Special 50% Christmas Sale Thru Dec. 10th-All DVD/CD Sets and Select Books

    We are having a special 50% off sale on all DVD and CD sets and the Equipped to Love and Anchored in Christ books. Please consider supporting the ministry by giving some resources to someone for Christmas. Click here to see what's on sale.

    Also, my son Micah and his wife Holly are involved in a neat home business making framed Scripture calligraphy. There are hundreds of scriptures to choose from in different sizes that can be ordered on their website and they make great Christmas gifts as well. It's a great idea to put Scripture on your wall or desk to help you dwell on God's Word as you go through your day. Take a look here.   

Chariot November 2008 - Norm Wakefield  

Reality Check: It's Not About You - Part 2   

    Last month I began a series of articles with a goal to encourage and equip you to live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel. These messages come from a new series of messages entitled, "Reality Check! It's Not About You." which will be available in DVD, CD, and MP3 around the first of 2009. The reason we are in need of a reality check is that the culture we live in is me-centered. We've just had a presidential election outcome based on an entire campaign's premise that more people in the U.S. are concerned about themselves above everything else. Promises that the government will provide more to them at the expense of someone else appeal to selfish people. Like David's son, Absalom, he won the hearts of the people by offering them what they wanted. Contrary to the flood of selfish thinkers surrounding us, God's Word tells us that life is not about us.

There's only one way to live.

    The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian believers, "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27). The first word of this verse catches my attention�Only�there is no other way you should live. What is the only way to live? "In a manner worthy of the gospel" or "striving for the faith of the gospel" is the only way to live.

    Herein lies the first two reality checks. First, life isn't about you. Second, life is all about Jesus Christ. Do you live your life striving for yourself or do you live your life striving to live in a manner worthy of the gospel? Your answer to this question depends on whether you have been a spectator or a participant in the gospel.

Are you a participant in the gospel?

    Paul's foundational premise for telling his readers that living in a manner worthy of the gospel is the only way to live was this: God had begun working in their lives. Everything he wrote to the Philippians sprung from the fact that he had seen God's work in their lives�they had experienced the gospel. He called them "participants in the gospel."

    I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-6).

    Notice Paul had confidence in God's continued work in his readers. He observed God's beginning work in their hearts, the work of regeneration or salvation, therefore he was confident they would understand what he meant when he told them that the only way to live was in a manner worthy of the gospel. He knew they were not merely spectators of the gospel, they were participants in the gospel. By participants, Paul meant they were fellow sharers in the gospel. We might say they were sharing a common experience�the grace of God in saving them through the faith of Jesus Christ.

    Unfortunately, many people sit in churches today as spectators rather than participants in the gospel. The so-called worship service, which in most churches is almost entirely led and performed by a pastor and worship leader(s), promotes a spectator mentality which fosters a self-oriented, consumer attitude. Without realizing it, people don't assemble to express the life of Christ within them and validate the gospel, but instead attend a performance by musicians and speakers for their pleasure, enjoyment, and emotional consumption. Sadder still, the musicians and pastors may get caught up in the self-centeredness of the attendees to the point of making their having good feelings about their church experience the ultimate priority. In short, they may make church all about you! If that happens week after week, like children being trained by indulgent parents, the congregation becomes spoiled and trained to think going to church is all about them.

    This "all-about-me" attitude begins with what I call the ungospel�that which is proclaimed as the gospel, but really isn't the gospel. Let me explain. When someone evangelizes me by making an appeal for me to "accept Christ" and "invite Him into my heart" to be saved, he ultimately communicates that salvation is "all-about-me." I may mentally accept the historical facts given me and pray a prayer of invitation without God doing anything in my heart. In fact, that is exactly what happened to me when I was twelve.

My testimony of God's work in me.

    My father died that year, therefore my mind was filled with life, death, heaven, hell, and a desire to see my father again. When the minister visited our home and presented the Four Spiritual Laws to me, concluding with the invitation to accept Christ and invite Him into my heart, I was ripe�but for the wrong reason. I was told it was all up to me now.

    So I admitted I was a sinner (plenty of evidence for that), accepted the facts (undeniable history), prayed the prayer (he gave me the words to say), and was told I was saved. Being baptized the following Sunday, in my thinking, sealed the experience as being valid. I began to change the things in my life that I wanted to change. These were things I discovered made people happy and advanced my good feelings about myself. However, there were other things I didn't change�couldn't change. These were things that fed my selfish appetite for pleasure, glory, and self-expression.

    Life continued to be all about me for seventeen years. I grew more proud of my outward performance and reputation among church leaders and peers, yet more and more helpless and hopeless internally because of my inability to control my selfish lusts and the hidden destruction in my marriage. The more convicted I became of my sin and hypocrisy, the harder I tried to overcome, but to no avail. It was still all about me. I lived for myself: for my reputation, for my comfort and peace of mind, through my efforts to do the right thing and believe enough.

    Although I could see God's hand around me and with me, I could not see God's work in me. Why? Because it had not happened yet! I was merely a spectator of the gospel�watching, reading, and listening about others' experiences with Christ.         

    My ability to keep up the facade of self-righteousness while serving myself came to an abrupt halt when I was 29 years old�not by my choice, but by God's choice. After spouting off for hours to my brother-in-law about all the "spiritual" truth I had learned, God pulled back the veil between heaven and earth to let me see some of what He saw. It began with the loving, truthful reply of my brother-in-law. "Norm, I think it was shared out of pride and not life." It was as if God Himself spoke those words. My heart knew it was true, the Spirit of God bore witness to the truth, and there I was exposed before God. The conviction of sin hung on me like the smell permeates the carcass of a dead skunk. 

    That evening I couldn't eat, socialize, or function with my family. The presence of God was so strong I felt that if I stopped and looked up I would look straight into the face of the wrath of God. Although I was afraid because I knew I was going to die, I also felt drawn into His presence. Finally the power and presence of God was more than I could ignore or avoid. Closing the door to my bedroom, I fell on the floor, and with spiritual eyes for the first time looked into heaven.

    His presence was like a brilliant spotlight shining on my life, and I was aware of my pride before Him from the time I was a young boy to the present. Events, statements I had made, attitudes I had toward God and others flooded my mind by His grace. My heart responded with, "It's all true, and You know there's more. You see me, Lord. I am so proud, and I can't stop being proud."

    This experience was different than any other previous self-oriented attempts to do the right thing by confessing my sins to God. Instead of me telling Him about my sin, God told me about my sin. It felt like I was dying. Out of death to self rose repentance toward God. I didn't want my old life anymore.

    Then the flood light turned off of me and flooded the cross before me. For the first time in my life I was aware that my pride, my selfish pride, was known and willingly carried by Jesus to the cross. Scriptures of what Jesus accomplished at the cross echoed in my mind. As I envisioned the blood of Christ flowing down to the foot of the cross where I lay on the floor, the peace of God filled my heart and soul. I knew I was forgiven and free.

    After a period of peace and joy in Jesus' love and grace, the flood light turned back on me. Suddenly, my childhood and youthful lusts were before God and me. The shame and conviction weighed heavily as before. When I felt I could bear it no more and I was sin-sick, God graciously focused my attention on the cross again. His blood came down, forgiveness flowed, peace filled my heart, and His grace became the floor beneath my feet (Rom. 5:2).

    For three hours or more (time stood still in my mind) the process of conviction, humbling, breaking, repentance, forgiving, cleansing, and filling with His peace and presence was repeated. Lying, deception, hypocrisy, selfishness, anger, and many other sins of self were dealt with. I understood so little about what God was doing, but now I know what happened. God worked in my heart His glorious work of conviction of sin, repentance, and washed my heart with faith in the work of Jesus on the cross by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:9). God began a good work in my heart, making me a participant in the gospel. Another amazing gift of grace: God did the same thing in Alma's heart on the other side of the bed on the same night! Neither of us was aware of what God was doing in the other person until the next morning when we woke up in bed as new creatures in Christ.      

Reality Check: The saving work of God through the gospel is not about you.

    It's about God! A participant in the gospel is someone who has experienced the work of God in his or her heart and life. The saving work of God is observable as a testimony to you and to others. I'm not suggesting that to be saved everyone has to have an encounter with Christ through a powerful vision such as God gave me. However, I am saying that everyone must have an encounter with God where the revelation is so powerful that it produces an observable death to self and life to God.         

    That's why Paul wrote in verse 27 that he hoped to hear they were of one mind and striving together for the sake of the gospel. It is not possible to live in a manner worthy of the gospel if one hasn't participated in the gospel work of God. Without the supernatural, experiential work of the Holy Spirit, there is no salvation. That's what makes Jesus and the gospel the only way to live rather than a continuation of all-about-me-living.

Reality Check: The only way to live is in a manner worthy of the gospel.

    The impact of our participation in the gospel has rippled through everything in our lives. Since that evening, our lives have been about Him. Not that we haven't had our times of selfishness�we have had them. We are practicing and learning to die daily to ourselves and to live to Christ for the glory of the gospel. When parents live this way, they create a culture in their home, a gospel culture that attracts their children to Jesus. It's the only way to live if you are a participant in the gospel. What kind of culture are you creating in your life and home? Are you communicating to your wife and children that there are many different ways to live the Christian life or only one way�a manner worthy of Christ and the gospel? As I said in my first article in this series, the impact of your life is rippling through many lives and will ripple for generations. May the gospel of Jesus Christ be at the center of the ripple!

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

11.08

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