Where the
Spirit of the Lord is...
There are
Free Markets
by John Garfield
The Great Commission
We
all subscribe to the goal of preaching the gospel to all men and making
disciples of all nations (Mark 28:19, Gen 12-2-3). We stress evangelism and
missions and we see the Lord moving throughout the earth, on one hand; and
wonder why we're not personally more effective, on the other. I want to suggest
that the version of the gospel we preach is even better than we realize; were
not yet preaching the whole thing.
Personal Freedom
One
of the trademarks of knowing Jesus is freedom. When we get saved we can feel
the weight of sin come off our lives. Guilt, oppression, and condemnation no
longer strangle our identity in Christ. Christianity isn't about the legalism
of religion. It's all about liberty and freedom.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 NIV
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the
prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19 NIV
But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now
the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Cor
3:16-17 NASV
Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and
brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Rom 8:21
NIV
I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. Ps 119:32
NIV
In
the beginning of our Christian walk, we learn to lay down our life. The
things we thought we wanted before we got saved not longer hold any real
satisfaction we lay those things down. But, when we begin to see
the Kingdom and see that we might have a role in what God is doing, we experience
a breakthrough and we discover ministry. It's fun; it's working with the
father; it's miraculous; it changes the lives of others through their salvation
and healing. What a joy!
After
some level of maturity, we discover that we can find the will of God in our
personal desires. After we learn to lay down our life, we learn to pick it up
again!
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to
take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. John
10:17-18 NIV
Taking
up our life in Christ means that we put our mind and will in gear and set our
heart on doing the things that He designed us to do. There was a time when we
all thought that was going into the ministry (full-time church ministry). Now
we realize 98% of us are really called to the marketplace
which is really even more fun (I've done both!). We take all the same gifts and
anointing we learned in church and apply them in one of the other mountains
where our real calling resides. Why? Marketplace ministry is how we make
disciples of all men and bless the nations.
At the Macro Level
We
just described freedom in a personal sense. Now, lets
switch to the macro level and talk about the great commission. There are many
historic examples of the connection between personal freedom, free markets,
revival and cultural change. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S.
Constitution are Bible-based attempts to facilitate personal freedom through
democracy in the political mountain. That freedom ushered in the industrial
revolution and greatly enhanced freedom on several levels in the 1800s
spiritual revivals, personal opportunities for freedom, reduction of poverty,
and cultural improvement were the result. Spiritual freedom and free markets
worked together to build the Kingdom. The church played her role in equipping
the saints, and Kings in the marketplace played their role in growing a nation
into her spiritual destiny of being a light in the world.
Since
World War Two, revival and free markets are changing Asia, China, India, and
Africa at amazing rates. The church has played a role in places like Africa and
South Korea. Free markets have played a leading role in China where missions
have not been permitted to the same degree. Even in the absence of missions,
the growth of Christianity in China has been amazing.
Note:
I used to like to see people get water-baptized first and filled with the
Spirit second. God frequently violated my order in both scripture and practice.
I wanted people saved first and then healed, but the Holy Spirit doesn't seem
to play by my rules. Unsaved people were getting healed all the time. I would
like to see a nice, neat missions program in China, but the Holy Spirit is
changing a nation with free markets without crusades. Instead of big name
ministries, the Holy Spirit is using closet-sized home groups often led by
women!
Paradigm Change
Can
you see the connection between freedom in Christ and free markets? Why don't we
just admit that free people usually choose the liberty that comes from the
Spirit of the Lord? People around the world have to be ensnared by the enemy to
maintain poverty, religious or political bondage, jobs they hate, oppression of
women, class systems, and pre-arranged marriages. When people look on the
internet, news media, TV, Facebook, email and talk to their friends on cell
phones to see the freedom we have in Jesus
they choose life! Millions in
China would never think of turning away from free markets to go back to the
oppression of communism. Can you see the hand of God in marketplace ministry
and free markets?
While
church and political leaders have been wringing their hands about materialism
and greed, the nations are being blessed in the marketplace. While capitalism
is cursed, the poor are finding jobs in free markets and being set free from
poverty. Where one denomination would criticize the social gospel, the Lord has
bypassed both systems and worked through the marketplace to build the Kingdom.
None of this may fit in our box
so why dont we just get out of the box
and
into the marketplace?
Will the Real Gospel Please
Stand Up?
We
get saved through Jesus' work on the cross; we are baptized in His name, we are
filled with the Holy Spirit, and we are equipped in the church through the work
of pastoral ministries, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.
Then we go to church every Sunday and live happily ever after, right? Wrong!
You
see the rest of the gospel is that we are each called to play a role in
building the Kingdom through the marketplace. Our vocations and businesses have
a ministry ingredient that operates through the desires of our heart. We're
called to a place of wealth and abundance through the value we bring to the
lives of others in the marketplace. We love what we do because we're walking in
the desires of our hearts. Our joy, our anointing, our fruit, and our abundance
give loud testimony to our life in Christ.
Give yourself permission to pursue the desire of your heart. If you find something you like to do, you'll never work another day for the rest of your life. Jesus sets you free.
John
Garfield