Elijah Ministries - Coming Soon

Attention Families in Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois

I will be speaking at a family conference hosted by the Straight Shooters Christian Sportsmen in Monroe, WI on April 17-19. If you would like to attend, you may contact Mike Rhoe at 608-558-7620 or mdrhoe2@charter.net.

Attention Fathers/Sons in Ohio

CHEO of Ohio is sponsoring its annual Men of Vision Conference at Ohio Christian University in Circleville on Feb. 21 from 8:30-6:00. You can register on-line at www.cheohome.org. Come and join us!

Check my speaking schedule at www.spiritofelijah.com/speakingschedule for events in your area.

Chariot February 2009 - Norm Wakefield  

Reality Check: It's Not About You -Part 4

How often have you heard of a couple contemplating the destruction of their family by getting a divorce? Are you as amazed and grieved as I am when you hear of the self-centeredness of their rationalizations for taking such a course of action? When I hear of these cases, I can't help but think they need a reality check: Life isn't all about you!

How easy it is to zero in on the problems of others and miss my own need of a reality check, or even more necessary, a series of reality checks. Such is the goal of this series of articles in The Chariot of Fire. If this is the first article you are reading in this series, I invite you to read or listen to the first three at www.spiritofelijah.com/chariot. Thus far, we've considered four reality checks. They are:

� The saving work of God through the gospel is not about you.

� The only way to live is in a manner worthy of the gospel.

� Do you realize the powerful affect your life has on others?

. Are you creating a gospel culture of unselfishness?

This series of articles comes from a new series of messages, Reality Check: It's Not About You. Hopefully, the series will be available in the next month or so. In the mean time, let's continue our study in Philippians by looking more intently at the fourth important reality check.

Reality Check Four: Are you creating a gospel culture of unselfishness?

Another way of facing this reality check is to ask the question this way: Are you creating a new culture worthy of the gospel of Christ? That's how the Apostle Paul put it to the Philippians in 1:27. "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." The only way to live in a manner worthy of the gospel is to live selflessly.

Let's remind ourselves of the gospel that Paul had in mind when he wrote, "the gospel of Christ." Last month, I described two primary parts to Jesus' gospel from Matthew 4:17 and Luke 9:23. The first could be summarized this way: Life is not about you; it's about the kingdom of heaven. The second primary message was and is: Life is not about yourself, but about Jesus. That's why he told them not to do anything "from selfishness or empty conceit." This helps us understand that to live for self is to be anti-Christ. To live for the sake of the gospel of Christ is to be anti-self.

The ungospel mindset focuses on self.

According to the elementary principles of this world, self reigns as god. The self-life is praised and encouraged. Self-ambition, self-significance, self-actualization, self-protection, self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-help, self-expression, self-assured, self-educated, self-improvement, self-knowledge, self-made, self-realization, self-respect, and self-sufficient are just a few of the characteristics of self considered to be positive by most people in the world. From God's viewpoint, anything of self but self-denial and self-mortification empowered by the Holy Spirit are anti-Christ. Even self-denial and self-mortification done for the glory of self-righteousness are evil and not worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Self is the ultimate anti-Christ.

Self has the false notion that he is God. He considers equality with God an entitlement. He thinks he is always right and can do anything he pleases. Self is offended if not given first consideration in all affairs by everyone. Like the beast with seven heads and ten horns described in the book of Revelation by the Apostle John, he blasphemes God by declaring himself equal with God in perfection (7) and power (10). The destruction and evil caused by self throughout the world and throughout history make Hitler's and Stalin's atrocities pale in comparison. In fact, self was on the throne causing the blackest events in the history of mankind.

Self (a.k.a. pride or flesh) and the result of original sin have left its mark on the thinking (forehead) and actions (hands) of every person. If it were not for the powerful, liberating, self-destroying work of Christ at the cross, no one could escape self's tyranny. In fact, no one would want to! They would loyally and whole-heartedly serve self never realizing that in reality they serve Satan, self's head.

Self is Satan's agent-in-place.

You've probably heard the espionage term mole, referring to an agent who penetrates, gains acceptance in, and functions at the highest levels of the enemies' intelligence community for the purpose of gathering information and releasing false information. Self is Satan's mole. Every mole has a "handler", someone who communicates secretly with him and encourages him to defect. However, the handler doesn't want the mole to leave his place in the intelligence system. He is more useful as an "agent-in-place" to bring about the defeat of the enemy. For security purposes, usually the mole does not know the true identity of his handler.

Imagine an enemy of the United States securing the allegiance of a politician in his early years, leaving him "in-place" and that politician becoming President of the United States. He becomes president by promising those who worship self what self wants. If the majority of voters worship self, then he wins the election. Once in power, he then promotes destructive policies. Reality check! This is our country's worst nightmare!

Imagine again with me that an enemy of Christ and the church is looking for defectors whom he can use as agents-in-place to destroy the name of Christ and His people. How does he do this? He presents an "ungospel" that appeals to self-preservation, self-respect, and self-expression. In this "ungospel", the false god is presented as bowing to self's decisions and desires because he loves the world so much and offers eternal happiness and self-fulfillment. The cross is presented as a testimony of this god's love for man so self will be convinced to worship him. Without realizing it, the adherents of this false religion bow at the altar of self while thinking they are saved and going to heaven. They are worshipping a false god created by self!

Another scenario troubles me greatly. Imagine that someone with the above "ungospel" becomes a pastor in a church. He has learned in seminary�in his church growth class�that he can successfully grow his church (thus his self-significance) by not preaching on certain subjects like sin, God's wrath, death to self, and the cross, but instead encouraging self-expression and tolerance of various lifestyles. He promotes policies and programs that emphasize how self-fulfilling it is to lay down one's self to serve God and others. This pastor praises and gives attention to people so they'll feel good about themselves and thus develop a loyalty to him. Reality check! This is the church's worst nightmare. The anti-Christ is building the church!

Let's get the big picture. Satan is at war with God. We've been told in God's Word that he has been defeated in the heavens and cast down to the earth (Rev. 12:9) where he continues to wage war against God by attacking His promises and His people (Rev. 12:17). An angry Satan knows his time is short, and he has been powerless to stop Jesus Christ from accomplishing His mission to save God's people and deliver them from his control (Rev. 12:12). At the cross, self's head, Satan, was fatally wounded, however, to the amazement of all, self still lives to fight another day (Rev. 13:3) and often even overcomes the saints (Rev. 13:7). Were it not that their names were written in the Lamb's book of life, self would have authority to kill God's people on the grounds of their selfishness (Rev. 13:8). Praise God for His grace and mercy through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Deliverer!

So we should not be ignorant of Satan's scheme (2 Cor. 2:11)! He has caused the heart of man to defect (by virtue of the original sin) and thus has secured an agent-in-place in mankind. The agent-in-place is self, but self doesn't know the identity of his handler. In fact, self is so caught up in self-deception that he thinks he is god because he holds the highest visible position in mankind. He bows to no one! The deception is further established on the earth because Satan creates countless gods and false religions�all of which blindly derive their origin from the worship of self. Self is Satan's scheme, his operating system, implanted in the souls of fallen mankind, which wages war against Christ. Self is the ultimate anti-Christ on the planet.

Practicing selfishness marks one as belonging to Satan.

Self was created in Satan's image. "Like father, like son" as the old saying goes. He counterfeits deity in the soul of man thus blaspheming God. The flesh of man is addicted to power, prestige, and wealth for selfish gain and significance. In pride, he is hostile to God, and thus God has a sustained opposition to self. Therefore, the self-centered person is hostile in mind to God and engagement in evil deeds (Col. 2:21). This kind of living marks the identity of the sons and daughters of Satan.

Practicing unselfishness marks one as belonging to God.

Perhaps now you can see why Paul would say the only way to live in a manner worthy of the gospel is to do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Paul's boast in the cross and the gospel was grounded in this truth: Jesus exposed and destroyed Satan's and self's authority at the cross. Here's what he wrote to the Romans and Galatians.

Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with (made powerless), so that we would no longer be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6).

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

This is great news to all of us who have been overcome with selfish living. When you get up in the morning, who is the focus of your first thoughts? Who is the primary consideration as you go through your day? How much of your life up to this point have you lived for self? How many of your days have been spent trying to accomplish the missions the mole of self has sent you on? What are your chances of attaining righteousness before God if righteousness is never acting out of selfishness? In light of our answers to the questions above, what should God do with us? He should kill us!

That's exactly what Jesus went to the cross to do: put self to death and thus set us free from Satan's dominion. Self can't overcome self. There's only one way for self to be dealt with: death�for Jesus' sake�in His name. Therefore, the only way to live is to have the same mind as Christ when He came to earth. We'll consider Jesus' mindset, the gospel mindset, in subsequent articles. My goal has been to help us to come to grips with this fourth reality check: Are you creating a gospel culture of unselfishness? If you are a believer in Christ, it's the only way to live because it marks you as belonging to God and having been a participant in the gospel of Christ.

The significance of the cross: self died when Christ died.

The culture we want to create in our homes is a gospel culture, one that is worthy of Christ. One of the major themes of our parenting and discipling should be to teach and display the significance of the cross, namely, that when Christ died, He was putting to death the flesh, self, the progenitor of selfish living.

This fourth reality check should give us vision for everyday living and training of our children. Knowing that selfish living is anti-Christ should motivate us to instead be anti-self as we relate to our mates, children, parents, and brothers and sisters in Christ. To put off selfish living is to put off the old self. To put on Christ is to regard others as more important than ourselves and see that Christ is all and in all (Col. 3:11). He gets foremost consideration in every situation and relationship because we want to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel and create a gospel culture within us and around us. We want our children to see a glorious, gospel-worthy, Christ-exalting, cross-focused lifestyle.

Here are some questions to promote discussion in your family this month.

1. What evidence is there in your life that there is a mole in your command center?
2. Discuss how self protects its position and cover without being exposed.
3. What in us makes discovering and exposing self so difficult?
4. What could you do to encourage each other in the war against self?
5. Discuss how the imaginary situation of a mole becoming President of the U.S. relates to the spiritual reality.

Share these video clips with your friends and family...

We have started putting up short video clips from some of Norm's messages online at the links below. We will be posting new video clips from other messages every few weeks or so on a regular basis. Help spread the word by passing these links on to whomever you think might be interested. Thank you!

http://www.Godtube.com/Elijahministries

http://www.youtube.com/Elijahministries

Would you like to be on the Elijah Ministries Prayer Team?

The backbone of Elijah Ministries is the prayer team who pray diligently for God to turn the hearts of men to Himself, their wives, and their children. Before I leave to speak, I send out a prayer team invitation to those who will intercede for God to work for His glory in us as a team for the Kingdom. Not only is it a blessing to those whom I speak and myself; but it is also a reminder to the team about the direction of their own hearts. If you would like to enter into the labor together with me, you may go to my website and click on "Prayer Team".

Has Norm's Chariot or other resources been an encouragement to you? As a nonprofit organization, Elijah Ministries needs support from people like you in order to function. If God has ministered to you through Elijah Ministries and Norm Wakefield, would you consider supporting the work? You can do so here. (Elijah Ministries is a tax-deductible 501c3 and is financially accountable to an overseeing board of 8 non-paid members from around the country.)

The Chariot is also available as a podcast. You can automatically receive the Chariot each month in iTunes by subscribing here. (An RSS capable browser such as Internet Explorer 7 or Safari is required.)

If you haven't visited our website, www.spiritofelijah.com, please stop by sometime. You'll find:

*   Resources to equip you and your family

*   Previous Chariot articles

*   Norm's speaking schedule

*   Free MP3 downloads

*   Subscribe to the Chariot Podcast here. 

*   Various resources/pages translated and available in Spanish

*   An online store to purchase resources and make tax-free contributions by credit card

I invite you to be a part of the moving of the Spirit of Elijah in your church, community, and the world. How?

1.  Send this article to other men or families that you know would benefit from it. You might inform them of the previous articles available on-line at our website.

2.  Share resources from the Spirit of Elijah Ministries with others. If Equipping Men or Rising to the Call have been a blessing to you, then you know it will be beneficial to others. Either share your resources, tell them about the resources, or purchase a set or two as an investment in their lives.

3.  Share with others what you have learned and put into practice in turning your heart to God, your wife, and your children. If God has done this in you, then He wants to affect others through you.

4.  Join the Elijah Ministries email prayer team and make intercession for others that their hearts would be turned in revival to the Lord, their wives, and their children. This can be done on-line at www.spiritofelijah.com.

            Norm Wakefield
            Elijah Ministries
            P.O. Box 377
            Bulverde, Texas 78163
            830.980.5606
            info@spiritofelijah.com
            http://www.spiritofelijah.com

01.09

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