The Heart of a Hero of Faith.

Consider how you live, what you think, the movements your heart makes when you’re not living in communion with your Creator.  How the fog of unreality rises around you, all the unnecessary drama which comes into play, all the peripheral issues which somehow get thrust right smack into the centre of your life.  When grace is not pulsing through our very being, we tend to live under a cloud of contempt— primarily for others, but equally for ourselves.  It’s an unholy and incredibly unhealthy place, one not fit for God’s Creatures to dwell in, one where Royalty {1 Pet. 2:9-10} should never be found.

In his novel Gates of Fire, author Steven Pressfield has Xiones, a squire and archer in the Spartan heavy infantry, speaking to the Persian king Xerxes after the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC {the ‘Hot Gates’} and saying:

Of what does the nature of kingship consist?  What are its qualities, in itself?  What, the qualities it inspires in those who attend it?

…I will tell his majesty what a king is.  {Pause}  A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field.  A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall.  A king does not command his men’s loyalty through fear, nor purchase it with gold.  He earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake.  That which comprises the harshest burden a king lifts first and sets down last.  A king does not require service of those he leads, but provides it to them.

In the final moments, before the actual commencement of battle, when the lines of the Persians lay so close across from the defenders that their individual faces could be seen, Leonidas moved along the Spartan and Thespian fore-ranks, speaking with each platoon commander individually.  When he stopped beside Dionekes I was close enough to hear his words.

‘Do you hate them, Dionekes?,’ the king asked, in the tone of a comrade— unhurried, conversational— gesturing to those captains and officers of the Persians proximately visible across the no-man’s land.  Dionekes answered at once that he did not.  ‘I see faces of gentle and noble bearing.  More than a few I think whom one would welcome with a clap and a laugh to any table of friends.’

Leonidas clearly approved of my master’s answer.  His eyes seemed, however, darkened with sorrow.  ‘I am sorry for them,’ he avowed, indicating the valiant foemen who stood …across.  ‘What wouldn’t they give, the noblest among them, to stand here with us now.’

That is a king, your majesty.  A king does not expend his substance to enslave men, but by his conduct and example makes them free.  {Emphases mine}

Prophet, Priest, Warrior, King: at a single point in human history {which is His-Story} all of those roles are melded into one Man— the Lord Jesus Christ, the Master and Messiah in whose image we are being formed.  God is waiting right now, gentlemen, to bring these things to life and fruition within you and within me.  God has brought you to this place at this time in the History of the Ages for a purpose.  Your life is a masterpiece in progress {Eph. 2:10}, a masterpiece of strength and honor, conviction and courage, regardless of how you feel about that progress in the present.

There are no secrets to success in the Life of the Kingdom: All it takes is all you’ve got... surrendered and submitted to the sovereign will of your King.  Those who give all find it; those who don’t, don’t.  In the end, the Eternal End, it comes down to this.  Are you willing to humble yourself before your Lord, live as if ‘there is a God ...and I’m not Him!,’ and hang in there for the Long Haul?  Because that’s what it takes to be a Hero of Faith.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.

The Core of Authentic Manhood— Continued.

The Apostle’s encouragement to embrace the Warrior-spirit begins like this.  “Keep your eyes wide open to danger; stand true to the Lord, firm in the Faith; act like the men you are; be strong!  And let the Life you live be one of love” {1 Cor. 16:13-14 RR Exp}.  The four pillars of a man’s soul in Scripture can be embodied by four things: Prophet, Priest, Warrior, and King.  Every man, without exception, has been designed by His Creator to exist in these four arenas.  And not just to exist, but to excel… to the glory of his Great Designer.

“Be brave,” say’s Paul, act like men of courage.  This comes from the Greek word for manliness, for courage in Conflict.  This is the Warrior concept: ‘be a warrior, be courageous in battle.’  The recovery of the Warrior-spirit is essential for the healing of the masculine heart.  Because the Warrior is born for a Cause greater than himself.  You will never live in the divine definition of the word until you live for something greater than yourself, until you live for something beyond yourself, something transcendent, something which will be here long after you’re gone.  The Warrior is trained to stand in harm’s way for the love of others.  He’s willing to stand in harm’s way and, if necessary, lay down his life displaying what Jesus called ‘the greatest love.’  “Greater love has no one than this,” spoke our Lord, “that one lay down his life for his friends” {Jn. 15:13}.

Why does the Warrior “lay down his life”?  So that those left behind can continue on in liberty and in peace, in Freedom and in Life.  The Warrior is devoted to peace, but willing to die for the Freedom of others.  Freedom is a priceless treasure, for out of freedom come all things worthwhile; out of freedom come all the momentous decisions {great and small} that glorify the sovereign God of this Universe.  The Warrior— listen up, men— is incapable by virtue of his character and training of shirking his duty, his responsibility for the safety of others!  He knows that responsibility rests on his shoulders, if on no one else’s.

Last of all, we have the King.  To “be strong” is to ‘be continually increasing in strength;’ it’s from one of the Greek words for power and perseverance over the long haul.  That’s one of the qualities it takes to make a king …and to make a man: the ability to finish strong.  This is the quality King David had and that our Lord had as the King of Kings.  One that is wise enough to know the way, diligent enough to stay focused on it, bold enough to take those first few steps of risk on this road of adventure, and far-sighted enough to leave a heritage behind for future generations.  These are the kind of leaders the world needs.  Because this is what the finest kings in history were made of, of which David was certainly one, and in whose guise our Lord will Return at the Parousia.

As Children of God, men and women alike, we need to look within and be honest about what we find.  We need to look around and see the world for what it is so that our hearts and lives stay grounded in reality.  We need to look ahead with Hope, with the absolute assurance that our King is coming and our Abba is in control.  And finally, we need to look above, to keep one eye, in fact, fixed there at all times.  As Paul wrote, “Since, then, you have been raised with the Anointed One [Identified eternally with His Resurrection, and all its power and all its Life.], set your hearts on things above, where the Anointed One is seated at the right hand of God [‘Seated’ because He is ruling!].  Set your minds on things above, not on the things here below.  [And why?] Because you died when Jesus did, and your Life is now hidden with Him in God.”  Now for Paul’s finishing thought.  “When Messiah, who is your Life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” {Col. 3:1-4 RR Exp}.  Hoooaaahhh!

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.

The Core of Authentic Manhood.

Let’s return one more time to 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 just to summarize a bit of what we’ve seen.  We have in five very straightforward commands Paul’s own Code of Honor for the Royal Army of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Keep your eyes,” he says, “open to danger; stand true to the Lord, firm in the Faith; act like the men you are; be strong!  And let the Life you live be one of love” {RR Exp}.  Which reminds me of a beautiful saying the ancient Romans used— Amor Est Vitae Essentia, meaning ‘Love is the Essence of Life.’

Now... the core of manhood and masculinity in the Scriptures is embodied in four things: Prophet, Priest, Warrior, and King.  You’ve heard me say that every man is designed to be a Prophet, a Priest, a Warrior and a King, that these are the four pillars of a man’s soul.  So, let’s develop these in a little more depth.

The Prophet is, according to the first command in our passage, the person who is to watch, to remain vigilant.  Why?  Because he is a visionary.  The prophet looks within because he holds himself in the searchlight of Scripture.  The prophet looks around because he’s intensely interested in reality, not the fantasy-land of sinful speculation about others’ lives, and not the wistful longings of ‘I wish it were.’  A man must see what the world truly is and what must be done in light of this.

He not only looks within and around, he looks ahead.  The Prophet sees the present Age but he always looks at it in light of the future.  He sees the things which must be done, but he sees them from the standpoint and the scope of the blessing they’re going to bring to the lives of other people.  The blessing we have to share is borne in the greatest Struggle of all: the struggle within our own souls as to who will be our God?  Both sides of your Story— the disastrous victories and the glorious defeats— contain within them seeds which will bear the fruit of blessing in others’ lives one day.  Share your Story!

What about the Priest?  His command is to “stand fast in the Faith:” a military command which has to do with our relationship to the Trinity.  And this means priesthood {1 Pet. 2:5-9}.  The Priest shares in the weakness of the weak and points to the absolute strength of the Omnipotent God!  Hebrews 5:2 tells us that the priest can “deal gently” and compassionately with sinners, with the “misguided” and mistaken, and with those who are “going astray, since he himself …is beset with weakness.”  You get the point?  He cannot serve unless he’s weak enough to admit that only Christ’s Spirit can give him strength {Phil. 4:19}.  So you and I should fit right in.  You say, “But you just don’t understand how weak I am.”  Ohhh, but I do; for that same strain of sin, that same wave of weakness, runs right through every one of us.  But sin is not the final word on you and I.  Grace is.

Grace is the first word, the last word, and every word in between.  Grace is like oxygen to the Sons and Daughters of God; it is the air we breathe, the nutrients we absorb, the lifeblood in our veins.  Without it, we die; apart from it, we wither ...our souls a shriveled and shrunken version of their former selves.  Grace cleanses, purifies, empowers and provides; it clarifies the essential issues of Life in the Kingdom of God.  It draws us near to the heart of our Father and moves us out in the service of others.  Grace is gratitude.  And a grateful heart is a glorious heart.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.

The Only Thing Worth Knowing.

Remember how Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:14 said, “Let all that you do be done in love”?  He’s saying, “Let everything which comes forth from your life be accomplished in love,” furnished and equipped by a love which flows freely from the Master to His Apprentice, from the heart outward to others... all others.

Think about it.  Wouldn’t this be a healthy relational dynamic to employ?  Imagine how healing this would be for our own hearts, as well as those with whom we interact daily, if we were to engage them only and always from a position of Love, from a place of wanting what is the absolute best for them in every situation.  To speak these words, to offer these acts— be they kind and compassionate or courageous and convicting— to serve with no thought of being served in return, would be beautiful.  It’s a phenomenal sentiment, grand and glorious in its scope.  The only problem here is, and I would say most of us know this very, very well: You will never love the way Abba intended, with the passion and purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ, until you first recognize and internalize the Father’s love for you.

This is one of the toughest tests and most crucial challenges any Child of God ever faces, man or woman.  Here it is.  Do I really and truly believe in the deepest depths of my heart that God loves me infinitely and unerringly with all my faults, flaws, failures, and follies: just as I am and not as I should be?  Not as I will be one day and not as His Word is shaping me to be, but right here, right now, beat-up and burnt out, broken, battered, and bruised within?

There are at least three stages to this ...and maybe a million in between.  [a] Abba loves us, for He is the Initiator, the Pursuer {1 Jn. 4:8-10}.  [b] We, in return, love and devote ourselves to Him, for we can only respond in faith to His initiation, which is grace {1 Jn. 4:16 and 5:2-4}.  And [c] the Spirit of God begins to pour His love “out within our hearts” so that it can flow to the hurting and heartbroken around us {Rom. 5:5; 1 Jn. 4:19-21}.  It won’t work any other way.  Because you cannot produce Jesus’ love by human effort, you cannot manipulate Jesus’ love to your own advantage, and you cannot fake Jesus’ love with your own ingenuity.  It must be borne from within: as the Spirit of tenderness and of Truth pours it out within our hearts.  What does Paul pray in Ephesians 3?  “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith [Katoikeo = ‘live, make His home in, settle down and inhabit’].  And …that you, being set in the solid ground of love, may be empowered... to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know intimately this love which surpasses mere knowledge— that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God,” vv. 17-19a.  Amen!

In the end, it’s the one thing we must know down in the core of who we are, and know intimately, know passionately, know convincingly— the love of my Abba for me as His Child.  When measured against all other forms of ‘knowledge,’ in fact, and what they’re meant to potentially ‘produce’ in our hearts and lives, it’s the only thing worth knowing.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.

‘Alert and Oriented’ Times What?

Para-rescue jumpers, the brave men who treat injured seamen offshore, have a method for evaluating an individual’s level of consciousness.  It starts at level four, ‘alert and oriented times four,’ which is most of us, most the time: we know who we are, where we are, what time it is, and what’s happening.  It goes down from here.  ‘Alert and oriented times zero’ is a person who has lost all levels of consciousness, right down to their identity.  They don’t know who they are, where they are or why they’re here; they only know they’re in excruciating pain.  This, to me, describes much of humanity in the world today, and many of us who claim allegiance to the King of Kings, many within the Body and the Bride.  We’ve forgotten who we are {Sons and Daughters of a mighty King}, where we are {in a world at War}, and why we’re here {to fight, faithfully and fiercely, for the hearts of those around us}.

So, let’s pause for a ‘reality check’ or two, in light of what we’ve seen from 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 the past couple of weeks ...just to see what we’re ‘alert and oriented times.’  The first thing which comes roaring to the forefront of our hearts and lives is there’s a Battle raging this very moment… a vast Cosmic Conflict in the world in which we live.  And we, unaware though we may be, are in it none-the-less.  The question is not ‘will we step into the fray,’ because we’re in it already, whether we like it or not {and have been since the moment we first drew breath}.  The question is whether we will choose to fight in such a way that glory is won in the Cause of Christ.

The next divine reality we come to grips with is: the victory we long for in Time has already been won for Eternity.  Jesus spoke to His Disciples in John 16:33 on the eve of His Crucifixion and said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble, tribulation....”  “May have ...will have,” see the difference?  There are two places you can choose to ‘abide:’ in Christ or in the Kosmos, in the Word or in the world.  Jesus said, “Here in Satanic Central you have affliction and oppression of every kind.”  The question I want to ask most Christians, even myself on occasion, is: What do you expect as a son of God {Gal. 3:26} behind the lines in enemy territory?  You’re a Child of God in the devil’s world.  What version of reality are you living in: the True one or The Matrix?

“But take heart, take courage!”  There it is again, vital to the Conflict.  “I have overcome the world.”  Tharseo is a word which means- ‘have courage in the face of danger,’ and danger is precisely what we face.  What He’s saying to you and I through this passage is, “All the pain, all the pressure, all the conflict, chaos, and confusion of the Kosmos I have defeated.  Everything you’ve been through, everything you’ve experienced, everything you’ve suffered {at the hands of others or from your own bad decisions} I have suffered a thousand times more.  I’ve been there... and I’ve beaten it all!  In Me you have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

The third thing we see is that the only thing which can rob us {like the Exodus generation} from entering into the peace of God and the Triumph of His Son is a lack of faith, an unwillingness to trust.  The writer to the Hebrews spoke of the Jews who were delivered from slavery in Egypt saying, “the Message they heard was of no value to them, [Why?] because those who heard did not combine it with faith” {4:2b}.  They heard it ...they just didn’t believe it.  Sounds eerily familiar, doesn’t it?  It’s a perfect picture of those who refuse to believe God knows exactly what He’s doing, those who think they’ll be better served by their will than by His.  It’s a common mistake— of epic proportions.

And finally… we must understand, and I mean implicitly, down to the core of our very being, that ‘life in the Word,’ and ‘in the world,’ is about relationships.  It is relational to an infinite degree: first with God, then with man; first with the Father through faith in the Son, then working its way out to everyone around us.  For we were created in the “image” of perfect beauty, eternal intimacy, and relentless relationship— the Triune God.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.

Be Courageous In the Conflict.

From the Apostle’s third battlefield directive in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, the command to “act like men,” to “be men of courage,” to “be courageous” in the Conflict, we can discern a Path which will lead us there, a Path to Manhood or Womanhood as the Children of God.  The Path looks like this:

[1] Compliance in the Word {submission to divine authority}.  When the Word speaks, we listen; when listening, we believe; once believed, we act.

[2] Character of Christ {the Word at work}.  The wisdom, counsel, commands …they all belong to God; obedience belongs to us, and we have to own what’s ours.

[3] Conviction in Life {knowing what you believe... and believing what you know}.

[4] Commitment to the Cause {staying true to what you’ve trusted}.  This is critical.  Because if we don’t believe it enough to live it, it’s worthless.  In fact, it’s worse than that: it becomes our curse.

[5] Courage in the Conflict {unafraid to face reality}.  Ohhh, how the world needs this now.  Men, I would suggest we are here to do just this: face reality and deal with it, as it is and not as we want it to be.

The fourth phrase Paul uses from his warfare terminology is “be strong,” or lit., ‘keep increasing in strength, in resolve.’  How?  In the Lord’s might and by His power.  Ephesians 6:10 says, “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”  Paul states the reason he bows his knees before the Father on behalf of the Ephesians is so that “out of His glorious riches [His limitless resources] He would strengthen” them “with power through His Spirit in” their “the inner being” {3:16}.  Guess what the word for “strengthen” is there?  Krataioo = same term.  As you receive it from the Source, as you draw on the resources of the Spirit {Eph. 3:16; 6:10}, keep growing in the “grace and knowledge of” your “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” {2 Pet. 3:18}.  And don’t ever let up.  Let God give you the stamina to press onward and upward and to finish the Fight, to run your race with endurance {Phi. 3:12-14; 2 Tim. 4:7-8}.

These are the orders of a superior officer to the soldiers under his command.  He began this passage with two commands in the active voice, followed by one in the middle voice {the voice of personal benefit}, and one in the passive voice {the receiving of divine strength}.  They’re designated in this order because when we make the decisions to ‘live alert’ and to ‘hold our ground’ against the onslaught of evil we find the courage to ‘play the man,’ to be the men we were born to be.  And it is in this arena of courageous desire for Christ that His strength is fully realized in our souls, and fully released into the lives of others.

Let me paraphrase this for you.  “As a sentinel in the Spirit, be ever on guard, ever-alert, ever-vigilant.  When under attack, stand fast in the Faith and yield not an inch!  In time of battle, play the Hero!  You’re fully equipped and carefully trained, now receive Christ’s strength and fight for your King!” {RR Exp}.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.

‘First Things’ First— Part I.

In a section of Scripture where the apostle Paul is commending his fellow-warriors to the Saints in Corinth he lays out five commands for this Body of Believers: “Be on the alert, stand firm in the Faith, act like men, be strong,” and “let all that you do be done in love” {1 Cor. 16:13-14 NAS}.  What we have before us are four pillars on one foundation.  Each of these first four comes from the realm of warfare in ancient Greece, from the arena where Conflict is engaged in for Freedom and for Life.

        I.   “Be on the alert... on your guard,” be vigilant, stay awake in the Battle.  This is a call to spiritual vigilance, to an aggressive attitude in seeking the triumph of Truth and the glory of Grace.  The word gregoreo shows us the opposite of being asleep.  Be awake and aware to reality at all times, and to the danger that the enemy poses, be alert to his movements and machinations.  Because I can promise you, he’s alert to yours.  Most of us live our lives, and most of the people you know as well, as if they’re sleepwalking through life.  If you’re a Disciple of the King, a Follower of Christ in the Kosmos, what you’re sleepwalking through, in reality, is a minefield.  This is why it is so essential, so crucial, to stay in tune with the power for the Plan!

      II.    “Stand firm in the Faith.”  This comes from a root which means to ‘stand firm in the heat of battle, persevere in conflict, keep your footing no matter what.’  It was a term used of a soldier who, when the shock of battle hits with the enemy surging all around him, stands fast!  He holds his ground despite the fury and desperation of his opponent’s onslaught.  Let me ask you this: If you panic under pressure, if you fall apart in a firefight, can you hold your ground, can you stand fast and win the victory …or are you headed for the casualty count?

    III.   “Act like men.”  The NIV has “be men of courage,” the RSV “be courageous.”  The principle is clear: Courage is not born in a vacuum; courage is not manufactured out of thin air.  Courage comes only when we’ve faced the fire and not flinched, over and over again in our lives.  The verb andrizo means- ‘make a man of, or show oneself a man.’  Within this word the ideas of courage and of manliness are one and the same.

The Path to Manhood begins with character, and character comes about through our applying the Word to Life in the world... consistently, not conveniently.  Character leads to a life of conviction, not opinion.  Opinions come and go, they’re here today and gone tomorrow: a conviction is something you’ll die for.  And we live our lives based on conviction.  ‘It’s not what you think, it’s what you know and can never forget!’  Conviction based on absolutes means commitment, commitment to a Cause greater than self: the plan and purpose of Abba for me personally.

A man without a Mission is a man headed for destruction.  And this you can bank on.  A man needs a mission, something transcendent to give his life meaning and purpose and definition.  This is why we were created to begin with, so that our lives could be hooked up to a higher purpose, connected intimately to our Creator.  This is why we’re here.  When your character has been forged in the fire of adversity, when your life is one of conviction built on the absolutes of the Word, when those absolutes lead us into uncompromising commitment, you will find the courage to face what you have never faced before.  So understand this as a parting shot: Confidence in the purpose of God leads to courage before our fellow man.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.