Greetings my friends
This blog should challenge many to their core. In fact it should be a wake up call for many Born Again believers. How many times have you sat in church while a song was being played and thought to yourself, "I don't like this kind of music" or "Hymns are for old people". As a result you filed a protest vote by keeping silent during the time of worship. How do you think God will look upon your actions. My guess is that God would not be very happy. You see being a Jesus Freak means that we worship God in spirit and in truth. We worship Him free of the tradition or style. we simply worship Him
Someone very dear to me had an unfortunate experience in recent days. He is a worship leader and a good one at that. His church was making a transition to a more contemporary style of worship while still singing hymns. Under the leadership of his pastor he led worship and the church grew and was successful. However some approached him saying that it is the baptist tradition to sing hymns and that praise music was more charismatic and didn't belong in a baptist church. He was made to feel as though praising the King of Kings with the use of the Guitar was somehow evil and against God's will. Well let me tell you that I am a Southern Baptist preacher, I have been on 8 mission ventures and seen thousands come to the Lord Jesus. I love praise music and I love hymns. The two are not mutually exclusive nor are they evil in any way. I have clapped to the guitars and tambourines in a Brazilian worship service where not one person ever uttered the words "thy" or "thou", yet I tell you the Holy Spirit was present and active in that worship service. I have been in worship services where young African men praised God in a way that made me ashamed for not being as bold, and God was present with these as well. It is utter arrogance to say that God is only honored by your style of worship learned by the traditions of your parents, grand parents and great grand parents. God ask you to worship Him in spirit and truth not in comfort and familiarity.
Remember when the ark came back to the children of Israel after being in Philistine control. David praised God by singing and dancing yet his wife called him foolish. She said would the king look foolish in the eyes of his subjects. David was right to be foolish for the Lord if man would count praising the most high foolish. How many jumped or hooted and yelled when the Saints won the Super Bowl or when Alabama won the national championship? Yet it is foolish to sing and yes even dance in the presence of the King of Eternity. I think not!
Psalm 150 says
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord! NKJV
If I did exactly what the Psalm said, I would not be welcome in many churches in the United States today. That is a shame but since I am a Jesus Freak, I say Sing and Dance my brothers and sisters, Sing and Dance since the Lord will bless you for your praise. After all this is what it truly means to be a Jesus Freak.
pc
Monday, April 19, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Freaking Out Path Four
I am writing on the night before Easter, on the night before we celebrate the most incredible miracle of all time. Path four means so much to me because it is the call to faith. Simply put a Jesus Freak must have faith. You must have faith beyond challenge. We celebrate Easter where God came to earth as a man, suffered then died and was buried. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead. You must have unbreakable faith and that means no matter what the pundits say, no matter what the politicians say, even no matter what even the preachers say. A freak never waivers in the belief that Jesus is the Messiah just as He said He was. In this day of compromise and watered down gospels the freak can see the truth and will not deviate.
Each freak has a very personal story of how Jesus changed their life forever. Just as the disciples did not recognize Jesus when He rose again, our friends and family do not recognize us because of the change that has taken place since3 coming to Christ. Our faith in Jesus is the catalyst that begins it all. Jesus said if we believe in him we will not be disappointed. It is our faith that must remain throughout our entire lives. It is our faith that must carry us through the tough times. It is our faith that must endure when all others fall into disbelief. Not faith in faith but faith in Jesus the Christ as the one who took away our sins. It is not enough to say it a freak has to believe it.
pc
Each freak has a very personal story of how Jesus changed their life forever. Just as the disciples did not recognize Jesus when He rose again, our friends and family do not recognize us because of the change that has taken place since3 coming to Christ. Our faith in Jesus is the catalyst that begins it all. Jesus said if we believe in him we will not be disappointed. It is our faith that must remain throughout our entire lives. It is our faith that must carry us through the tough times. It is our faith that must endure when all others fall into disbelief. Not faith in faith but faith in Jesus the Christ as the one who took away our sins. It is not enough to say it a freak has to believe it.
pc
Friday, March 19, 2010
Freaking Out Path Three
Okay so you want to be a follower of Christ, well then you will have to lose your shyness. Speaking the truth about Jesus Christ will get you into a lot of hot water but what did you expect. I mean they crucified Jesus so do we deserve any better. A freak is not concerned with what will happen to them. They are only concerned with doing the Father's will. Now we won't be perfect this side of death but that is our goal.
Be honest with yourself and answer one simple question. If speaking about your faith would prompt someone to openly and loudly make fun or ridicule you, would you actually continue on and speak the word. If you feel a little uncertain or a little unsure than you have to overcome a hurdle in path three. You have to overcome the worship of self. You see the main reason Christians will not witness or speak of the Savior who saved them is because they love self. They don't want to embarrass themselves or be made to feel uncomfortable. Being a Jesus Freak means that nothing and I mean nothing can keep you from glorifying your King. It means putting your very existence under control of the King.
Peter became a Jesus Freak but it was not always so. Just before the crucifixion, Peter denied Jesus 3 times. He was a coward and a liar just like some of us at times. Well we don't say "I never knew Him so leave me alone". But we do keep quite and spiritually hide in the forest of "I never knew Him so leave me alone". Peter became a fanatical, bold, crazy for Christ, Jesus Freak when he put his very existence under the King.
So we have a decision to make this moment. Will I quit the charade and get real with our faith. Will our faith be represented by the life we live or will be like so many Pseudo Christians that never get out of the forest of " I never knew Him so leave me alone". There is freedom in being a freak. Find your freedom my friend!
pc
Be honest with yourself and answer one simple question. If speaking about your faith would prompt someone to openly and loudly make fun or ridicule you, would you actually continue on and speak the word. If you feel a little uncertain or a little unsure than you have to overcome a hurdle in path three. You have to overcome the worship of self. You see the main reason Christians will not witness or speak of the Savior who saved them is because they love self. They don't want to embarrass themselves or be made to feel uncomfortable. Being a Jesus Freak means that nothing and I mean nothing can keep you from glorifying your King. It means putting your very existence under control of the King.
Peter became a Jesus Freak but it was not always so. Just before the crucifixion, Peter denied Jesus 3 times. He was a coward and a liar just like some of us at times. Well we don't say "I never knew Him so leave me alone". But we do keep quite and spiritually hide in the forest of "I never knew Him so leave me alone". Peter became a fanatical, bold, crazy for Christ, Jesus Freak when he put his very existence under the King.
So we have a decision to make this moment. Will I quit the charade and get real with our faith. Will our faith be represented by the life we live or will be like so many Pseudo Christians that never get out of the forest of " I never knew Him so leave me alone". There is freedom in being a freak. Find your freedom my friend!
pc
Friday, March 5, 2010
Freaking Out path two
So you want to be a Jesus Freak, then you have to work in the supernatural. You are probably asking what do you mean Working in the Supernatural? God is creator of the universe and everything He does is supernatural. Most of us do not work in the realm of the supernatural or spiritual. It scares us a little and we tend not to want to think about it too much. Let me give you an example. Several years ago I was part of a 14 member team heading to Brazil on a mission trip. It was the night before the trip when I looked at my visa and noticed it was expired. You don't go to Brazil with an expired visa since they won't let you on the plane. I woke up the next morning and flew to Houston on a wing and a prayer hoping somehow I would be able to get a visa. Now it takes 2 weeks minimum to secure a visa from the Brazilian Consulate. And they rarely make exceptions. I stepped into the building where I needed to be and low and behold there was a gentleman, very polite who asked me what I was looking for that day. I explained to him the sorted story of my ignorance and the fact that I was part of a larger group heading to Brazil including my two daughters. Within 30 minutes I had a signed 5 year visa and was off to the airport to rendezvous with the team at our departure point in Dallas. Wonderful story isn't it but that was the beginning of the supernatural.
Well I get on the plane (Houston to Dallas) but a freak thing happens. A tornado forms on the runway in a severe thunderstorm and delays all flights out 3 hours. Our departing flight is 6:30 from Dallas and my flight is still on the ground in Houston at 5:30 so there is no way I am making the flight. To make matters worse our team leader calls and tells me that 5 of our team has visas that are no longer valid and will not be allowed to leave the country on the Dallas flight. Normally Brazil issued 5 year visas but the year before changed to a 90 day version. It was very hard to notice and the change was in response to US regulation changes after 911. My flight was leaving Houston and we did not know whether 5 of the 13 would get on their flight, wow this is turning out to be a total mess. Remember the supernatural!
I arrived in Dallas and called the team to see if anyone didn't get to leave on the original flight. First one ring then two finally after 8 rings the phone is answered by one of the team. Five of them didn't make it so now what do we do? Oh to make matters much worse, the World Cup of Soccer was under way and that meant flights were at a premium. Brazilians are huge soccer fans and flights in and out of Brazil were at a premium. We had no guarantee we would even get on a flight for several days, but we would cross that bridge when we came to it.
We hopped into a rental car headed back down to Houston arriving early in the morning. We secured photos for the visa and headed to the consulate (the same consulate where the first supernatural event took place). Now I was with a group of 5 other people and the chances that we make it were very low in man's eyes. We walk up to the counter and the same polite man was tending a customer but he was reading the riot act to the individual in front of us for expecting to get a visa in an hour. I stepped up and he said "What are you still doing here?" I explained the sorted details one more time and he grumbled and said in a low voice "come back at lunch and we will have them ready. Now I am thinking "this is unreal what a blessing". So we went down to the break room and started to have breakfast since it was about 10:00 am. All the sudden it was my travel agent and she had good/bad news. Good news was that the 5 people that missed the flight in Dallas the night before were going to have a chance to get on a flight at 4:00pm but this was the only chance for several days basically ending the trip if we didn't make it. By the way I never considered my flight because my team leader said he arranged for me to be on that very same flight. The problem we faced now was that the polite Brazilian man told us to come back at noon and it was 10:15am. If we waited till noon we could never drive back to Dallas and catch the flight. I once again approach the man with a sheepish grin looking for one more miracle. After a bit of paperwork wrangling we were out of there with 5 new visas (5 year visas) by 10:45am.
Now I won't speak of the drive or the traffic or the angst of whether or not we would be part of this mission trip. We all felt God has His hand on us from the beginning. God used my ignorance due to not checking for my visa originally to establish a contact at the consulate. My plane was delayed so that I could meet the group on the ground and drive them back to Houston. Miracle after miracle but it doesn't end there. We make it to DFW Airport and get to the ticket counter with about 10 minutes to spare (just ten minutes). All the team are checked in and we are just elated to be there knowing the trip is on. Since I was the lead guy, I went last and finally I step up to the counter. To my shock the lady in a snide voice says "you are not getting on this flight since your ticket is a stand by ticket and there was no room. I could hardly believe my ears. I was thinking "God there no way that this could be since You had brought us through so much to get us here". I called my travel agent and told her what had happened. It so happened that the owner of this travel agency worked for many years as manager of the American Airlines Terminal in Dallas. He had a whole lot of pull. After a minute my travel agent told me to tell the lady working the ticket counter "take a look at the bottom of your screen". The ticket agent said "sir you are not getting on this flight. Sorry!" Before I could say anything my travel agent told me again "Tell her to look at the bottom of her screen". To my amazement she did and immediately printed out my boarding passes. The owner of the travel agency must have called in a favor. God is in control my friends! HE IS SUPERNATURAL! We all made that flight and participated in a mission trip where over 1200 people prayed to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior.
My friends to be a freak is to believe God is who He said He is (Supernatural, all Powerful, Omnipotent, and loving). Casual Christianity is not for those who will pick up their cross and follow Him daily. Live your Christianity out. God is working these miracle out in your life today. He is just waiting for you to have faith. Become what your faith says you are to be. Become a Jesus Freak!
pc
Well I get on the plane (Houston to Dallas) but a freak thing happens. A tornado forms on the runway in a severe thunderstorm and delays all flights out 3 hours. Our departing flight is 6:30 from Dallas and my flight is still on the ground in Houston at 5:30 so there is no way I am making the flight. To make matters worse our team leader calls and tells me that 5 of our team has visas that are no longer valid and will not be allowed to leave the country on the Dallas flight. Normally Brazil issued 5 year visas but the year before changed to a 90 day version. It was very hard to notice and the change was in response to US regulation changes after 911. My flight was leaving Houston and we did not know whether 5 of the 13 would get on their flight, wow this is turning out to be a total mess. Remember the supernatural!
I arrived in Dallas and called the team to see if anyone didn't get to leave on the original flight. First one ring then two finally after 8 rings the phone is answered by one of the team. Five of them didn't make it so now what do we do? Oh to make matters much worse, the World Cup of Soccer was under way and that meant flights were at a premium. Brazilians are huge soccer fans and flights in and out of Brazil were at a premium. We had no guarantee we would even get on a flight for several days, but we would cross that bridge when we came to it.
We hopped into a rental car headed back down to Houston arriving early in the morning. We secured photos for the visa and headed to the consulate (the same consulate where the first supernatural event took place). Now I was with a group of 5 other people and the chances that we make it were very low in man's eyes. We walk up to the counter and the same polite man was tending a customer but he was reading the riot act to the individual in front of us for expecting to get a visa in an hour. I stepped up and he said "What are you still doing here?" I explained the sorted details one more time and he grumbled and said in a low voice "come back at lunch and we will have them ready. Now I am thinking "this is unreal what a blessing". So we went down to the break room and started to have breakfast since it was about 10:00 am. All the sudden it was my travel agent and she had good/bad news. Good news was that the 5 people that missed the flight in Dallas the night before were going to have a chance to get on a flight at 4:00pm but this was the only chance for several days basically ending the trip if we didn't make it. By the way I never considered my flight because my team leader said he arranged for me to be on that very same flight. The problem we faced now was that the polite Brazilian man told us to come back at noon and it was 10:15am. If we waited till noon we could never drive back to Dallas and catch the flight. I once again approach the man with a sheepish grin looking for one more miracle. After a bit of paperwork wrangling we were out of there with 5 new visas (5 year visas) by 10:45am.
Now I won't speak of the drive or the traffic or the angst of whether or not we would be part of this mission trip. We all felt God has His hand on us from the beginning. God used my ignorance due to not checking for my visa originally to establish a contact at the consulate. My plane was delayed so that I could meet the group on the ground and drive them back to Houston. Miracle after miracle but it doesn't end there. We make it to DFW Airport and get to the ticket counter with about 10 minutes to spare (just ten minutes). All the team are checked in and we are just elated to be there knowing the trip is on. Since I was the lead guy, I went last and finally I step up to the counter. To my shock the lady in a snide voice says "you are not getting on this flight since your ticket is a stand by ticket and there was no room. I could hardly believe my ears. I was thinking "God there no way that this could be since You had brought us through so much to get us here". I called my travel agent and told her what had happened. It so happened that the owner of this travel agency worked for many years as manager of the American Airlines Terminal in Dallas. He had a whole lot of pull. After a minute my travel agent told me to tell the lady working the ticket counter "take a look at the bottom of your screen". The ticket agent said "sir you are not getting on this flight. Sorry!" Before I could say anything my travel agent told me again "Tell her to look at the bottom of her screen". To my amazement she did and immediately printed out my boarding passes. The owner of the travel agency must have called in a favor. God is in control my friends! HE IS SUPERNATURAL! We all made that flight and participated in a mission trip where over 1200 people prayed to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior.
My friends to be a freak is to believe God is who He said He is (Supernatural, all Powerful, Omnipotent, and loving). Casual Christianity is not for those who will pick up their cross and follow Him daily. Live your Christianity out. God is working these miracle out in your life today. He is just waiting for you to have faith. Become what your faith says you are to be. Become a Jesus Freak!
pc
Monday, February 22, 2010
Freaking Out path one
I am reading a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. There is a quote in there that is hilarious but true. He refers to Christians as manure. He says that when we spread us out all around we make everything grow. But when we all are bunched together we start to stink. God has created us to spread out and influence others for Christ. No that is too politically correct for my liking. I should have said that "God saved your sorry carcass from hell. He loves you and the least you can do is tell someone about Him. Now I feel better. Remember Being a Freak means that you pick up your cross and follow Him. But first you need to make sure that you are willing to follow Jesus.
There is that cliche that says "talk is cheap". We can talk up a good game but true satisfaction in Christ comes when we actually do in Christ. I met a man some 5 years ago that impacted my life in a huge way. He was a first class Jesus freak. He spent 14 years in Papua New Guinea working with the natives of that land. He spent much of his time learning the language before he and his wife could actually begin to share the Gospel. He did lead many to Christ living in one of the most inhospitable places on this earth. His wife died years later in the United States well before her time as a result of living in a tropical rain forest for so many years. He put his faith into action and does not regret one minute of his service. There were many speakers that day at this conference, but one of them had the life credentials that screamed "I will pick up my cross and follow Jesus", I am a Jesus Freak.
I made a comment last time that said "10 to 20 % of church members take their Christianity serious enough to match their faith. It is my conclusion that to be a Freak you must match your faith with your life. I am husband, father, pastor, manager, but more important than all of those put together, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. If that is truly what I am, then my life should reflect it most everyday of my existence on this earth. We are not all called to head off to the jungles of Papua, New Guinea. But we are called to head out the door, the web, the schools, and work places to spread the news that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth, and life. My friends when we live this out in our lives then our credentials will scream out loud and clear "I am a Jesus Freak"!
see you in the field
pc
There is that cliche that says "talk is cheap". We can talk up a good game but true satisfaction in Christ comes when we actually do in Christ. I met a man some 5 years ago that impacted my life in a huge way. He was a first class Jesus freak. He spent 14 years in Papua New Guinea working with the natives of that land. He spent much of his time learning the language before he and his wife could actually begin to share the Gospel. He did lead many to Christ living in one of the most inhospitable places on this earth. His wife died years later in the United States well before her time as a result of living in a tropical rain forest for so many years. He put his faith into action and does not regret one minute of his service. There were many speakers that day at this conference, but one of them had the life credentials that screamed "I will pick up my cross and follow Jesus", I am a Jesus Freak.
I made a comment last time that said "10 to 20 % of church members take their Christianity serious enough to match their faith. It is my conclusion that to be a Freak you must match your faith with your life. I am husband, father, pastor, manager, but more important than all of those put together, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. If that is truly what I am, then my life should reflect it most everyday of my existence on this earth. We are not all called to head off to the jungles of Papua, New Guinea. But we are called to head out the door, the web, the schools, and work places to spread the news that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth, and life. My friends when we live this out in our lives then our credentials will scream out loud and clear "I am a Jesus Freak"!
see you in the field
pc
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Time to Get Serious
I have come to the realization that many if not most church members are not serious about who and what they are in Christ Jesus. Once you read this blog you will probably be irritated with me and to that I say get over it. There is a song performed by Casting Crowns called "What this world needs" and in the song it says "what this world needs is not another ear pleasing candy man afraid of the truth". Well it takes a few days alone to think about things and get your head straight thus the reason for this new blog and truly a renaissance in my spirit. What are we doing Christian? Playing church while the world is heading straightforward to disaster. Yeah we get a quaint sermon on Sunday then head off to our lovely lives and play Christian with our church members. Meanwhile we walk past hundreds if not thousands of lost people every week with not even a thought as to whether or not we were supposed to speak the word of love to them. We sit in pews ever Sunday yet as soon as we walk out the door the hypocrisy moves in and even our own children wont go to our churches because of the testimony of untruth we have created.
Go ahead get mad at me. My new mantra is get over it. God has demonstrated to me that life is too short to sit idly by and be part of the Christian charade that is much of the church in America. I have pastored 4 churches in my 49 years of existence on this earth. I have done revivals at many more and one inexscapable conclusion is that probaly only 10-20 percent take their Christianity seriously enough to change their lives to match their faith. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-25 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. NKJV I guess it would be horrible for me to say "get lost in Christ" but the truth is that the Lord was saying just that. "Sell out little one and become a Freak for Me." Tomorrow night I am gonna go hog wild for the New Orleans Saints come win or lose. That is my perogative and I choose to enjoy being a fan of NFL football. But let me tell yoy that I am going to be much more fanatical about Jesus. I want to pick up my cross and follow the King daily.
So why do I write this blog? Well I am going to create a statement of declaration for me and anyone else who wants to take the pledge. This statement will become your battle cry and your testimony to Jesus Christ. If you take this pledge then you are saying I want to become the freak God made me to be. I am going to be a disciple of the God of this universe. I will no longer participate in the charade and I will pick up my cross and carry it along side my King. I will be part of the transformation that will change the church in America to a dynamic group of sold out Jesus Freaks from age 7 to 70 and higher who value pleasing the King more than pleasing the creation. Cmon take the pledge and become a real freak.
So now hear this, I Chet Keating will not be part of the charade of deception. I choose to stand up for my King. I will not shrink, will not faint, will not fear, will not run. I will love with all my heart and serve with all my vigor. I will not compromise for the sake of being popular. I will not fit in if fitting in means the status quo is going to continue. I will be bold in the Lord and strong in His word. I will not ever, no never deny my Savior Jesus Christ. I will not compromise His name for the sake of gain. I will consider no other equal to His glory and in the end if need be I will sacrifice my all, my everything for His service to the total of my essence.
I am A JESUS FREAK
If you sold out to the King just reply back "I am a Freak"
one of His freaks
pc
So why do I write this blog? Well I am going to create a statement of declaration for me and anyone else who wants to take the pledge. This statement will become your battle cry and your testimony to Jesus Christ. If you take this pledge then you are saying I want to become the freak God made me to be. I am going to be a disciple of the God of this universe. I will no longer participate in the charade and I will pick up my cross and carry it along side my King. I will be part of the transformation that will change the church in America to a dynamic group of sold out Jesus Freaks from age 7 to 70 and higher who value pleasing the King more than pleasing the creation. Cmon take the pledge and become a real freak.
So now hear this, I Chet Keating will not be part of the charade of deception. I choose to stand up for my King. I will not shrink, will not faint, will not fear, will not run. I will love with all my heart and serve with all my vigor. I will not compromise for the sake of being popular. I will not fit in if fitting in means the status quo is going to continue. I will be bold in the Lord and strong in His word. I will not ever, no never deny my Savior Jesus Christ. I will not compromise His name for the sake of gain. I will consider no other equal to His glory and in the end if need be I will sacrifice my all, my everything for His service to the total of my essence.
I am A JESUS FREAK
If you sold out to the King just reply back "I am a Freak"
one of His freaks
pc
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
