LUV CHALLENGE LETTER:
To All Christians and Christian Leaders,
May the grace and peace of our Lord be multiplied to you. In the past several years the Lord has been renewing my mind and spirit by sharing His heart with me. What He has been sharing with me is personal, and also for the Body of Christ. The following is from June 13, 2016. I wrote it down according to the instructions from Habakkuk.
“2 Then the Lord said to me,“Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.” ~Habbakkuk 2:2
In our time, the prayer of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is still the most essential vision for the Church (John 17). His heart is that we “would be One and be sent into the World as One”, as He gives us His peace. The Unity in the Spirit for the Body of Christ is very essential to revival. We must begin to battle the circumstances in this world in unity (Ephesians 4, 1 Cor. 12). We must face the Devil and his minions as One, not with divided parts of the Body. We must show the world Jesus, through our Love for one another (John 13:34-35), then our ministries will erupt with heavens mighty saving power (Acts 1-2). This is simply given to us in scripture, but over the years Christian leadership has complicated our path to revival.
Please read: Philippians 2:1-18 English Standard Version (ESV)
“2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.”
This vision is for the whole Body of Christ. Some church leaders and Christians may be too self- focused to catch this vision from the inside. The desire to be the One, has been keeping the Body of Christ from being One. As a result, so many aren’t being Won to Christ. I believe many of you are like minded and see the greater cause. Building a network will support those called in the Body to connect (Ephesians 4:16) the Body fitly together in His love. God is raising up a love remnant in different locations to connect, heal, and hold the body together at the joints, as He prepares the hearts and minds of the people (Col. 2:19). Catch the vision, pray for others, and begin to organize. I am in the process of fully establishing this ministry, but the ground work must begin now with much prayer and unity. The organized instructions if followed will spearhead an organic flow of unity and harmony in the Body of Christ through the Holy Spirit. In this, we will have every provision for ministry and victory (Acts). Please pray to our Father that the vision will be clear to you.
It’s Simple: Pray that God will give you those who are like-minded in your region and begin to organize in a similar manner. Make it plain! Some of you may already be doing this.
Good Example:
1. Praying for/w other Churches
2. Serving other Churches or Ministries
3. Worshipping w/ other Churches
4. Serving Community w/ other Churches.
Here we are almost four years later and I’m sure we all see more clearly. God always desires to prepare His people for the storms ahead and we must not miss what He is doing. The following four is a slight, but critical revision of the four above examples. I call them LUV CHALLENGES
L U V CHALLENGES
O N I
V I C
E T T
Y O
R
Y
Our love in and through Christ makes everything we do meaningful (1 Cor. 13). Our unity in Christ has the potential of demonstrating such a graceful harmony and unified flow in His Spirit (Romans 12:3-16). My slight change simply includes all Christians, not just “Churches, leaders, or people in who we may perceive as having important title roles”. This is for all of us (church leaders, families, ministries, Etc.). What a great time to prepare yourself for this in the “Secret Place with the Father, especially as we head towards May 31st, Pentecost Sunday. Here is the full challenge.
- Pray for others. We are in union with Christ and we must get better doing battle together which includes praying for each other (Ephesians 6:10-18) see https://communiontable.home.blog/2020/04/28/sounding-again-god-is-raising-up-a-spiritual-front-let-us-stand-together/. This is a must even if we have disagreements. Sometimes we need to remember “Grace”. I recommend the following read https://frankviola.org/regrace/ . If we can’t start here then what are we doing and how can anything else we do matter?
- Serve others in the Body/ Especially another Church, individual, or family, even if you don’t quite agree with them (again see https://frankviola.org/regrace/. We are not better than “The Master” (John 13:1-17).
- Worshipping with others. This isn’t limited to having a worship service. This can just be as simple as remembering the foundation of what Jesus has done for us through sharing sweet communion. If we can agree on that, then we got a great foundation to build our fellowship on (1 John 1:3)
- Serving our community member(s) together. The commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; John 17:17-21) is our #1mission. This means that we all have this in common, “we are partners with Jesus till the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). When the opportunity opens up again, try working together to make a big catch as the Lord leads (Luke 5:1-7). He definitely will if we are willing.
That is it! That is a reasonable challenge to meditate on. The peace of God, manifestations of His love, and unity are very essential to demonstrating the wonderful great victories we have in Jesus. Can you imagine the world looking at the Church seeing how divisional wars, among race, denominations, social class, generations, and gender, are divinely corrected and healed through the love of Christ in us? Let’s make an impact and humbly respond to His voice and desire and say, “Father we are willing”. Please share with us how the Lord is using you in 2020 and let us know how we can pray and support!
God Bless
R. Timothy S. Lewis
S.T.W.R.N Servants/ Leadership Revival League
Called Commissioned Connected
Communion Table 