What a night of blessing and motivation it was in the Temple of God in Salinas California this past Friday night! The youth worship team of Temple Rosa de Saron put their garments of praise on and invited a spirit of dancing to settle on the assembled worshippers. The mighty presence of our Lord broke out into the sanctuary amongst the youth.
The worship service was a wonderful lead in to that night's forceful message to a group of youth who are on the march. God had put a word in me that made me shudder just to ponder it in my heart. His word came to me weeks before that night's service. He told me, speak this word to them. "Tell them it is time to put down their tents of transfiguration and march on the city." The Holy Spirit led me to the account of our Lord's transfiguration. He reminded me of a lesson learned by 17th century Christians in Japan and the lesson of Marco Polo's expedition to China. He revealed to me on the road to Salinas, a powerful illustration of how simple the concepts of evangelism, discipleship and missions really are.
In Matthew 17, the Lord Jesus took up a select few of His disciples to a quote "high mountain." There He was transfigured in all His glory before them. One would think that the Apostle Peter would have something more motivational to say than, and I paraphrase, "it's so awesome God to be here. Can we, like, put up three big revival tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah?" From the account, it seems that Jesus just ignored his suggestion. The voice of the Lord thundered and said "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!."
The Lord led me then to some of the last words uttered by the Lord here on this earth before He ascended. The Lord told His disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.." If somebody is going to utter their last words, it goes without saying that these are very important words, and we should listen.
Thoughts raced through my mind as God reminded me of the Japanese revolt in the 1630s by Christians. Here's a snippet of the account found at the Christian History Institute's Site. The account is quite tragic as it led to the bloody end of open Christianity for almost three hundred years:
Because of the isolated situation of the (Shimabara) peninsula and the Amakusa islands, Christianity made greater headway there than in the rest of Japan. The new Christians, with more zeal than understanding, were filled with Messianic hope. Many joined the rebellion. It proved costly to the future of the faith in the islands of the rising sun.
The lords of Nagasaki, who had recently departed for Edo (Tokyo) rushed back to defend the city. In December, a force of 3,000 men stormed Amakusa but all but 200 died in the offensive. During the fight, Christians waved banners and shouted the names of Jesus and Mary. Afterwards, they tore down Japanese religious symbols and raised Christian ones in their place. The invocation of Jesus and Mary did not bring victory in the next battle, however.
A thousand Amakusa survivors fled to join 35,000 rebels in Shimabara. The rebels assaulted the principle government fortress and almost captured it. Having failed, they holed up in the Hara fortress where they were led by Masuda Shiro, a brilliant young strategist whose age is variously estimated between fifteen and nineteen, and who went by the Christian name Jerome (sometimes given as Jeronimo).
Statue of the Teenage Christian Revolutionary Leader
Aided by severe cold, they inflicted major defeats on the government forces. In one night tally alone, they killed 2,000 of the government's 100,000 troops. Despite its cannon, the government could not dislodge the rebels and lost over 8,000 men in January and February while the rebels lost hardly a soul. Japan asked a Dutch ship to shell the Hara Fortress, which it did, but with little effect, except to lose two of their own men to rebel sharpshooters.
But the end was inevitable. Having held out for four months, the rebels ran low on food. Deserters reported this to the government. Encouraged by the news, government forces began an all-out assault on the fortress on this day, April 12, 1638. It took them three days to overcome the desperate peasants and their Christian allies. Afterward, Christianity was strictly banned from Japan as a troublesome religion.
Can you believe this? At the beginning, these Christian warriors miraculously overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. They could have marched on to the Shogun's capital of Japan. They had victory in their sites, but what did they do? They decided to set up a tent of transfiguration in the Castle of Hara. They shut themselves and their families up within the four walls of their mega-church fortress. They stored food and their energies and thought they were secure. They thought that they could perpetuate their rebellion by saving themselves instead of taking more and more of the enemy's territory. They had the momentum on their side and instead of chosing battle and a certain victory, they chose security and comfort. Dear Lord, can we modern-day Christians learn from this story? Because of their mentality, they all lost their heads and lost the opportunity to establish the Christian faith throughout Japan! Just think of how many lives could have been saved 300 years later? The Japanese invasion of China, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the attrocities of Bataan, the bloody war in the Pacific, and the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima?
The Lord also reminded me of the story of the Polo Brothers, Niccolo and Maeffo, and Niccolo's seventeen year-old son the famous Marco Polo who travelled to Mongol-controlled China in the mid 12oos. At the climax of their travels, they came to the court of the Great Kublai Khan, Mongol emperor of China. It is said that Kublai Khan was so intrigued by the claims of Christ that he said, "You send me a hundred men skilled in your religion and I shall be baptized and all my subjects will study Christianity too. There will then be more Christians in the East than in the West." They returned to Italy and reported this to the Pope. Instead of the 100 skilled men who were requested, only two missionaries were appointed by the Pope to return to China and both of them turned back after they experienced hardships along the Silk Road trade route to China.
Oh come on now, what in the world was the church thinking? It would be like somebody coming up to you and saying we have a whole city that is dying to hear the message of Christ, all you got to do is go door-to-door and shine the light of Christ in their lives by taking prayer requests and they will believe. Or maybe, it's like somebody coming up to you and saying there is a whole school that would experience revival if your youth group started a Bible Club on the campus. Or what about this situation, somebody comes up to you and says, "our workplace is full of people that are starving to have the bread of life that you have, can you please share it with them, they're waiting for you in the office break room and outside in the office patio?" Oh wait a minute, these are wrong anologies to the Marco Polo and Japanese Christian Revolution stories. Or are they?
The Lord on the road to Salinas spoke a powerful, yet so unbelievaly simple, word to me about evangelism, discipleship, and missions. I felt Him whisper to me, "you know why people do not go out of their comfort zones when it comes to these three things? Because they're scared and because they think it's too hard. Show them that they have all they need in their mouths, hands and feet. Their mouths are for evangelism because my Covenant is on their lips. With their hands they disciple by service to others - by building people up. And with their feet, they obey my Great Commission to go!" Ok, STOP, Hammer Time. If that word don't give some preaching material, then I must have been hearing voices in my head on that lonely road to Salinas.
Allright, let's synthesize everything together. If we live from one spiritual high to the next and do not come off the mountain to spread the hope of glory in the streets, we are just as guilty of the Apostle Peter's immaturity. We might as well construct Jesusland the Theme Park and a Magic Kingdom of God and charge admission. We might as well sell churros for communion bread and Boisenberry Punch for the fruit of the vine. We might as well have "It's a Small Comfortable World After All" playing over loud speakers. If we stay in our comfortable revival tents of transfiguration, then we seclude ourselves from the world and the world from us. We become an unreachable and unreaching Neverland. We live in a wonderland where all we do is come to church to hop on the next thrill ride and compete with one another for the biggest spiritual thrill. And all this is happening when there is a world outside who has no clue why we are screaming for joy inside our Holy Spirit-filled theme parks. We have become the consumer society that we so often preach against. Where are the producers of His kingdom? Where are those who will take down their tents of transfiguration and share revival with those que no saben ni papa de Cristo (those who know nothing of Christ)?
Mountain top experiences are great. Encuentros, Revival services, and yes, Youth Conventions got it going on. Powerful visitations from God can keep us talking about them for years. But if we make our mountain top experiences into our comfort zones; if we make our shut-ins into shut-outs; if we store up for ourselves revival pan dulce (or mannah) from heaven; if we pop up tents of transfiguration; if we do not take back more and more of the enemy's territory OUTSIDE the four walls of our churches and convention halls; if we do not hear the calling of the masses who would believe if they just heard, and if we listen to our fears reverberate within our comfort zones, than we might as well tell Jesus "that's it God! We have hereby accomplished the Great Commission. The measure of the Gentile redeemed is full. Come on down and beam us up Lordy!
I praise God for the angelic visitations that I have had, one day I'll write about them. They'll knock your socks off; trust me. But Lord help me if I waste time doing these things when I could be sharing my faith with others. As you read this, someone on the other side of the world who does not know God is reading it with you. Please pray for that precious person right now. If that person is you, God loves you and has a plan for your life. You are not an accident and not a product of random chance. You have a future in God. Find Jesus today!
Supernatural experiences serve their purpose and I praise God for them. But it doesn't end there. It's only the beginning. We as Christians have a job to do and it's not collecting welfare checks at church. Our job is not constantly looking for more impartations and anointing from God. Good grief Charlie Brown, as my dad says all the time, you got the Holy Spirit with you, you got a mouth, hands, and the Pata Mobile (feet). Don't be scurd (scared). Don't be discouraged for the Lord thy God is with thee. God has anointed you to preach the Good News, to liberate the captive, to make the lame walk and the blind to see and to declare the year of the Lord's favor. To advance the kingdom and take back what the enemy has stolen. God the Father says "listen to my Son." The Son says "Go." And the Spirit says "I am with you always."
