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The Principle of Legitimacy

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I picked up Malcolm Gladwell’s “David and Goliath” tonight and decided to flip through the pages quickly, to see what the owners had underlined. Ron Freise​ and I had a conversation last weekend about something. Well, that thing led him to bring out Malcolm’s book. So I was a bit excited to see what he was talking about.

So, in this post I would like to share an excerpt from Malcolm’s book for “underdogs, misfits and all those who want to discover the art of battling giants.”

Malcolm writes:
When people in authority want the rest of us to behave, it matters – first and foremost – how they behave. This is called the “principle of legitimacy,” and legitimacy is based on three things:

First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice – that if they speak up, they will be heard.

Second, the law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today.

And third, the authority has to be fair. It can’t treat one group differently from another.

Therefore, the excessive use of force creates legitimacy problems and force without legitimacy leads to defiance, not submission.

Thank you Ron for making it easy to spot.

I pray that our God, the One who “causes wars to end throughout the earth,” will break the bow and snap the spear. I pray that he will raise us up to be instruments of peace, even in the midst of injustice and excessive force. I pray that he will create an atmosphere in which this conversation can take place without violence and chaos. I pray that he will help everyone to take a step back and decide to do the right thing.

Excerpt:  Malcolm Gladwell, David And Goliath, (Little Brown & Company, 2013) 208; 273

We Win in the End

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Since the rise of ISIS, the world has witnessed a diabolical, murderous persecution of Christian. The response of many to this great wickedness have been very encouraging.

Many have began:
Movements of prayer for victims
Missionary outreach toward the broken
Mercy ministries to the persecuted

Interestingly, some Christians have picked up arms to fight this great evil. I personally don’t like that style. But it is happening. World leaders and religious leaders have all condemned the merciless killings and barbaric beheadings of our Christian brothers. Everybody wants this to stop. I certainly do.

Unfortunately, too many Christians are acting like this is the end of the world, end of the Church. They’ve become so afraid of ISIS. But there is nothing ISIS does that can hinder the glory of God from manifesting in the face of Jesus. The thing about The Church that many cannot comprehend is this. Let me borrow from Labi Siffre:

  • The higher you build barriers – the taller the Church becomes
  • The farther you take our rights away – the faster the church will run
  • The more you refuse to hear our voice – the louder we will sing
  • The lies you tell about us will come tumbling down
  • You may kill our bodies, but you can’t kill our soul
  • You can bend our truth, but it will never break – and that’s because:

There’s something inside so strong. Something ISIS cannot take. Something world cannot destroy. It’s the life of God, and no one can contain it, no one can stop it.  So instead of having great fear, let us cease the opportunity we have to bear witness to the name of Jesus.

Let us never forget:

1. Every persecution is an opportunity to bear radical witness to Name of Jesus Christ.

Mark 13:9 says, “When these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.

It may not be pleasant or pritty in the moment, but we always come out as gold. 

2. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.

1 Corinthians 2:8 NLT
But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. Satan and his band of evil conspirators thought that by killing Jesus they would kill his story.The rulers during the early Church thought that by killing the disciples they would stop their message.

It is amazing to see how their very diabolical and murderous actions turn out to be the very thing that defeats them and advance the Kingdom of God here on earth.

The reports are staggering: Iraqi ISIS escapees are coming to faith in Jesus in droves. In another account, a Muslim man gave his life to be mathyed alongside his Christian friend in Libya.

3. Jesus promised to build His church

Matthew 16:19 I will build my Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

As difficult as this season might be for our brothers and sisters around the world:

  • Let us not lose heart
  • Let us intensify our prayers
  • Let us celebrate the bravery, courage and testimony of those taken away from us
  • Let us not miss this opportunity to bear witness to the power, love and grace of Father
  • Let us embrace he refiner ‘s fire
  • Let become more holy, harvest and heavenly minded

2 Corinthians 4:8-12 NLT

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

We win in the end!

No shuffling or shilly-shallying

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Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive —only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.” 

(‭Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭22-25‬ MSG)

Are you a Visionary or a Dreamer?

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Imagine coming to the end of your life and you are presented with an unchecked list all the promptings, prophetic promises, divine direction, dreams and visions, things you wanted to do in your lifetime but failed to see any of them realized. How would you feel? Unfortunately, this is the legacy of many – wasted opportunities, wasted dreams, wasted potentials. There are two kinds of people, in this world – visionaries and dreamers. Which one are you?

A very good friend of mine went home to be with the Lord a few months ago. After I heard about His untimely death, I felt the urge to record a short video of myself singing a song that my friend and most of our friends at one time sang together. The idea was to encourage his family and all our mutual friends. I really felt that it was the Lord impressing this vision upon me. But weeks went by, and still the song had not been recorded. When I finally thought about it, it dawned on me that I had missed a really great opportunity.

Have you ever felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit to do something and you hesitated, procrastinated, or simply just disobeyed? Our common excuse is, well, “that is way out of my comfort zone Lord.”

Have you ever had a promise or a clear direction from the Lord, and you said to yourself, “well, if the Lord wants me to do this or give that to me, He will have to do it himself?

Do you have a list of dreams, visions and goals that are nicely written down in a journal or in your Bible? Do you have prophetic words, prophesies, spoken over your life that are yet to be realized? What are you doing about them?

Too many people are living their lives without an active pursuit of life’s dreams and goals. Too many drift through the lift without setting life goals. What’s the use of having prophetic promises if the only thing we do about them is write them down in a journal and never see them come to pass in your Life? What’s the use of living life only to let it waste?

I understand that sometimes it takes a long time for dreams to come true:

  • It took Israel 40 years to reach the promise land.
  • It took David several years from the day he was anointed King to actually become king
  • It took Joseph 13 years to realize his dream
  • Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.
  • Churchill faced many years of politely failures. He was defeated in every election for public office.
  • Lincoln started many failed businesses, and was defeated in many races for public office.

These men were not dreamers, they were visionaries. Visionaries are actively focused on turning their vision into reality. Dreamers on the other hand never seem to take concrete steps toward fulfilling their dreams. Visionaries:

  • Have learned the art of goal setting
  • Pursue passionately and think strategically
  • Keep their vision front and center, in focus. Never letting it out of sight
  • Hold every vision, dream or prophetic promise close to His fire for discernment or distruction
  • See every dream goal, prophetic or calling as an opportunity to be good stewards
  • Bathe every dream, goal, promise daily in prayer.
  • Choose a path, pursue it, staying close to the heart of Jesus for clarity and direction

To become visionaries, we must understand the process of reaching our goals. Think, dream, plan, listen, use everything in your power to bring yourself one step closer to your destiny. Spend a good part of each day thinking about ways you can turn your vision into reality. But never forget to continue praying diligently and persistently, relying on God to open the doors, move the mountains, fill the valleys.

Those who live this way arrive at the end of their lives fully satisfied. They are able to leave a lasting legacy of no regrets, no missed opportunities, no unfulfilled dreams only because they dare – not only to dream, but also make plan  to fulfill their dreams.

So what is your vision/dream? Do you want to change the world? Do you want to grow in your faith? Do you want to raise a Godly family, build a strong marriage, parent according to the heart of the Father? We can all arrive at the end of our lives satisfied because we did our part and allowed God to do his. So the question remains: Are you a visionary or a dreamer?

Bust the bloomin’ drum

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John Stott tells of an English Salvation Army drummer who was beating his drum so hard that the band leader had to tell him to pipe down a bit and not make so much noise.

In his cockney accent the drummer replied,

“God bless you, sir, since oi’ve been converted, oi’m so ’appy, oi could bust the bloomin’ drum!”

If you’ve never known this joy – let today be the day that experience it. Open up your heart to Jesus. By grace and through faith and repentance, your life will never be the same. If you’ve lost that joy, either through sin, suffering or sorrow – let today be the day you find it again – by putting you trust in Him again, and crying out to him, your voice will be heard.

If you are still undecided, not very sure about this. I employ you to taste and see that The Lord is good.

Take that leap of faith.

Source of Information:
(Christianity Today [6/12/81], p/ 19.)

Testimony of Jesus

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Revelation 19:10 KJV

And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Back in the day in my home church we use to have special services for people to express their thanks and praise to God for the good things He had done and for them and for answering to their prayers. These were some of the most powerful times in my life. It didn’t matter how big or how small the miracle was, whether it was divine healing or just a simple “thank you for waking me up this morning,” God got the glory and the church was edified.

I miss those days. We had to trust God for everything. It’s amazing how much we take for granted now a days. Some of us act as if we don’t need God for certain things anymore: We have our bank account, we can just swap the credit card. We have our doctor, we can simply make an appointment for a check up. We have insurance, we don’t have to worry about anything. I think that is good, and a blessing all by itself. if we are not careful, these blessings can become false securities.

The way I see it, doctor or no doctor; insurance or no insurance; money or no money – God is my all in all.

Too many have become dull to the voice of Spirit – insensitive to the move of God and out of sync with His miracle-working power, because of these false securities. What the scripture above is teaching is very simple, yet profound:
 
 

Testimonies are opportunities to not only bring honor, praise and thanksgiving to God, edify and inspire others, but also to stir our faith so that we can believe God for your own miracles. If He did it before or for somebody else, He can certainly do it for me.

I challenge you next time you listen to a testimony, to not only praise God or rejoice and celebrate with the one giving the testimony, but expect God to do a work in your life at that moment.

I am in agreement with you for a miracle… in Jesus Name!

Monday Night Meditation

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This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!

(‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭15-17‬ MSG)

What will your treasure be?

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Every day, every moment, every decision, every choice we are faced with this question – “What will your treasure be?”

Will it be for your power?
Will it be for your fame?
Will it be for your success?
Will it be for your wealth?
Will it be for honor of yourself?

Every post, every tweet, every picture, every share on your social platform cannot dodge the question “What will your treasure be?”

Will it be for your glory?
Will it be for your greatness?
Will it be for your stardom?
Will it be for your notoriety?
Will it be for your praise?

For every material possession we have or desire to have, we must ask this question – “What will your treasure be?”

Will riches be your legacy?
Will possession be your security?
Will money be your God?
Will it be the measure your worth?
Will it be idol?

Luke 12:34 says, “wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

The heart is extremely greedy and selfish. It focuses on the things that are less valuable, not more valuable.

On the things that are valuable, Jesus taught the following:

  1. Life is more valuable. Instead of focusing on the value of life, we focus on food and clothing.

  2. We are more valuable. Instead, we worry and fail to see that we are more valuable than the birds He generously take care of.

  3. The kingdom of God is more valuable. Yet we allow “things” dominate of lives instead of seeking first His kingdom.

  4. A rich relationship is more valuable. Yet we foolishly try to store up earthly wealth as replacement or security to a rich relationship with God.

  5. Investing in others is more valuable. Yet, we give our live looking out for one thing – SELF!

To this selfishness, Jesus says, “go sell your possessions and give to those in need.” He didn’t stop there, he demonstrated this by giving himself over to death so that his friends can live.

He answered the question “What will your treasure be” by doing the most selfless thing – giving His life to enrich others.

What will your answer be?