Anthony Trask » Christ

Thoughts on Revival

Anthony — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:56:35 +0000

One thing has been on my mind the past few days: Revival.

For those who grew up in church, Revival may carry with it connotations of:

Heading to church immediately after your parents got off of work, without eating dinner beforehand.
Going to this “Revival” at your church every single night, sometimes for weeks on end.
Not getting out of this “Revival” service until after 10pm in the evening.
Torturous days at work and school the day after- Revival Hang-over.
Ministers with bad- really bad- suits.
Singing the same chorus over and over, and over, again.
Late night “dinners” at Denny’s or other local pie shops.
And, sadly, little lasting impact on those who attended said Revivals, with even smaller amounts of impact on the communities in which the Revivals took place.

Often times Revivals are built around, or spurred on by euphoric spiritual highs, expected manifestations of particular spiritual gifts- often grossly misused, and bizarre unbiblical emergences of “new” spiritual phenomena.

Now some of you may have had awesome experiences with Revivals in the past, maybe some which have made lasting impact in your life and the lives of those around you. I certainly don’t want to diminish those experiences. Plus, all of the things I mentioned before that we often associate Revivals with, although a little humorous, are not all bad things.

I just have been thinking about what a Revival actually is, and wanting to experience one SO badly in my generation; more specifically, in my city!

The definition of “revival” is:

restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, etc.

Oh, this what I want to see in my generation, in this nation, in the Pacific Northwest, and in my city of Salem, OR! I want to see people’s lives restored! I want to see people’s consciousness restored! I want to see people’s vigor restored! I want to see people’s strength restored!

All of these things have been stolen by the enemy, stolen by sin, stolen by the flesh, and can only be restored by the One who gives life, consciousness, vigor, and strength- The Lord Jesus Christ who has saved us by His grace, and who asks us to put our trust in Him and what He offers.

This is the kind of revival that takes place in the life of everyone who has called upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, but what if there was another kind of revival?

What if Revival took place on a large scale; on a city-wide scale? I believe it can! I am praying for it! I am living for it!

Another word for Revival is “AWAKENING!” Imagine a city being shaken out of its slumber, out of its complacency of death, and being AWAKENED?!

Imagine the Spirit being so strong and irresistible on a community of Christians that people came for miles away to see for themselves, to taste and see that the Lord is good! Imagine this Revival not being an event that Christians came to to get pumped up about themselves! Imagine if this Revival was one where those who were dead, unconscious, or without vigor or strength came to be investigate whether or not they could be AWAKENED, and as they entered into the presence of God manifested through the love, worship, praises, deeds, miracles, and preaching of the Church, found out that they could indeed be AWAKENED- awakened only by surrendering their lives Christ!

Imagine true Revival where those who are awakened never slumber again; where a city is claimed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of His Spirit. Imagined if those who were awakened only knew how to respond by taking such a Revival with them to other cities, to the world!

That sounds like a Revival of Biblical Proportions! That sounds like the kind of Revival that I am praying for, that I am desperate for, that I am hungry for.

So be it.

New Year’s Prayer

Anthony — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:01:29 +0000

Reflecting on the Spirit’s presence being so strong within the early church, so much so that the mere touch of Peter’s shadow was healing those who stepped into it; I am believing and praying that 2011 will be a year of power. I want to see God’s power and presence manifested so strongly within His church that He receives all the glory due his Name and His Kingdom is advanced like never before. I seek a year where America, where the world, will be so hungry for God’s presence that they will flock into His church to worship alongside His people and come under His sovereign authority. I want to see a year where all of my preconceived notions and self-imposed limitations on how God should move are shattered. I don’t look for a repeat of the Book of Acts, but for God to do as He pleases, when He pleases, however He pleases. This is a year that I seek, expect, and pray for revival; a year where our “least-likely’s” will be first in line to give their lives to Christ. This is my New Year’s resolution, my cry, my prayer!

The Religion of Christmas

Anthony — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:17:26 +0000

We live in an extremely highly offend-able society. It celebrates diversity, yet lives in fear of what others will think if you ‘think’ or ‘do’ something different than the rest of the society: oxymoronic, I know… So out disproportionate respect for others, we have come up with the art of being “Politically Correct”: Doing and saying things in such a way that allows us to hint at our opinions and lifestyles without fully divulging them with others, in order to avoid hurting someone’s feelings- unless those opinions and lifestyles fit into the agenda of those who are easily offended, but that’s a whole other story.

Navigating the maze of rules encompassed within political correctness can be very complicating.

One arena where things get interesting is Christmas time. Christmas time, for centuries, has been a holiday where the birth of Christ is celebrated by Christians and anyone else who would like to get in on the festivities. There have always been people around the world who do not profess to be Christians, and because of that or other firmly held beliefs simply chose not to celebrate such a holiday. And that is their choice. No one has ever infringed on their right to not celebrate the holiday.

But recently because of a few fanatical non-Christians, it has become questionable whether or not it is appropriate to talk about Christmas in public, in schools, at work, and in the marketplace. So Christmas has been changed into “The Holiday Season”, Christmas Break has been turned into “Winter Break”, and Christmas Trees have been turned into “Festive Trees”.

Those who stand on the soapbox crying foul when anything Christmas is mentioned say that they do so because it infringes on their freedom of religion. They claim that anyone who is celebrating Christmas is pushing religion on them. And surprisingly businesses, government agencies, schools, and the marketplace have bowed to the demands of the vast minority who fear religion.

So in order to avert religion all together, it has become acceptable to celebrate things such as snow, snowmen, Holiday cheer, merriment, turkey dinners, and festive colored lights instead of the birth of the highly offensive Christ. But the thing that is elevated above all is gift giving.

I have a six year-old and a two year-old and every “Holiday” movie we watch promulgates the idea that the “reason for the season” is to give and receive gifts. Not because God gave the greatest gift of all in His Son. And not because wise men from the East came to bring His Son gifts. The reason for the season is to give and receive gifts simply because it’s a good thing to do.

So our children are taught, including my son by his school where “Christmasy” things can’t be mentioned, that in order to receive gifts from Santa, they must be “good”. And if these children are good, they are taught that, Santa will take notice and give them rewards in the form of gifts. And if these are children are not good, then Santa will punish them by leaving them coal. In order to appease Santa all-the-more, milk and cookies are to be left near his entrance to the house.

The problem with all of this, and the reason for which I am writing this to begin with, is how ironic this all is. In order to prevent religion from creeping into our lives with Christmas, we have invented all of these ideas, concepts, behaviors, and rituals to celebrate instead. What’s so ironic is the very things that are invented to keep religion out, are by their very definition religious!

Religion at its very core is being what you consider to be good so that you can appease a deity or deities, avoid punishment, and get a reward. In our modern “religious-free” Holiday season, we celebrate and promote that very thing. Be good and nice so that you can get a gift. Give gifts because it’s the right thing to do and it will make you feel good.

Quid Pro Quo.

The secular version of Christmas that we teach our children and celebrate even as adults couldn’t be any more religious! Be a good boy or girl so that you can appease the Holiday god (Santa). Leave a sacrifice (Milk and Cookies) to the Holiday god at his alter (the fireplace) and he’ll be even more pleased with you and will probably come back next year. If your behavior throughout the year has appeased the god who perceives all things associated with human behavior (Santa), and if your sacrifice to him was appropriate, he will bless you and allow you to enter into his heaven (Holiday gifts). If you do not please your god (Santa) he will send you to his hell (coal). If you in turn give gifts to others on his Holiday, he will be more pleased with you and you will be a good little worshiper. And finally in celebration of your god and his Holiday, you and your tribe (family) will participate in a sacred feast (Holiday dinner) in worship to him.

Follow my logic?

You see, if religion is what the politically correct powers want to avoid, then they ought to embrace the actual meaning of Christmas instead. That which they deem to be religious (Christianity and its version of Christmas) is in fact the exact opposite of religion. Religion, as explained earlier, teaches that “IF you do X, THEN you can be Y“. Christianity teaches something entirely different. It teaches that “BECAUSE Jesus did X, NOW you can be Y“. Religion is works-based. Christianity is grace-based. God freely giving us exactly what we don’t deserve (salvation), but what we want so desperately want (forgiveness, relationship, purpose, and eternal life). Grace is received not through anything we’ve done, only by what Christ has done for us.

So instead of crying foul the next time someone says the word “Christmas” or shares the true meaning of this ancient holiday, the easily offended ought to look at the religion they’ve created and embrace the original freedom from religion: Jesus Christ.

A Peculiar Day

Anthony — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:54:57 +0000

Today was an odd day. I found an error in my homework. I almost got backed into by a motor home. I spilled pop on myself because of almost getting hit by the motor home. Some angry guy shoved our condo’s gate open to leave. I stood in a long line at the post office. I delivered cookies. I prepared a sermon on pornography, homosexuality, and freedom from sexual sin (Yep, that was interesting but I’m praying for grace-filled, love-focused, Christ-centered results). I received some bad news. I got yelled at by a woman who fought hard against me in a financial decision because I am a pastor (Really, it’s a long story…). I was encouraged by the Body of Christ. I received some bad advice. I was given a generous gift. We had a good dinner with friends (The second night in a row- different friends). I got interesting feedback from a message series I’m teaching. I got gas, ate Greek yogurt, and now am typing in bed while my wife folds clothes and watches the Duggar girls visit Chicago in their ever present denim skirts. I’m tired now, tempted to say and do things just to make people happy, questioning why God does the things He does, but very resolute to stay on mission, to boldly keep doing what I’ve been called to do (preach the Word of God and create a culture where God is glorified and His Kingdom is most effectively advanced), and to trust that God is my source no matter what.

How Far Is Too Far?

Anthony — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:57:47 +0000

I’m currently preaching a series on Sex, Love, and Relationships from a Biblical Perspective.

This weekend I will be presenting part two of the series and focusing on premarital relationships and sexuality.

Here’s some of my thoughts on the topic that I’m tossing around and will be presenting this weekend(a preview if you will).

One question that many Christians like to ask is;” How far is too far (for me to go sexually with my boyfriend or girlfriend before it is considered sin)?

But that’s really the wrong question to be asking. A better question to be asking would be;” How can I honor and worship God the most?”

Do you think that God is impressed by your “How far is too far?” question?

It’s like asking Him;” God, what’s the least I can do to be saved?” “What’s the least I can do to please you?” “How can I get to heaven with the least amount of commitment to You?” ” What’s the least I can do to get my ‘get-into-heaven-free-ticket?’ “How much sin can I commit without going to Hell?” “I know You took on my sin and died an excruciating death on the cross, but You don’t mind if I willingly commit the very sins You died for a little more, do You?”

Get the picture? These kinds of questions that we ask, that I ask, are despicable and come at things from the completely wrong approach. These questions are all about us, and not about God! We try to make life all about getting into Heaven. Well maybe that’s not the case. Let me rephrase that; rethink that. I believe that we try to make life all about getting out of Hell.

And it’s not that wanting to go to Heaven is a bad thing (FAR from it!), or that wanting to avoid Hell is a bad thing either. It’s that our primary goal in life should line up with our primary reason of existence: to worship God, reflect Him well, and to find joy and satisfaction in relationship with Him. And while that desire isn’t something that necessarily comes naturally or easily to our sinful selves, we need to seek God for it and allow God to change our hearts to be inline with where He has ordained them to be. Anything less is essentially self-worship: How can I get this? How can I avoid that? How can I…

This goes back to the essentials of our romantic relationships. It’d be like me asking my wife;” How far can I stray from you before you divorce me?” “How many nights a week can I go to the strip club…?” “How many girls can I sleep with before you…?” In other words, love for someone is not seeing how far we can go before they ‘reject’ us. Love for someone is seeing how much you can do to please them?

So do you want to really please God, your future (or current) spouse, and yourself with your sexual decisions? Ask yourself this;” How far would be too far for my husband/wife to go sexually with another woman/man?” And wherever that lines is; that’s how far you should go with your current boyfriend/girlfriend because someday, they’ll be someone’s husband/wife. Andy Stanley says that sexual purity leads to intimacy (with your future spouse). So keep pure today, so that someday you can be more intimate with the one you will spend the rest of your nights with.

Yoke

Anthony — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:12:52 +0000

Some Christians forget that the Bible is…well…the Bible. Christians specifically tend to do this with the writings of the Apostle Paul- dismissing his contribution to the Bible as mere opinion or recomendation. But that’s not what we as Christians believe at all-unless it’s convenient to our life’s circumstances.
As Christians we believe that the Bible is holy, true, and authoritive. It is the most authorative means by which we hear from God- His very Word spoken to us by Godly authors through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Nearly half of the New Testament was written by Paul. He was the greatest missionary and example of grace the world has ever seen. His words are not merely advice or suggestion, they came by the Holy Spirit of God and we are responsible as followers of Jesus to heed them. There is only one time where Paul says that his writing is only his Godly opinion, and that’s when he wrote that it’s better for a man not to marry. But everything else is foundational for Christian living.
One such passage that Christians love to ignore whenever their life situation changes is Paul’s command in 2 Corinthians 6:14 to not be linked together with unbelievers.
Usually a Christian will “fall in love” with someone only to realize that the person they’ve fallen in love with is not a Christian like them. The big problem is that it (them not being a Christian) was not a factor when they were seeking someone out, or at least they let that issue slip their mind.
That Christian, now in love with this new nonchristian, will convince themselves that they have the power to save their new significant other. They forget that the only One who can save someone is the One Jesus Christ. We call this missionary dating.
Sadly, time and time again, with these relationships it is usually the “Christian” who falls away from their “faith” than the nonchristian finding a new faith.
This happened over and over again in the Old Testament as Israelite men would marry gentile women who would lead them to worship idols, thus the practice was strictly prohibited. This is why it was carried over into New Testament Christianity. Paul, as well as the Holy Spirit (obviously), knew that the results of a Christian and nonchristian being in a romantic relationship would be disasterous.
From a practical side though: If you were a Christian and had eternity with Jesus to look forward to, how could you marry someone who was not knowing that they were going to suffer for eternity in he’ll? That reality would haunt and horrifying me everyday.
And if as a married couple you share the most intimate details of your life with each other, why would you want to spend your life with someone who you can’t share the most joyous thing in your life with. Talk about having nothing in common.
This list could go on and on but I will close with one more thought: If Jesus is the most important thing in your life, then why wouldn’t you choose someone whom Jesus was just as important to? A Christian spouse can encourage you, pray for you, and hold you accountable.
So don’t let a man (or woman) distract you from what God has in store for you. You can change nobody. Never settle. Go after the best! Because that’s what God MADE for Adam.

Thoughts on Sunday

Anthony — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:17:03 +0000

Today was the second Sunday of our Identity series; and the first Sunday of the Vision miniseries within the larger series. Our Vision Statement is to be a Community of Grace, Love, and Hope. So today we talked about Grace.
It was a very somber worship gathering as we were all forced to look at the fact that we cannot make it on our own and that we need Christ to do it for us.
The hi light of the day came when I saw two people who gave their lives to Christ last week. One of their countenances had literally changed from the week before.
The other was amazing. She just moved to American and had never heard the Gospel before and last week received Christ! This week she was so excited about what had happened that she wanted to get pictures taken with staff and volunteers of the church so that she could send them home to her friends and family overseas. I watched the woman try to sing along with worship songs that she had never even heard and vigorously and enthusiastically make sure that she was able to give an offering.
How wonderful it is to see the grace of God at work in other’s lives and to see them so excited by the fact that Christ has truly set them free!
If only those of us who have had a relationship with Christ would have such excitement!

Remember!

Anthony — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:23:53 +0000

I’m not one to constantly point fingers at the devil, but this week has been a spiritual warfare doozy!
This past Sunday was AMAZING! It was the first official week that I served our church as co pastor. We had an incredible worship gathering! We changed up the order of our service to make it flow much smoother and to eliminate so many awkward moments. The new order of service allowed adequate time for reflecting on God’s Word in worship after the message. The message that God gave me was INTENSE and cut straight to the heart. And as a result, we saw 5 people turn to Jesus for salvation- one of which had literally NEVER heard the Gospel before!
But then came Sunday afternoon- and a deep, dark cloud of depression hovered over me. It was horrible. To make it much worse, and after one of the longest and hardest working weeks of my life, i received the smallest paycheck I have ever earned.
Quickly my heart began to race and to sink as I began to think of the nearly $1000 mortgage payment that was due in a little over a week and my bank account that was on the verge of being overdrawn, even after I deposited this week’s check.
I started to ask myself and God questions like,” I worked my butt off for God this week, and this is how He repays me?!” As if God has to repay me! Selfish, arrogant, and evil thoughts began to flood my mind.
The next day was Monday my day off and I wanted so badly to take my family to do something fun and exciting, but we literally had NO money to do anything with.
That day I had to deal with a family crisis; was literally punched, kicked in the face, scratched pinched, bit, and cussed at (that’s a long story); had to counsel a a paranoid person on the phone, and once we got away from the house to try to do something a little fun- our car battery died and we had to have someone come jump it for us. Things were not looking up.
As the days progresses I had to deal with annoying people and circumstances, and was ogled by a very disturbingly mean old woman (that’s a long story too).
But as I read through the book of Deuteronomy, something stood out- REMEMBER.
Throughout the book Moses keeps telling the Israelites to remember all of the awesome things that God has done to deliver them, protect them and provide for them. He tells them that when the y enter the Promise Land that they will need to remember these things or else they will become self-reliant, forget about God, and serve idols which will lead them to bad days ahead, including exile.
That put things into perspective. I have an amazingly beautiful and healthy family. We have not gone hungry. We have the privileged of ministering the Gospel of Christ. Things could be MUCH worse; and all things considered things are going very well and we are very blessed- not because of anything we’ve done, but because of the unmerited favor of God!
And I believe that since things went so well this last Sunday, and because I know God has good things in store for my ministry in the days ahead; that I have just become a bigger target for the devil and his forces of darkness. And you know what? I’mm going to let God fight that battle for me!

Notes on Leadership Journal, Part 5- Where We Stand

Anthony — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:46:24 +0000

Here’s the deal: God has given us unique abilities and has placed us in a unique general location within a unique community with a unique people in order to reach them with a unique Gospel.

We have, now more than ever before, great potential to reach the lost for Christ through this church if we would be obedient to the mission that God has given us and on board with the overall vision that I present to you today.

Short of Sin

Anthony — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:36:39 +0000

I recently listened to a message by one of my favorite pastors, Perry Noble. He is hardcore to the bone for Christ.

He made a statemement, that I have heard recently somewhere else, that has really got me thinking. He saud,” We will do anything short of sin to bring the lost to Christ” Wow!

I am so fed up with religion and non-Biblical rules that tell us as Believers what/when/ how we are supposed to act and share our faith. I am tired of people allowing tradition to drive their actions instead of passion for real people who will burn for an eternity in a real hell.

It is so ridiculous to hear Christians says things like;’ You can’t play that kind of music’, ‘You can’t show that movie’, ‘You can’t hang out in those places, or ‘You can’t talk to those kind of people’ when it comes to doing church and taking part in evangelism.

I think of Jesus and the people that he associated with, particularly ones that he ate with. Eating with someone in the ancient Near East was a way of showing acceptance of someone. He hung out with the sinner and the cultural outcast. Religous/ Traditional people were so upset by it that they started calling JESUS a drunk!? They couldn’t handle Jesus breaking their made-up rules. I think it was because they realized that it really wasn’t their good deeds that could save them, but Jesus. And that made them uncomfortable because of their arrogance. They wanted to believe that they could take care of themselves…and that they didn’t need God to do so instead.

Our Church today is the same. We have come to rely on our traditions, our music, our charisma, our teaching style, our programs, and our contemporary made-up rules; and we are pathetic. It’s time to get back to Jesus! There are some of us who are starting to wake up to our incessive need for God, and a movement is beginning. I hope for the day when our nation and our generation of Christianity experiences a revival in ferver and passion for Christ, and in particular, evangelism.

Like Jesus, we need to start influencing the sinners and the outcasts with our friendship and convicition. We need to do so with wreckless abandon without the worry of what religous Christians will think of us. Because afterall, we must see embrace becoming all things to all men so that some may be saved.

And this means truly doing anything short of sin to save the lost! I’m with you Perry.