The Lord is allowing this to happen.

The Scriptural vision for 2020 is happening in our midst.

He is allowing us to ABIDE.  What a beautiful thing happening in our midst even in the uncertainty of this virus.  The Good News through this is the virus has cancelled:
Being the Church
Praying to God.
Bible reading and study.
Serving others.
Listening to sermons.
Meditating on Scripture.
Family Worship.
Shelter-in- place gives us a great excuse to really pursue Christ.  What an opportunity to accomplish this vision in 2020.

He is allowing us to EXPERIENCE.  He is allowing us to be an ambassador for Jesus in these times.  His giving us a platform to lift high the name of Jesus.  Would you pray as the God gives us opportunity to see people served and saved?

He is allowing us to PARTICIPATE.  There is no comparison to the suffering He faced, but there is no doubt that those around us and even some of us will suffer.  Suffering will come at the hands of illness.  Suffering may also come at the hands of following Christ.

ABOVE ALL....may we walk away KNOWING HIM! 

"For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.  I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length adn width, height and depth of God's love, and to KNOW Christ's love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us--to be him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."  Ephesians 3: 14-20

Please pray and take advantage of the opportunity that  lies before us.

​Are you more worried about the box than His presence?

“When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the city gate.” 1 Samuel 5:18

Eli was more concerned about the box more than His presence.  He just assumed that because He has the Ark of the Covenant, there would be Power and they would defeat the Philistines.  He at that point recognized the glory of God had left.

Lesson: We can have the power but not HAVE THE power.  We can have innovation but not the power.

Eli’s daughter-in-law, after the death of his son, had a son and was named Ichabod meaning the glory has left.

His presence is what we need more than ever!  The lesson from this is that we can continue to go through the motions, we can be more concerned about the form of godliness, we can still move forward, but if His presence is not with us, what is the point?

Innovation doesn’t necessarily mean His presence is with us. Us being present doesn’t mean He is present in power.

The Philistines capture the ark and tumors and death is catapulted throughout the land.

Would the story have turned out better if there was repentance with Eli and his sons, who seemed to despise the Lord?

Could our story turn out better on the other side if we repent and cry out to God?

In "Live Dead Joy" by Dick Brogden, he states, "The only way the enemies could have captured the ark was if God's presence had left.  God had left His people.  This is functional hell--the absence of the presence of God.  Pity the men or women who bear liability for the absence of God due to their sins or because they led others to sin. Let us not be the damned who are responsible for the absence of God--this is the opposite of mission.  Real mission is to bear the weight of the presence of Jesus to people who know it not.  Anti-mission is to grieve the Spirit of God by our sin and cause Him to abandon us to a deserved hell.  Mission is glorious.  Anti-mission is inglorious hell."

So what do we do?  Psalm 81 is a great place to start.  All of Psalms is a great place to just park and meditate during these days.

1.  Stop the pretend obedience. (v. 15)
2.  Listen to Him (v. 8)
3.  Let there be no gods or idols among us (v. 9)  Note: this time of quarantine reveals our idols--what is creating anxiety and what action or thing is your body having a hard time withdrawing from?)
4.  Remember who brought us out of our sin (v.10)
5.  Walk in His ways (v. 13)

Since we have more time on our hands, would you commit to spending time individually and as a family to seek the Lord, repent and pray for revival?

I preach this to myself this morning as I sit on my couch because so many times I have great forms of godliness, but no presence.  Lord, change me!  Mold me!
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Let us not be an Ichabod where his glory leaves.

 Let the gnashing of teeth commence :)

Seriously.  Church services are not the key to reaching the unreached.

You are.

In the words of Peyton Jones, "We've handed over the adventure map to the pastor, church or program."

We sit and listen, as one guy with one gift declares the Gospel.  We live vicariously through the one guy waiting for that one nugget to blast into social media world and then we just can't wait for the next week....and the vicious cycle continues.

What happens the other six days of the week?  We just wait?

I say the answer is , "No!"

There is an adventure waiting for every believer.  You need to receive the gift that God has already given you and deploy that gift.  If it's missionary, Go!  If it's evangelism, go fish!  If it's teaching, teach.  If it's shepherding, love and invest!  If it's prophet, guide!!! (Ephesians 4:11-12)

Maybe God wants to do something different.  Maybe He is scattering the church to get us out of the box we have created.  Maybe He wants to empower every believer, not just the few.

I can't remember the movie or who said it, but the quote was, "Who do you think you are?  God's gift to mankind?"  This was said if I recall with a very sarcastic cry.

But, yes, in a way, you are God's gift to mankind.  You are a gift to help seek and save the lost.  He didn't give us gifts to pile up in a building. He gave us gifts to be used to glorify Him.

But even beyond that, it's not you that is the power.  It's the Gospel being lived out and spoken that is the power.  "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for IT is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16

You have the sword of the Spirit as the power!  Praise God it's not up to us to be the power, but we are the jars that the power goes through!

Do you find yourself stuck just watching the adventure happen secretly yearning to be in the game?

It's time for boots on the ground, not rhetoric from a platform.

It's time to "Release the Priests"!

Interested in the conversation?  Email me mike@mobilemissionsnetwork.com.  Are you ready to get off the bench out of the seat, and into the battle?


**Disclaimer: I do value the Worship Experience.  There is an incredible purpose in coming together as a body of believers to worship Jesus.  We are seeing the effects of not being able to gather as the body. The worship experience for us is halftime--an opportunity to be encouraged and equipped to go back into the battle Monday-Saturday.

In our efforts to "Release the Priests", here is another way to lead the charge in having church at home.  

Meet Alex Lomangino.  Alex grew up in our ministry and now serves as a missionary in Canada sharing the Gospel through the house church model with the North American Mission Board.  Pray for Alex during this time and we pray that you will benefit from his experience from leading house church.

On Saturday, we will have a live online Zoom meeting with Alex for you to ask any questions about how to do house church.  Time TBA.  We will announce on our Church Inside Out Social Media Platforms and through text.

(Thank you to Brian Condren at microchurch.com for your ministry.  The following was adapted from his website.)
The FIVE Pillars of Church at Home based out of Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.  43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number[a] those who were being saved.

1.  Food-share a meal together

2.  Fellowship-fellowship isn't just food, but it's talking about Jesus.  The difference between Baptist fellowship and authentic fellowship is Jesus' name and fame is mentioned more than the latest headlines.  Also, take delight in honoring one another. (Romans 12:10)

3.  Sing.  You can find songs on YouTube that has lyrics to the song.  Turn it up and worship Jesus.  In this, give adoration to our King!

4.  Scripture--in this at Church Inside Out, you can create your own message to bring or utilize Right Now Media.  The important thing is to bring the Word to your family.   If you need a FREE subscription, please email daniellew@mobilemissionsnetwork.com.  Ask these five questions:
     a.  What does the Scripture say or mean?
     b.  What should we observe or obey?
     c.  What does it say about God?
     d.  What should we share about others?
     e.  How have you been blessed this week?

4.  Prayer.  Ask for prayer requests.  Pray for one another throughout the week and during your time together.  One great resource is Donald Whitney's, "Praying the Bible".  This resource helps you to learn to pray Scripture.  Trust me, you will never run out of things to pray for if you learn to pray the Bible.

Also, pray evangelistically.  Who is your My1--that person that God has put on your heart to pray for their salvation?

5.  Serve.  Who in your sphere of influence needs care: someone in your gathering or a neighbor?  With the virus, this may be more difficult, but seek out (text, call) someone that needs Christ.   Find someone in our church to serve and find someone in your neighborhood to serve.

This is an idea for you to utilize.  The important thing is know that you can do this!  Christ lives in you.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at mike@mobilemissionsnetwork.com.

If it's We live in uncharted territory.

We don't know what each day will bring, but one thing we do know is that "for such a time as this" has given the church a great opportunity to rise up and spur on revival.

"You are a chosen people.  You are a royal priest.  You are a holy nation. You are God's very own possession.  As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."  1 Peter 2:9

Because of these things: being a chosen people, being a royal priest, being a holy nation, being God's very own possession, we can show others the goodness of God.  We talk a lot about priesthood of the believer especially in Baptist circles, yet very few practice the biblical promise.  We seem to collect around an individual in a "pope-like" system.

This being a royal priest promises that we can go directly to Jesus himself with our concerns, praises and needs.  This being a royal priest also promises that  we have a purpose in showing others the goodness of God.  This means that he has given every believer the title of priest as a matter of BEing the church and accomplishing his will.

This royal priesthood is played out in our gifts.  In Ephesians 4:11-12, it says, "And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ's fullness."

He has given every believer a major.  Your major is one of these gifts: Apostle (Missionary), Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, or Teacher.

So how what does this mean in our current context?

• We need to release the priests to be the church. Each person in our church has a gift that needs to be deployed in their home and in their community.
• Could it be that God is allowing the church to scatter so that ordinary people grasp on to their God given potential to be the church in their homes and businesses. 
• Are we enabling our people to not exercise their priestly duties, by not encouraging them to lead out in their homes during this time?
• Do we need to spend more of our time equipping online rather than preaching online?
• What if instead of having people watch a screen, we actually had them lead in their home?
• What if we were to equip to teach the Word in our homes?  What if we were to equip to shepherd in our homes?  What if we were to equip our people to evangelize in our homes?  What if we were to equip to have worship in our homes?
• Imagine the strength and the testimonies of the church when we are able to gather back if we deploy them to BE the church.

How can we move forward in equipping the body to BE the church in exercising their gifts?  How will we move forward in equipping Church Inside Out to Be the Church.

1.  Find out what your major is: Missionary(Apostle), Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd or Teacher?  A couple of resources to help you:

• https://5qcentral.com/5qcentral.com/
• Primal Fire by Neil Cole (very practical resource that explains MPEST/APEST)
• APEST Assessment (Let me know if you would be interested in taking this assessment: $10)
• Saturate the World: SOMA https://saturatetheworld.com/

2.  Operate out of your gifts.  In your time of worship, exercise your gift.  If it is Missionary, lead your crew in seeking out how to minister to your neighbors.  If it's Prophet, bring your insight and make sure your crew remains true to God and his Word.  If it is Evangelist, lead your crew in praying for the lost, keep it in front of your crew and encourage/train your crew to share the Gospel through social media and in your neighborhood.  If it is shepherding, pray, encourage and care those in your circle and in your neighborhood.  If it is teaching, bring a daily devotional each week and if we continue to be quarantined, teach the Word.
3.  Recognize you don't have to be perfect in your attempt.  In this process, you will be working out your gift.  For me, even after 26 years of ministry, I am working out my gift as the Lord leads.  I am still learning.
4.  Parents, Husbands and Wives, you lead spiritually in your home.  You yourselves use this time to spiritually prepare.  
5.  Lead Church at Home.  I will be having a follow up blog here soon  on how to have Church at Home.

This opportunity God is giving us in scattering the church is quite phenomenal.  God is putting faith back into the hands of people rather than just at the church building.

It is time to release the priest.  It's time to hand over opportunity and responsibility of our faith to the ordinary person. 

Dear Church Inside Out,

I've got to be honest, when news about the Coronavirus started, I didn't give much thought other than to our mission at hand.  I ignored it thinking it was going to go away.  I have thought and prayed about what some would say implications, but I say opportunity.

There are a lot of what if's to consider with the effect that it is having across our country: financially, safety, spiritually, etc.

In this, I believe God would have us run to rather than run away into our homes.  What does "running to" look like?

1.  Run to our Refuge: Jesus

God is our refuge and strength (mighty and impenetrable), a very present and well-proved help in trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change..." Psalm 46:1,2
He is the only One that can bring peace to a chaotic situation.  May we show off the Prince of Peace through our interactions with people and in our social media posts during this time.  As Don Lovy said, "Make people ask the question, 'How are you handling this so well?"  Let's point to our refuge.

Running to Jesus as our Refuge includes being in the Word.  There is a good chance with a lot of stuff closing down, you will have some time on your hands.  Establish a priority of getting into the Word and prayer. 

I am reminded by the story of Elijah after the defeat of the Baal worshipers.  He entered into a season of desperation and depression and found himself in a cave.  The Lord told him to stand outside of the cave in the Lord's presence.   What came next was a mighty wind, a mighty earthquake and a mighty fire, but God was not in those.  It was only through what came next: a gentle whisper.  That gentle whisper gave Elijah instruction as to the next step.

There is so much noise with the Coronavirus that nobody can really tell what's true and what is false.  The place thought that you will find God is in the Gentle Whisper: The Word of God.  "Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105  (Actually read all of Psalm 119)  Let His Word guide every thought, word and deed as you seek to live for him during this time.

2.  Run to One Another
BE the church to one another.  "Let us seize  and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful; and let us consider (thoughtfully) how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day of Christ's return approaching." Hebrews 10:23-25

Did you know that we are one day closer to the return of Christ?  Until then, let us hold tightly to this confession of hope we have professed up until this crazy time.  This is the test that we have waited for years, the last major test being 9/11.

We have a God who is reliable AND trustworthy AND faithful.  This is the promise and the hope! This right here means everything is ok--not that we won't experience difficulty, but we have HOPE on our side.  Remember, this earth is just temporary.

Pray for one another.  Gather together.  Eat together (unless you have the virus:)  Declare your hope through intentionally encouraging our church. Love one another.  One way to do this is to stock up and be prepared to share so that if it comes down to isolation, we can share with one another.
   
3.  Run to your Neighbor
But a Samaritan who was traveling, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was deeply moved with compassion for him, and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them (to soothe and disinfect the injuries; and he put him on his own pack animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him." (Luke 10:33-34)

Could it be that God is providing an opportunity through a pandemic?  I would say a definite yes!  We could look at it as a "the sky is falling" moment or we could look at it as "for such a time as this" moment.  Could it be that this will be the opportunity to minister to those next door?  It seems like God is cutting off for a time some travel and other options, but is opening up the door to be the church right next to us.
My prayer for Church Inside Out through this regardless if things progress or not is that we would:

a.  See our neighbors.  I pray we would really see them--see beyond them just living next to us, but engage them, get to know them and invest in them. 
b.  Be deeply moved with compassion for our neighbors.  I think of my neighbors.  They are great people, but I have not really gotten to know them and I haven't been moved with deep compassion.  They live their life and we live ours.  We greet one another, but that is about it.  What would it look like to be moved with compassion for them?  This would include serving them, seeking out their needs, and engaging with them.
c.  Bind their wounds.  Some of our neighbors are going to react out of fear.  How can we bind this particular wound through the Gospel and simply love them?  Address the hurt and pain to soothe them.  This comes only through Christ.
d.  Utilize the resources God has given each of us to bless our neighbors.  Use your own pack-animal (your resources).  This would be the reason to stock up on food and necessary items--not out of fear or to horde, but to bless.  This is a monumental moment to give a cup of soup or bottled water or meal to bless our neighbors for the sake of making Jesus known.

For such a time as this has called us to truly BE the hands and feet of Jesus.  I invite you to pray with us this Sunday as a church at 10 a.m. at Eagle Point

In regards to the details as to what we will do as a body in regards to meeting, that is a decision that will be made when more is known, but regardless we will have church.  This might be at Eagle Point or it might be in homes, but we will gather to celebrate Jesus.

When we do gather, simply wash your hands and "keep yo hands to yoselves!"  If there is any hint of sickness, please stay home.

We will keep you updated through our Remind App and on our Church Inside Out Group Page.  If you would like to get text updates, text this message: @churchins to 81010.

Would you pray for our groups in Mexico, headed to Mexico on Saturday and the groups headed here to serve with us in our communities?  God has a great plan!  I can't wait to see what He does!

God is Sovereign!

Mike
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