explained, "I'm not the only one who thinks so."

I was imagining the characters by this point... the tomato, the cucumber, and for some reason, even the annoying orange who is not even a veggie tale!  I said, "Which one do I remind you of?"  She told me that I don't remind her of one in particular...  she said, "all of them."

What I surmised is that after a service, after one of my times preaching, that she and at least one other person if not a small group, talked and decided that I'm not like Billy Graham or Francis Chan or Jentezen Franklin or Steven Furtick or like any of the other preachers that I wouldn't mind being thought of as similar to, but that I am like a Veggie Tale.  Hmmmmm!

That would be like telling a boxer that instead of them reminding them of Ali or Frazier or another one of the greats, you my friend are like a cartoon vegetable!  Wow!  Impressive!

As she continued to talk, I found out that this young lady (in her 20's) meant this statement as a high compliment.  She had only recently discovered Veggie Tales and now had become an avid fan of the series and was in the process of collecting everything she could get her hands on.

And so I started to feel better. Much better..  It was a compliment!

What she went on to say is that the way that I speak with enthusiasm and emphasis in a way that is understandable and interesting.  OK, that's pretty good.

After some introspection and discussion with the Lord about this, I have concluded that if God made me to shine for Him in such a way that I could be compared to a Veggie Tale, then so be it!

I thank God for His ways of helping us to keep perspective.  If all of us try to copy one person and one person alone, Jesus Christ, we will maintain our individuality of how we have been created and become the same in the ways that we are similar to Jesus.

The moral of the story is this.  I was exposed and wrong to have wanted, even in the back of my mind, to be compared to any other minister of the gospel.  I should only want to be compared to one person, Jesus Christ Himself!

Now if someone does seem to think that I remind them of some-one or some-thing along the way, as long as I'm trying to be like Jesus, well then, I suppose that is OK...

Ephesians 5:1-2(NLT)
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

The Risk of Caring for Hurting People

Ministry, at least for some including me, is kind of like being a warden on a wildlife preserve.  You are there serving because of a deep love for beasts that in an instant can rip you to shreds with one claw, let alone two paws full.  With compassion, you do your best to protect them from poachers and help them to have the best lives possible while at the same time are careful not to be devoured by them.  Tranquilizer guns are often used against an attacking animal so as not to kill it while defending yourself from sure death.

I like the often told fable of the Lion with the thorn in his paw that he couldn't get out on his own.  A human comes along and risks his life to get it out.  Can you imagine the increase in the pace of your heart beat if you were to take on such a task?  To remove a thorn from a Lion's paw, a paw that is almost the size of your head?  You would have to be wondering as you are getting that thorn out, if the Lion will respond with thanks or will he turn on you and snuff your life out?!

I suppose that the answer is that the reaction will depend on which Lion you happened upon!  It could go either way and it is a risk!

I've had all reactions.  There have been people who I have helped to deal with the situations in their life respond with gratitude, others have responded with indifference and some have turned on me to try and kill me. Some have done two or even all three over a period of time!

Love has to be the motivation.  Love so strong that a person is willing to lay down his life for that one who is in need even if the one to attack you is the very one you are helping.  This kind of love is only possible when our love is made complete by having a true love relationship with Jesus Christ.  A love with Jesus that is so strong that it comes from our marriage to Him and our shared love for others with Him.  Many are called to care, but few are chosen.  There are several reasons why and this is one of them.

Sometimes when I have been beaten, bruised, dishonored and attacked, I want to play it safe... withdraw... put up a wall.  But then I find that I become ineffective in ministry.  Thorns stay in paws, people remain harassed and the enemy is not deflected.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be careful.  Of course, a tranquilizer gun is a necessary accessory and if a person has been identified as one who is definitely going to try to destroy you, then you should not place yourself in their line of fire.  But we do need to be willing to get as close as possible to those in need, to spend time when it's not convenient or fun.

We do have to be willing to take calculated and loving risks.

In our Church in Manila, our theme song for the year is "Spirit Touch Your Church."  One of the lines says "I want to care for others, like Jesus cares for me."


John 15:13 (NLT)  "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

Jesus laid down His life for His friends.  That means those who would obey His Word.  That means those who would have a personal relationship with Him and spend eternity with Him.  But He did it for everyone even before they were His friends.  We need to be the same way.  Lay our lives down for those who will become friends of Jesus.

Is Our Worship "Just Singing?"

Songs of worship have a distinct sound. And it’s not always about the words, though definitely a worship song should be exalting God. But sometimes even when the words are right, it doesn’t really sound like there truly is worship going on. It’s also not always about the style of the music. It has little to do with whether there are drums or if it is fast or slow or if there is a pipe organ playing. It’s more about what is there or what is missing in the hearts of the worshipers.

When Moses and Joshua were up on the mountain having an experience with God which included getting the original set of the 10 commandments, God told them they had better get back down the mountain to the camp because the people had lost control of themselves and had made a golden calf and were indulging in revelry.

As they approached the camp, Joshua and Moses had a conversation.

Exodus 32:17-18 (NIV)
When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat: it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

Interesting. What Moses heard was JUST SINGING. It wasn’t worship, it wasn’t the blues, it wasn’t like one of the old spirituals like “Swing Low” which cries out for Gods help… it was literally NOTHING. No substance. It sounded powerful and war-like which our worship sometimes needs to be, but there was no power. EMPTY.

These people were so energetic that it sounded like warfare. They weren’t just singing… they were shouting. Remember the context. They had just bowed down to a golden calf and had even made sacrifices to it followed by revelry which probably included drinking and dancing. But it was all done in a seemingly proper way in the context of how other nations worshiped their gods which was what the Israelite s wanted to emulate. Aaron had told them that the golden calf represented God. The calf was supposedly symbolic of God. The problem is that this completely opposed the way God wanted to be known and worshiped. He had told them that He was to always remain the “unseen” God. He said to never make “graven images” about anything to worship including Him. This is why committed followers of Jesus who follow His word don’t worship paintings of Him, statues of Him or of any other disciples, patriarchs, saints or anyone else. Because when we do, we commit the same sin of worshiping a golden calf. We aren’t even supposed to worship the cross. Is it ok to have a cross around your neck or at the front of the church? Sure! Just don’t worship it or think there is any power in that emblem. Your power only comes through a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

This is why Paul encourages us in 2 Corinthians 4:18 to only focus our eyes on things that are unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.

I have been in worship services that are marked by the presence of God and I have been in services that were empty. Sometimes the best services had terrible music because the sound system wasn’t great and the talent of the leaders wasn’t up to the level of others. But it was really from a heart that is committed to Jesus. I’ve been in some services that were awesome with incredible sounds, lights, talent that could be on an album and there was just an emptiness.

On a side note, I’m not saying that it is ok to have inferior worship. The Bible also instructs us to develop our skills and to sing and play instruments with excellence, but the condition of the heart is the most important thing.

What I want is worship that isn’t just singing. I want it for myself and I want it for the assembly that I pastor! I want worship that is marked with the presence and power of God! Worship that pleases God and transforms us!

So what do we need to do? We need to worship Jesus from a heart that burns for Him. We need to do what it takes to be in relationship with Him, communication with Him while we are worshipping. It takes repentance to do this. Asking God to forgive us of our sins, allowing the Holy Spirit to search us and to show us the changes that we need to make. This kind of worship requires us to reject the “just singing along” mentality. Because if we are just singing along, then it is probably JUST SINGING.

To Teach or Not to Teach the Tithe

This is a huge question that every ministry must answer for themselves.  I know Pastors who have chosen to never even mention the Tithe and stop taking offerings, only setting up boxes around the facilities to collect funds.  I know others who not only continue to pass the bags around via ushers, but they do a mini-teaching about giving literally every Sunday.  I think that neither of those approaches are biblically wrong but that it would depend on where the church is and on what type of environment they need to establish to reach their targeted audience.

I have been on a journey with this.  For many years now, I never mentioned the word “tithe” and only encouraged giving.  This, until recently when God literally spoke to me one afternoon when I was praying to Him about some financial concerns.  He said, “you are giving too much alms.”  Now alms is not a term that I would normally use, but it is a term that I am familiar with and I know exactly what it means.  It means money given to the needy or poor.

I had been giving quite a bit of money to people in need to the point that I had not been giving much in the actual collection at church.  I had in my mind, figured that as long as I’m giving, as long as I’m being led by the Spirit in it (assuming I really was being led), that all giving was lumped into one big category.  And I justified this with the argument that tithing isn’t even mentioned in the New Testament and more.  Now I was giving well over 30% of my income, but almost all of it in alms.

So why was I so loose in my interpretation of giving and why had I not been teaching tithing in the Church?  It is because I was intentionally being careful not to cause people to give reluctantly or under compulsion so that they would give what they have decided in their heart to give because God loves it when we give cheerfully.  That is New Testament.  Read about it in 2 Corinthians 9.

I also have this firm belief that if people are led by the Holy Spirit, that they don’t even need to worry  about details because the Holy Spirit will take care of those things for you.  I still believe that.  The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit brings life.  That’s scripture too!

However, I have come to realize that very few people including myself are nearly as Spirit led as often as we would like to think.  And so the law is there for us to check ourselves to see if we are actually being led by the Spirit.  Jesus said this:

Matthew 5:18 - "I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear; neither a period nor a comma will disappear from the Scriptures before everything has come true."

Jesus was saying, and I invite to you read the full scripture in Matthew 5, that He did not come to replace the Old Testament Law, but to fulfill it. He additionally said that we need to be even more righteous than the Pharisees. The Holy Spirit helps us, but that does not do away with the details of the law.

Here’s an example.  Last Sunday, the offering bag passed me before I had a chance to get my money out.  The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Quick!  Go put 1k pesos in!”  So I ran up 2 rows and quickly threw 1k pesos in.  Later, I calculated and realized that 600 pesos of it had been tithe and the additional 400 pesos was seed offering.  The Holy Spirit led me to give the tithe and the offering.  When the Spirit leads you and then you check if it was according to the Word, then you know you were truly led by the Spirit and not by your own idea, agenda, or suggestion of some strange origin (like YouTube teachings).

In my research, I discovered that there are four primary ways that we can give.  The Tithe, First Fruits, Alms and Seed Offerings.  Tithe is the one that is dealt with in Malachi and other places that shows us that if we will give God back the first 10% of what He has entrusted to us, which belongs to Him, that He will rebuke the devourer for us.  Since it is His to begin with, it is not seed.  First Fruits work the same way Tithe does but applies more to income that is not regular like a bonus or a deal or an inheritance.  Alms are given to the poor and the interesting thing about the Alms is that the Word of God shows us that there is a very low “rate of return” on it.  You will get back what you gave, dollar for dollar, peso for peso.  There is no increase or multiplication on alms to the poor.  (Proverbs 19:17)  Should you give alms?  Yes!  Of course!  And you will be repaid.  But should you give alms in place of Tithes?  Absolutely not!  That would be a huge mistake!  A mistake that I was making.  It would mean that the devourer has access to your finances!  The seed giving has to do with planting the Word of God.  (Matthew 13 shows us this principle)  When you give to the Work of the Lord…  things that actually bring about an evangelistic harvest  (giving to the Red Cross wouldn’t apply because they don’t share the Gospel), then there is a multiplication that happens.  This is why people who give in every way end up being so blessed!  They have multiplication!  The Tithe and the First Fruits protects, the Alms get re-paid and cause us to be more Christ-like and the Seed spreads the Gospel and multiplies!

So I had to change.  I had to realize that unless I was teaching this, that the people in the Church I pastor were not really being led by the Spirit in this and they were falling prey to the devourer.  In the past several weeks, I have been teaching the Tithe and the ways of giving.  I have encouraged people to become intentional in their giving.  Of course, I still make sure to teach in a way where they are not feeling pressured, only invited by the truth of what God’s Word teaches.

The results have been amazing!  People are experiencing blessing!

So for me, I have gone from a person who never even mentioned the Tithe, to a person who happily encourages it.   I have changed!  J

Just a caution for those Pastors who will read this.  Some people will not like it and they will leave.  Let them leave.  These are the ones that will find any way they can to make excuses not to follow God’s Word and this is just the tip of the ice berg of their problems.  If they will submit to God’s Word on this, then they will on other issues as well.  If they won’t on this, they will remain stubborn and un-changing in other areas of their lives too.  It’s a big deal.  Don’t be afraid to stand firm with God’s Word.