God is Raising Up Pioneers - Who Live In the Breaker Anointing - Michael Krysty

Michael Krysty:

God is Raising Up Pioneers - 
Who Live In the Breaker Anointing

The Elijah List

It's Breakthrough Time

The Lord has been telling me that there are many forerunners in this hour, yet there are few that carry a breaker anointing. There are followers, then leaders, and then there are pioneers. Lately, God has been speaking to me about a forerunner authority. Some would call it a pioneer, some would say apostolic, yet even others would say a breaker anointing.

Jesus Christ, as the supreme Apostle ("...Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest whom we confess," Hebrews 3:1), was the One who broke through the temple and made a new and living way for us to follow into the presence of God.

...Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us... Hebrews 10:19-20

I believe that is exactly what the pioneer, apostolic, or breaker anointing does. It opens up new and living ways.

Roads that were totally unknown and unfamiliar to a community of people are now available, and this community is equipped in strength to travel the new road. I believe it is important to understand that when a forerunner interprets his findings from this new arena, it can generate far reaching effects for the rest of the community – both positive and negative. The anointing of a pioneer is powerful!

Jesus, our chief Apostle, broke through and opened a new and living way. I believe, in order to truly be effective in the Great Commission, the forerunner must do the same in their efforts to establish the Kingdom of God. I want to say this: You have access to a great breaker anointing within you.

It is Jesus inside of you. I praise God that Jesus opened up a new and living way for us into the Kingdom of God through salvation.

Yet now, with Christ in us, we can take His power into the earth and open up new roads of opportunities for His Kingdom to expand on the earth.

Right now, in this season, God is opening up the nations, ministry opportunities, and business opportunities for His children, His pioneers! Get ready for new levels...it's breakthrough time!

(Photo via icanthrugod.tumblr)

A Brand New Way

The pioneer is the first to enter into new atmospheres. Because they tread on new roads, the message is not always well received. In Numbers 13, we read about pioneers that are given the responsibility of exploring Canaan. They go and find great assets and potential.

Frankly, they are mesmerized by what they discover. They want the land. They come back and give the description to Moses, Aaron, and the rest of the Israelite community. They say, "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit" (Numbers13:27).

Yet, just as they were giving the awesome testimony of what they saw, what God had promised to them, they then switched into another testimony of impossibilities and danger. The testimony of why it could never work.

"But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there" (Numbers 13:28). A spirit of fear was released to a whole community of people even though there was visible fruit of what could be accomplished.

(Photo via Garden of Praise/by Gospel Services, Inc.)

Yet, in the midst of doubt, one spoke up: Caleb. Caleb believed they could take the land – Caleb did not see through the eyes of a normal person, nor did he have the same spirit as the other forerunners. There was something different about him in comparison to the other pioneers; he saw a super reality.

In fact, he was rewarded. The Lord said of him that he had a different spirit and that he followed Him wholeheartedly. With Caleb, Joshua also stood, believing they could take the land.

It was a new way for the all of the Israelites, and they could not believe the message of Caleb and Joshua. There were other forerunners with Caleb and Joshua, yet it was only Caleb and Joshua who carried the breaker anointing.

The Lord has been telling me that there are many forerunners in this hour, yet there are few that carry a breaker anointing. There are many people that are walking in a new way and obeying directions to explore this new land, but there are few that see in super reality.

In fact, there are many that have had experiences and have seen life from many angles, but when it comes to taking the land and establishing the Kingdom, their actions and words communicate that there is no hope. They release doubt and fear, and operate out of a natural reality.

A true pioneer is one that stands even in the midst of everyone affected by disbelief.

For them, there is a brand new way, yet it is a possible one. The authority of a pioneer is many times challenged; but their authority is weighty and can shift societies, cultures, and nations.

(Photo via Distant Shores Media/Open Bible Stories)

Also, a true pioneer is one that breaks through not only the blocks to create a new path, but also breaks down the walls that would keep them from dwelling in the destination continually as a culture. Caleb and Joshua were these types of men. They not only opened a new way and went into the promised land, their heart was to establish a living way. God wants to establish not just an experience where we taste fruit and see the great land or experience Heaven on earth as an event or service.

He wants us to know it as a continual dwelling place as a culture.

A Living Way

God is not interested in merely a good time or an event by itself. In fact, He is not interested in a new way alone. He is interested in abundant life; life that is ongoing. He is interested in a new and living way; a revival torch that will not only spark, but ultimately grow into an ongoing fire. That is the Kingdom. God is interested in a lifestyle of revival and outpouring.

(Photo via Godsfingerprints.net)

If we never take revival out of the service or make it a dwelling place, we become like the pioneers that give a report of the impossibilities. They believed they couldn't dwell in the fullness of the riches because of the giants.

But, there is a voice saying, "We can take the land, we can live in an ongoing outpouring because it is a living way."

It is not just a way that is new and never seen; it is a way that is alive and unending – a living way. The path that Christ torched for us to come into the Kingdom was completely new and could not be opened by any besides Himself. Yet the path is still open today, and it is living – Kingdom living.

The Kingdom of God is 24/7. It is continually in season and out. It must become a dwelling place, a place that is inhabited. If it isn't, the normal Christian life will be seen as just a series of intermittent events. It will be seen only through an earthly reality when, all the while, we have available for us a super reality...Heaven on earth.

God has made available for the Body of Christ open Heavens that will not shut, and we can dwell in these places. A living way is a breathing path that has limitless fruitful encounters.

Stephen carried this type of anointing. The Bible describes him as one that was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He was the first person in the New Testament who was martyred for following the ways of Jesus.

As he was being stoned, Stephen was literally brought into an open vision as he saw physically what was happening in the spiritual realm. He shouted out, "Look...I see Heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56).

Yet, even though Stephen literally saw this open Heaven over his life, I believe he had it over his life even before then. I believe that Stephen was one that saw in a higher level, a super reality.

(Photo via Wallpapers Wide)

Stephen was truly a forerunner. His death caused the Church to grow and spread in a new and living way. We read right after his death in Acts 8:1-4 that when the persecution of the Church broke out, the whole Church scattered. But they were not just scattered; rather, the Church was being relocated and the Kingdom advanced.

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Acts 8:4

Those that were scattered spread the fire outside and beyond their normal living quarters. Stephen's act birthed a community of missionaries! It was as if a boulder had been dropped from one-hundred feet in the air into a lake of lava, causing lava to splash out into many other areas. The breaker anointing – it stays open for others to dwell in and operate out of!

Lions Traveling Unfamiliar Paths

Caleb, Joshua, and Stephen were not followers, nor were they just leaders – they were pioneers. Yet these were not pioneers merely out to make a new discovery; they were men dedicated to bringing an entire nation into this discovery with them. They took the initiative and did not wait for others – they were courageous lions. 

(Photo via DesertUSA)

The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind. The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest... Micah 5:7-8

I believe God is raising up super-breakers or super-pioneers to not only make a new way, but to make it both a new and living way. They are the ones that take initiative and do not wait for others to do it for them. They are young, old, and middle-aged. They are learned, unlearned, and of all classes.

God is taking people in this hour and turning them into a generation who sees through eyes of faith a super reality to destroy the works of darkness.

Not only do they want to taste the fruit of the land, they want the whole land! This is the call of the revivalist in this hour, this is the call of the teacher in this hour, this is the call of the entire five-fold ministry in this hour. To pioneer what God is commanding us to move into, and bring entire nations into it to dwell!

We must not wait for others; we must not see like others, we must be like lions!

God is not just raising up forerunners.

God is asking the forerunners: What type of report will you give? What type of reality will you see? What type of kingdom will you release?

God is calling the forerunner to carry a breaker anointing and be led on unfamiliar paths to take an entire nation into a living way – birthing a supernatural community! NEW AND LIVING.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16

Lord, lead Your family into a super reality. Take us into Your breaker anointing. Teach us to decipher the many voices we hear and cancel out every voice that isn't Yours. May we hear Your whispers and know them from the rest. Release boldness into Your people.

I pray for the eyes of their hearts to be opened, that they may carry Your presence into the world. They are world changers. Thank You, Holy Spirit! Amen.

Michael Krysty
Inhabit Fire Ministries

Email: info@inhabitfire.com
Website: InhabitFire.com

Michael Krysty is a unique, emerging radical revivalist with an uncompromising message of the supernatural power of Jesus. He is the founder of Inhabit Fire Ministries, and walks in a powerful and accurate realm of the word of knowledge and gifts of healing.

He was introduced to the Gospel while in drug rehab and had a dynamic encounter with Jesus Christ, and he has never been the same. Now, Michael and his wife, Amanda, travel the world preaching and demonstrating the message of the raw power and love of the Kingdom of Heaven. They reside just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, and attend MorningStar Church when home.

Source: The Elijah List

Morris Ruddick - PIONEERS, PEDDLERS AND TZ'DAKIM

PIONEERS, PEDDLERS AND TZ'DAKIM

(c) Morris E. Ruddick

"Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going forth, and, Issachar, in your tents. They will call peoples to the mountain; there they will offer righteous sacrifices; for they will draw out the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand." Deut 33:18-19

From the days of Noah, God's people have been distinctive. As stewards of God's intentions, they've restored God's order from the way He established it at the beginning. They've pioneered; they've creatively built self-sustaining operations; and they've reestablished God's standard for righteousness, which is an opportunity-enabling community dynamic.

Serving in this unique, mixed role as pioneers, peddlers and tz'dakim (a righteous people), God's people have again and again demonstrated a most exceptional societal standard of trust and leadership.

Historically, the impact has far exceeded the best the world, or society without God, could offer. The result, despite overwhelming adversity, has been disproportionate contributors and achievers who have exhibited a brand of leadership pointed to by Jesus: leadership by serving.

Background
As a Jew, Jesus understood this mantle of God's people. The focus of His teachings captured the mix of God's order or standard; bearing the creative dynamic of entrepreneurial enabling and increase; with the charitable righteous community dynamic reflecting a functional mix of pioneers, peddlers and tz'dakim.

Jesus was raising the bar from an already high standard outlined by Moses in the Torah. He was indicating that with God at the helm, that His people have been and even more so would be different. They would be ones who made a difference in this pathway of restoration to God's original intention for His own.

Abraham established the beginning of a new order, a new standard for society; one that challenged the bondage that held the world in its grip. God called him to leave the comfortable place of his family and country and to go out; as a pioneer. As a pioneer, Abraham became known as the father of our faith.

Abraham left a land of corruption and sorcery and broke the mold. He put it all on the line. With God guiding his way, he established the model of faith-based, entrepreneurial community; and a leadership that was based on the anointing, being led by the Spirit of God.

The Process and the Priorities

My walk of faith began as one who faced realities with a standard I was willing to die for. It was a standard that embraced a cause; a purpose higher than myself. As an experienced combat Marine, there was a priority and simplicity in my grasp of the cause. Then it all converged with faith, as I read the story in Acts 7 of a man called Stephen, who faced a parallel reality in being willing to give it all for a purpose higher than his self.

God spoke to me as I read about Stephen and contemplated the parallel. He asked me if I was willing to embrace that same standard for Him. That foundational sacrificial attitude is at the core of three key factors that differentiate the Kingdom criterion of leadership: trust, honor and service. These are the priorities.

These three factors are the faith-based heart of biblical community. They undergird the cost to uphold the standard of leadership that Jesus modeled, as He raised the bar for those with the faith and courage willing to embrace the process marked by God's pioneers, peddlers and tz'dakim.

"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5

Reaching for that higher standard, that has been modeled by the heroes of faith and exemplified by Jesus, is the pivot point of God's standard for leadership and the foundation for a society of people who are known by His Name. It begins with trust.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5,6

The Trust Facet. Faith is based on an unqualified trust in the Lord. Trust also is the thread that holds the model together. It is the standard for community that results when God's higher order of the spiritual, the economic dynamic of increase, and community operate together. Faith cannot operate without trust; neither can biblical community.

Religion is man's attempt to cleverly squeeze out the devil's intentions. Jesus addressed this impossible premise by His indictment of "the precepts of men." However, God's order releases God's intentions, despite opposition, in a way that progressively leaves no room for the devil. It's the subtle difference noted by Jesus when He said that we would be in the world, but not of the world. It is a mystery that draws from operating according to God's order. Its release comes from the balanced mix and merging of pioneers, peddlers and tz'dakim.

In God's order of things, trust in the Lord sets things in motion individually; but it is the catalyst relationally for things to operate in community. It enables the tapping of the supernatural dimensions that can only come from God. Biblical community thrives on trust.

In Matthew 10 Jesus warned about those who would betray us. Yet when establishing those who comprise a community, he admonished us to seek out those who are worthy, people of honor. With this approach, even when betrayal happens, Jesus said we were not to be caught off-guard; because it would release unexpected opportunity. Today's persecuted church has an intimate grasp of this dynamic.

The Honor Factor. Trust cannot operate without honor. The honor required involves integrity, but it is more than integrity. It embraces the right thing with consistency, but the demand is for still more.

The honor that God bestows comes at a cost. It is the honor that pivots on holding to a sacrificial standard higher than oneself. It is the honor that stems from not only attitude, but a consistent manifestation in deed.

This level of honor is vulnerable. Yet it comes from doing the right thing for the right reason without fear. It is the honor that comes from embracing responsibility. It is not based on the approval-of-men, conformity or blind-obedience, but rather on the bond of truth that is the thread that sparks the life-dynamic of community itself.

This level of honor is the leadership dynamic that fosters the enablement by which each part functions in the harmony to make it something more than its individual parts. It ignites the Kingdom premises that give birth to righteous power.

This measure of honor is sacrificial and worthy of trust. It considers others before oneself and refuses to compromise the standard.

The Service Dynamic. The standard for God's order combines trust, honor and service operating in harmony. The Pharisees short-circuited this premise with their unholy alliances, personal agendas and the manner in which they handled their true responsibility and worthiness of trust. They lowered the bar with the premise that the end justifies the means. They curried the favor of power-brokers without honor. In so doing, they betrayed the true bond of trust required of the righteous.

God's standard for community is about serving. It is applying the diversity of talents and gifts of its members to the benefit of others. Without trust or honor, community becomes contrived, fractional and brittle. This reality punctuates the key role of the tz'dakim.

When biblical righteousness (tz'dakah) is the mark of a people, it becomes the glue of making the pioneers and peddlers into a true model of community; of God's people (tz'dakim) in operation, as they are blessed to be a blessing. It is the basis of Jesus' Kingdom message of how to employ righteous power in a corrupt world.

The Disconnects

The word of God is filled with examples of the misfires of leaders who have undermined God's purposes for His people operating together. While many within the church today point to the problem as being individual issues, the examples of the misfires from the Bible more often note it as a leadership matter. In the cases of those who served as kings, God's word describes their misfires as having done evil in God's sight.

In Isaiah 22, it describes the demise of Shebna because his priorities were focused on his position and personal benefit. In the case of Saul (1 Samuel 15), his downfall came from his need for the approval of men. Jeroboam (1 Kings 13) lowered the standard and cost requirements of those serving in righteous leadership. In Ahab's case (1 Kings 16), he furthered the digressions of Jeroboam by his passive compromise, in allowing the standard for leaders to be mixed with sorcery.

In each case there was a lack of spiritual maturity, wrong priorities, the misuse of righteous power, the mix with worldly standards, and a compromise of God's order by which the ends justified the means. These are the indicators of the disintegration of God's order. The standard for God's leadership demands more; and cannot be drawn from the world.

The Mysteries

Throughout Scripture are references to mysteries; spiritual dynamics that cannot be understood according to our grasp of the natural order of things. It acknowledges that God's truths are deeper and His ways are higher than the best man can discern.

Both the Old and New Covenants give reference to this. Deuteronomy 29 tells us that the secret things belong to the Lord, but those that are revealed belong to us and our heritage; to those who, as a people, are known by His Name. Paul, in almost all his epistles, alludes to the "mysteries" of our faith. Jesus, in the Gospels, refers to the "mysteries" of the Kingdom. These mysteries, these "beyond the veil" truths are the igniters of the simple things that confound the wise.

They represent the edge, the advantage, demonstrated when God's people employ this standard not only as individuals, but in the harmony God intended, as a community. The mysteries applied release the pioneering spirit to break the mold. The merging of the diversity of gifts creates the foundations for becoming self-sustaining through community, which enhances the economic dynamic. The righteous factor, based on the Hebrew tz'dakah or "charitable righteousness," then ties it together as the mutually-beneficial function of building community is served.

Joseph applied the mysteries in the most adverse and impossible of circumstances. Without position, he began by bringing God into the open and bringing increase and blessing to the one he served. He gained trust and operated as a prophetic steward. Unwilling to compromise, he weathered the spiritual backlash from Potiphar's whoring wife and in his bad-to-worse dilemma, as a prisoner, he gained the opportunity that led to his promotion with Pharaoh.

In the process, Joseph changed the spiritual culture of Egypt and harnessed the resources needed to provide a safe place that yielded even further opportunity in a time of spiritual judgment that racked the world at that time.

These mysteries are at the heart of the paradoxes of Jesus' Kingdom message. They fly in the face of the best the world has to offer. They are at the heart of this biblical leadership mantle employed by the Jewish people, who generation after generation, have come together as a culture within a culture, with an identity in God, as a society that operates with trust, honor and service.

The distinction of the pathway of this mix of pioneers, peddlers and tz'dakim is that it will only move forward -- with God at the helm. When it does, remarkable things take place. It is the seedbed for revival. It becomes the "light shining on a hill" that demonstrates the reality of God to the societies around it. When this dynamic is in harmony then extraordinary things unfold at the hands of otherwise ordinary people.

This dynamic provides the release of the dimension noted in the opening scripture: the tapping of an abundance and hidden treasures. It is an abundance with hidden treasures that can only be brought as far as the gates by superstars. Its full release comes only through piercing the spiritual veil, as a people, who operate together as pioneers, peddlers and tz'dakim. It comes with the faithfulness of a people, a chosen people whose choice is God and His heart; whose pathway is built from generation to generation in bringing the standard of God's order full circle.

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with pointing the finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always. He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings." Isaiah 58:9-12 NIV

___________________________________________________
Morris Ruddick has been a forerunner and spokesman for the call of God in the marketplace since the mid-90s. As founder of Global Initiatives Foundation and designer of the God's Economy Entrepreneurial Equippers Program, Mr. Ruddick imparts hope and equips economic community builders where God's light is dim in both the Western and non-Western world.

He is author of "The Joseph-Daniel Calling;" "Gods Economy, Israel and the Nations;" "The Heart of a King;" "Something More;" and "Righteous Power in a Corrupt World," which address the mobilization of business and governmental leaders called to impact their communities with God's blessings. They are available in print and e-versions fromAmazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and other popular outlets.

Global Initiatives Foundation (www.strategic-initiatives.org) is a tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 non-profit whose efforts are enabled by the generosity of a remnant of faithful friends and contributors whose vision aligns with God's heart to mobilize the persecuted church to be the head and not the tail. Checks on US banks should be made out to Global Initiatives and mailed to PO Box 370291, Denver CO 80237 or email us at sign@strategicintercession.org for access information on our secure web-site.

Likewise, email us to schedule a briefing for your congregation on the state of the persecuted church and how you can more effectively pray for them.

2013 Copyright Morris Ruddick - sign@strategicintercession.org

Reproduction is prohibited unless permission is given by a SIGN advisor. Since 1996, the Strategic Intercession Global Network (SIGN) has mobilized prophetic intercessors and leaders committed to targeting strategic-level issues impacting the Body on a global basis. For previous posts or more information on SIGN, check: http://www.strategicintercession.org

Morris Ruddick
Global Initiatives Foundation
www.strategic-initiatives.org
www.strategicintercession.org

The Gospel of Martyrdom vs. the Gospel of Success - Michael Brown

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The Gospel of Martyrdom 
vs. the Gospel of Success

12:30PM EDT 10/21/2013 MICHAEL BROWN, charismanews

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Michael Brown

Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin. The appointed Jewish leadership confronted this anointed Jewish believer. They glared; he glowed. They were enraged; he was enraptured. Their faces were contorted with anger; his was like the countenance of an angel. “Men and brothers,” he said, “listen to me.”

He rehearsed the history of Israel, from Abraham to Moses to David, the faithfulness of God in spite of the unfaithfulness of the people. But Stephen was not there that day merely to recite the lessons of history. He was there to be a witness, and as a faithful witness he spoke. His words turned to piercing rebuke:

You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered Him -- you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it (7:51-53).

Soon his body lay battered and bloody, a mangled, motionless mass. He had not backed down. He had not compromised. He had not omitted a word. He was a witness and a prophetic voice. And that day he became the Church’s first martyr -- the first, but not the last. Hundreds of thousands have followed in his path. Being a witness for Jesus could cost you your life.

In the early Church, witnessing and martyrdom quickly became associated: The Greek word for “witness” is martyros. Witnesses testify with their lives and often seal their words with their own blood. Have you done any “witnessing” lately?

It’s one thing to read the Word and be stirred by the examples of men like Stephen. But this was real life! He was probably a young man with a wife and children. His whole future lay before him. His family was dependent on him. There may have been a toddler waiting to greet him that day when he came home. But he never came home!

And then there was his ministry. He was a powerful preacher, anointed to heal the sick and perform miracles. Think of all the lives he could touch! Think of all the good he could do for the kingdom of God.

Why didn’t Stephen simply deny the false charges? “Men and brothers, the accusations are not true.” Why didn’t he politely dismiss their questions and calm their anger? Why did he continue to stand up and speak out? The answer challenges us all: He was not seeking to save his life; he was seeking to be a witness.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it (Matt. 16:25).

This is the story of the true Church in every nation and in every age:

You did not renounce your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives (Rev 2:13b).

This is the gospel of martyrdom, the gospel of Jesus. It is the gospel that Paul preached and lived:

I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24).

That is why he could say:

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:20-21).

As Leonard Ravenhill observed in Why Revival Tarries, Paul didn’t mind if the cost of his obedience was prison, for it were better that he should be “the prisoner of the Lord for a few years than that his fellow men should be the devil’s prisoners in hell forever.

How different this is from the philosophy that rules in today’s luxury-soaked America. How different this is from the modern gospel of success! Jesus cut to the very core of the issue. When Peter told the Lord in no uncertain terms that He was not to go the way of suffering, rejection, and death (“Never, Lord!” he said.” This shall never happen to you!”), Jesus identified Peter’s words as satanic.

Get behind Me, Satan! [Jesus said to Peter.] You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. (Matt. 16:23)

What was at the root of this satanically inspired theology? What fueled Peter’s opposition to the cross? It was a different set of values, a different perspective, a different viewpoint, a different understanding: “you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Now we’re getting down to the basics!

One “gospel” is interested in the things of this world, the things of men. The other gospel is interested in eternal things, the things of God. One message cultivates preservation of self; the other cultivates denial of self. One says, “Add to your life!” The other says, “Lose your life!” One message encourages self-satisfaction, the other encourages self-denial. One message tells carnally minded people “what their itching ears want to ear” (2 Tim 4:3); the other message tells the truth.

Whether or not we have much in this world is not the central issue. (Most of us in America have an incredible abundance, dozens of times what we actually need to live.) What matters is our attitude towards our what we have. And we who have an abundance must guard our hearts. Riches are deceitful!

Jesus rebuked the church of Laodicea: 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).

But Jesus commended the church of Smyrna:

I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich. . . . Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev 2:9-10).

We must see how tragically earthly the gospel of success really is. It still stands in the way of the cross. It still rebukes Jesus for promising suffering and death. In fact, it actually calls the path to Calvary “religious”—meaning traditional,unanointed, and fruitless.

It is no overstatement to say that there is no cross in the gospel of success. In its most extreme modern forms, it originates from the pit. (Remember, it was Satan whom Jesus rebuked for trying to keep Him from going to the cross.) The gospel of success criticizes the message of the cross because it leads to “death.” But the true gospel must lead to death—death to the flesh, death to the will of man, death to this world’s priorities. Only through death can there be resurrection. Only through the cross can there be abundant life. In fact, if you want what some teachers call “the God kind of life” you’re going to have to experience “the Jesus kind of death.” Which path will you take?

The last generation taught what is often called “pie in the sky” theology—and this theology certainly had its problems! There were plenty of negative distortions in the message. But we have substituted something worse. We now have the theology of “have your cake and eat it too.” The first message starved its hearers, depriving them of the blessings of life in the Spirit in this world. The second message engorges them, robbing them of the light of eternity.

People of God, we are not to center our lives around eating and drinking, gaining and possessing, having more and being merry, because tomorrow we do not die. No. We live forever! How foolish that we conduct ourselves as if this world were our lasting home. We’re just passing through!

When Jacob was a frail old man he said to Pharaoh:

The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of pilgrimage of my fathers (Gen 47:9).

King David, in spite of the equivalent of billions of dollars of riches, could say at the end of his life:

We are aliens and strangers in Your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope (1 Chr 29:15).

Hebrews 11 commends Abraham—certainly a prosperous and influential man—because,

By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. . . . [All of them] admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own ... a heavenly one (11:9-10, 13-14, 16).

How much more does the New Testament call us to live in the light of eternity!

Jesus told His disciples to rejoice when they were persecuted and rejected, “because great is your reward in heaven ...” (Matt 5:12). He told them—and us!—to store up treasures in heaven (Matt 6:19-21), and Peter reminds us that we have a heavenly inheritance “that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Pet 1:4). That’s why we who suffer for Jesus now will be “overjoyed” when His glory will be revealed at His return (1 Pet 4:13). There is great joy now because there will be endless joy then!

You sympathized with those in prison [for the faith] and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions (Heb 10:34).

Consider the example of C. T. Studd. Raised in a wealthy, aristocratic home in England last century, he became a national celebrity as a sensational cricket player at Cambridge. (He could have become the “Michael Jordan” of his generation.) But through the preaching of D. L. Moody, he experienced a deep transformation and left everything to go to the mission field.

Was he wrong for abandoning a phenomenal sports career in England in order to preach the Word in China and Africa? Was he “religious” because he chose to forsake fame, fortune, and comfort to live sacrificially among the heathen? The decisions he made and the path he chose make one thing perfectly clear: He was not seeking to get ahead in this world. He was seeking to please the Lord. There is a difference!

On judgment day, and throughout eternity, men and women like C. T. Studd will be accounted wise. They will have our admiration and God’s commendation. Does anything stop us from following their lead? It will mean going against the grain!

Our country is saturated with a “save your life, improve your life” mentality—from health clubs to exercise videos, from savings plans to retirement funds, from insurance policies to computer programs guaranteed to put you “in control of your life.” Be successful! Live in greater security and ease! Enjoy the American dream! Jesus says, “Follow Me -- even to the point of death.”

After His resurrection, He told Peter the kind of death by which he would glorify God (John 21:19). What a concept! Think of a discussion among the first eleven disciples: “Matthew, Bartholomew, Thomas, by what kind of death are you going to glorify Him?” For these men, this would not have been idle talk: According to tradition, all the first apostles, with the exception of John, died a martyr’s death. (John was reportedly boiled in oil twice -- and survived.) For them, the issue was not, “Will we be called to die for the glory of God?” But rather, “By what kind of death will we glorify Him?”

What about us? Is the call any different today? By what kind of death are we called to glorify God? Death to our reputation? Death to human opinion? Death to our careers? Death to our plans and goals? Or maybe the literal death of a martyr? Savonarola, the prophetic priest in the fifteenth century Catholic Church understood the cost of fidelity to the Lord. When offered the red hat of a cardinal, he replied: “No hat will I have but that of a martyr, reddened with my own blood.”

The fatal flaw of the modern, carnal prosperity message is that it encourages us to set our eyes on the things of this world. It makes it harder for us to leave all, lose self, and follow Jesus. It eliminates the call to take up our cross. (Remember, Jesus was not the only One called to carry the cross. Read Luke 9:23 several times out loud, and digest each word slowly: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”)

The gospel of success says, “Jesus died for you so you could prosper and succeed in this world.” (Of course, there is some truth to the prosperity message, but its emphasis is way off.) The biblical message says, “Live so as to lose your life for the Lord”—meaning go anywhere, do anything, make any sacrifice—as long as souls are saved, lives are changed, the kingdom is extended, and Jesus is exalted. As children of God, we now make our decisions based on entirely different priorities. We are already subjects of the heavenly kingdom. We have already died to this world!

Of course, there are things in this present age that are important. Justice in our society is important. Compassionate action on behalf of the poor and hurting is important. Righteousness and integrity are important. Morality and family values are important. But only those whose lives are given over to a higher—and eternal—purpose can radically change things here. As C. S. Lewis said:

It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.

Can we be honest with ourselves? A major reason why we don’t take a stand against godless laws is because we don’t want to risk our lives. We’re not willing to suffer the consequences. A key reason why we don’t share our faith more clearly and -- in love -- more aggressively is because we don’t want to experience rejection. We don’t want to lose our friends, or our jobs, or our ease. One major factor that keeps many of us from the mission field is that we’re too comfortable here and now. (Let’s face it: Here and now is where it’s at for most of us. There’s only one way you can prove me wrong: Live differently!)

It’s time for the old spirit of martyrdom to enter the church of America. (Much of the Church worldwide has no choice in the matter. Christianity for them is synonymous with suffering. Just ask the families of the Christian men in Sudan or Ethiopia who were crucified for their faith -- in the last few months.) It’s time that we do God’s will, and God’s will alone.

I once heard Richard Wurmbrand ask why, when the Supreme Court passed the law removing public prayer from our schools, American Christians chose to comply. What would have happened if we simply refused to obey? The whole thing probably would have been turned around overnight. And if it wasn’t turned around? Then at least the church, through her biblical obedience, would have been turned around!

If only we would value obedience to the Lord more highly than we value self-preservation! If only the favor of God were more meaningful to us than the opinions of people! If only we would count suffering for Jesus to be a privilege! What could stop us then? This country boasts of 50-70 million born-again Christians. (Of course, that figure is preposterous.) But what if just 1 million true believers here (just twenty thousand from each state!) decided to obey God and stand up for what is right, regardless of the cost? Our nation would be absolutely shaken. Now is the time to awake!

In 1984, after hearing K. P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia preach a challenging message, a Christian man named Samuel gave up his good job in South India and moved with his family to the region of Karnataka. There he began preaching to unreached Hindus, known for their hostility to the gospel. The Lord blessed the work, and even a Hindu priest was born again.

This was more than the extremists could take. They burst into a meeting one Sunday and severely beat Samuel with iron rods, breaking his hand, arm, leg, and collar bone. When his seven year old son ran up and cried out, “Please don’t kill our daddy!” they struck the boy on the spine, breaking his back. Then they left, warning Samuel that if he ever preached there again, they would kill him. The beating was so severe that Samuel and his son were hospitalized for several months.

After his release, Samuel attended a workers’ meeting with K. P. Yohannan. The first night, during a time of prayer, his arm was supernaturally healed of paralysis he was suffering as a result of his beating. The next night he testified of the things he had recently experienced for the Lord.

K. P. asked Samuel, “What are you going to do now?” With a peaceful determination, the young man replied: “I am going back. Even if I am killed, my blood will be the foundation for many more churches.” He returned and has continued to preach. His son is back in school and is also doing well. And Samuel has baptized many more converts—and has been beaten again.

Would we have gone back and preached? K. P. was honest enough to admit that his own reaction might have been different. First he would have come up with lots of good scriptures to justify not going back. And then he would have used his best argument:

I’m only 40-some years old! God wants me to use my brain for His kingdom. With all the investment He has made in my life since I was sixteen, would it be right for me to be killed by some fanatics next week? Don’t be stupid! I am going to leave this place so I will have another forty years of my life to invest in and build God’s kingdom (Living in the Light of Eternity, 159-60).

Samuel thought differently. He was not out to save his life, he was out to save sinners. With such resolve how could he be defeated? His life is not his own! In past centuries, missionaries endued with the same spirit sailed off to far away lands with their belongings packed in caskets. They were making a one way trip!

A few years ago, a young evangelist moved into an area in Asia famous for its violent resistance to Jesus. The radical religious opposition immediately came to his apartment, making their intentions clear: “We’ll kill you if you stay here and preach!” The evangelist only smiled. “I came to die,” he replied. Today his church has 200 members. That is the power of the gospel of martyrdom. That is true success.

Michael Brown is author of The Real Kosher Jesus and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at@drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

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