What Every Hero Needs - A Phone Booth

The phone booth is THE iconic superhero changing station. Because of Clark Kent, whenever we think of the common man making the quick change into the superhero, we think of the phone booth! You can't help it!

In our lives as followers of Christ, heroes, and world changers - we need a phone booth! We need a place where we close ourselves off from the world, and come out heroic.

Even Jesus thought so - "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. (Matthew 6:5-7)

Every hero has got to have a phone booth - a prayer booth - a prayer closet - if you will. Prayer is what will transform us to transform others.

What you desire you become! It's a similar idea to the fight. Private battles lead to public victories. In the same way, if our desires are set on Christ, as we seek Him privately, we will be able to reveal Him publicly!

Think about Jacob and Esau. Esau was so hungry for physical food that he gave up his birthright. He allowed himself to starve, and it resulted in a stupid decision. You become what you desire, what you're hungry for. Prayer keeps us from starving.

Esau allowed himself to get too hungry, and his hunger caused him to put the wrong things first. He sold his birthright for soup!

I don't think cannibalism was ever anyone's first choice! I can't imagine any cave man saying, "Honey, I'm sick of cow - let's go chop off the neighbors leg!"

Those outdoor survival shows are a great example too! When you've run out of options, you start thinking crazy thoughts in order to survive. Like drinking your own urine, or squeezing elephant dung to get the liquid out of it.

God will never let us starve when it comes to His presence. But we have the responsibility of seeking Him - of consuming His presence!

When we are starved of God's presence in our lives, we make stupid choices. It's hard to change the world when we are starved of the One who changes US!

And prayer does change us. In fact, Jesus Himself prayed. If Jesus needed to pray, that should tell you something about yourself! The night before the cross, He prayed in the garden, and then got up, and faced the cross head on!

There are going to be times in our lives when we don't feel like changing the world, or when we're flat out scared to pursue what is in front of us. Prayer is what changes that. Prayer takes us from scared and tempted, to bold and courageous.

Here's what I know: If you want to live a boring Christian life, then only do what is necessary. Read the parts of the Bible that make you feel good, and find a church that makes you happy. A place where you can give your money, and raise your family.

But whatever you do - DON'T PRAY! I mean, pray before you eat, and pray before bed, and pray simple "feel better" prayers when someone is sick.

But don't pray radical prayers. Don't ask God to help you change the world, because He'll start with you!

Don't ask God to raise the dead, or truly heal the sick, or cast out demons - because people might tell you you're crazy and you're going to do more damage than good.

Don't get private with God, because you might find out that He wants to go PUBLIC with you!

But if you want to be a world changer - go get in your phone booth. And let God transform you and give you what you need to truly change the world.

Mighty Hero! The Lord is with you! You were born for such a time as this!  You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. So put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. Love one another as Christ has loved you. Fight the good fight of faith! Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you!

You ARE a hero! Go be heroic!

What Every Hero Needs - A Fight!

A hero with nothing to fight for is wasted talent! Like a doctor without patients, a car salesman without cars, a salad at Outback steakhouse!

You weren't born to sit on the couch, you were born to fight! You were born for conquest!

In 1 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy, and us, to fight the good fight of faith - to lay hold of the eternal life to which we were called. We were born for the fight!

In Numbers 13, the children of Israel faced a crossroads. God had told them that He was giving them a land of their own - a good land, flowing with everything they would need! He said that the land belonged to them, but they were going to have to fight for it. Have you ever gone into a fight with a guaranteed win? Cause that's what God was offering them. But they would have to fight.

The problem is that when they sent the spies into the land, only two of the men came back ready to fight. The rest had allowed fear to put their bladders in a vice grip. Joshua and Caleb are jumping at the chance to go and fight Giants and claim the land God is giving them, while the other spies are changing their underwear.

We have two fights going on as we face forward, and look to what God has for us. The fight inside, and the fight outside.

The fight inside is all about fear, conflict, and insecurity: What will happen to me? What about my secret struggles? What will people think of me?

The faster we deal with the inside fight, the faster and more equipped we will be to fight the outside fight. Private battles lead to public victories.

I say "faster" because I think we spend way too much time on the inside fight. And most of that time isn't fighting, but whining and complaining. We let the enemy keep us wrapped up in fighting the same fights over and over again. I am so afraid that there are too many people who are going to come to the end of their life, having just figured out how to deal with the inner fight, with no time left to fight the outside fight.

As the leader of The Brand, I am committed to not dealing with sin week after week in the lives of our students. I am committed to teaching them who they are in Christ, and why they have authority over sin, and why they can be dead to the ruling of sin. We make mistakes, yes, but we don't let ourselves get stuck. We confess our sins to the one who is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then we continue moving in the identity and purpose that Christ has put inside of us, so that we can bring the Kingdom of God OUTSIDE of us!

The public fight is a serious one. The enemy is working hard to destroy meaning and purpose. God has placed meaning and purpose inside all of us, and the devil works hard to steal that. One of our public fights is to restore identity and meaning in the lives of those around us.

The enemy also works hard in the area of violence. Our world is seeing a rise like never before in the realm of gang violence, human trafficking, the drug war, and even the growing epidemic of bullying.

We fight the fight as we bring hope, as we bring rescue, as we bring the love of God to these situations.

And of course, there is the constant fight of whether or not we will allow ourselves to be desensitized. Especially in the realm of sexuality. We are constantly fighting to keep our eyes clean, and our minds pure. It's a difficult fight when you feel like "up" is the only direction you can look in order to keep the garbage out. The truth is that while we can't keep birds from flying over our heads, we can keep them from nesting in our hair. We may not be able to control everything we see, but we can control our response. We can choose purity, we can choose life, even in the face of impurity all around us.

Sadly, the enemy is more constant in his attacks then we are as the body of Christ. But we still fight on the winning team, and we still have the power to tear down his kingdom. 1 John 4:4 is still true - "Greater is He that is in YOU, than he that is in the world."

So we fight. We were born for war. We were born to take the land.

Mighty Hero! The Lord is with you! You were born for such a time as this! You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. So put on the full armor of God, that you may stand against the schemes of the devil. Love one another as Christ has loved you. And fight the good fight of faith!

What Every Hero Needs - A Sidekick And A League!

Every hero needs a sidekick!

Batman needs Robin, Nacho needs Escuelito, Green Hornet needs Kato, Marshall needs Ted!

Same is true for Christ followers. The only difference is that while many sidekicks are ONLY sidekicks, Christians are both hero and sidekick for each other. There are going to be some battles where you need a buddy to come alongside you, and sometimes YOU get to be the buddy!

But at the cross, we all end up on equal ground.

And then there are leagues. Leagues are awesome because everyone is the hero, and nobody's a sidekick. Everybody gets together and fights and wins. Think about the Avengers, or the Justice League, X-Men, Fantastic Four!

Each hero has their own individual strengths, and together, they create an unstoppable force.

Think about the Disciples. Jesus could have come and taken over the world by Himself. He didn't NEED anyone! And yet He chose 12 guys, each with unique personalities and strengths (and weaknesses!) Together, they wreaked holy havoc on Israel.

And then, the part that fires me up, is He gave them His Spirit to live IN them, and THEN they transformed THE WORLD. The same Spirit is alive in you and me, and we get to keep the work going!

If Jesus felt like He needed to have a league, that means we probably do too! And if we're really gonna change the world, then we need to get serious about loving each other well. Jesus said in John 13:35 - "By this all men shall know that you are My disciples, if you show love for one another." 

If we begin to see ourselves as heroes, we're going to start having a lot of fun. I can't help but think of the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14. It's worth the read, but here's the point - Together, they took on a herd of Philistines because they believed that God was with them. And He was! They overcame impossible odds, and I guarantee you - it was a story they told for a long time!

Transforming the world is way more fun with others.

1 - You get to make holy trouble. I'm all for teens doing crazy things for Jesus. Just make sure it's for Jesus!

2 - You get to combine your faith. My faith may be strong on my own, but I know how much stronger it is with others!

3 - You get to plan strategically. Two or more heads are always better than one!

4 - You get a shared legacy. You get stories to tell for the rest of your life, to build your faith and the faith of others.

God wants to do amazing things through you. But He also wants you to join your strengths with others. As we love each other, and fight for and WITH each other, the world won't be able to resist the love and power of Christ that flows out of us!

Might Hero! The Lord is with you! You were born for such a time as this! You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you! So put on the whole armor of God, that you may stand against the schemes of the devil. And love one another as Christ has loved YOU!

What Every Hero Needs - A Cape?

"The Incredibles" is a great movie. And one of my favorite scenes is when Mr. Incredible needs a costume adjustment. He goes to visit costume extraordinaire, Edna, who declares that his old costume is a hobo suit, but she doesn't have time to make a new costume but secretly can't wait to get started, and finally caves. However, she won't make him a cape! "No capes!" she declares, and then explains how various other heroes had lost their lives due to their capes. One's cape is snagged on a missile, one is sucked into a jet engine, another caught in an elevator, and yet another sucked into a vortex. Capes are out of the question.

As a hero for Christ, I think capes can get you into trouble as well. Why? Because they have a tendency to make you LOOK heroic, while hiding what's going on, on the inside.

David was just a shepherd when he determined to fight Goliath. He certainly didn't look heroic. He probably didn't SMELL heroic either!

The problem was that the army of Israel, God's army, DID look heroic - but they weren't. Everyone in the army was trembling in fear as Goliath challenged someone to come and fight him. They sat around in their camp, shining their armor and polishing their swords, and talking about the great wealth that would be given to the man who defeated Goliath - but none of the trained warriors were willing to be the man!

David comes along, stinking of cheese and dirty sheep, and says "Bring it on!" He wasn't very heroic on the outside, but on the inside he was Israel's best dressed warrior.

Upon his declaration that he's willing to be the one to fight Goliath, they bring him to King Saul who laughs him off. But when he realizes that David's serious, he immediately goes to work on an extreme Hebrew makeover, complete with sword, shield, and armor. David looks in the mirror, and realizes he's already dead if he stays in this getup. Why? Because what he was bringing to the battle wasn't about exterior protection, but interior weapons. His best defense and offense was the Spirit of God inside of Him. That would be what would win the battle.

So Saul gives in, and let's David go with nothing more than his shepherd gear. David stops by the river to pick up some stones, and heads off to meet Goliath.

The other thing about capes is that they cover your back. David didn't need anything to cover his back. If you read the story in 1 Samuel 17, you'll see that the only running David does is forward - towards Goliath, not away from him. He knew that children of God are never meant to run away from the fight, but toward it. When you read about the armor of God, in Ephesians 6, you'll read that there is no part of the armor that covers your back. There is no defensive plan. Our best defense is not a GOOD offense, but a CONSTANT offense.

Jesus said it much more eloquently when Peter declared Him to be the Christ, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!" (Matthew 16:18)

David was offensive, in both senses of the word. He offended Israel's army by showing them up. They should have been the ones running to the battle. And he was offensive in his attack on Goliath. Goliath had everything a hero needs on the outside, but it didn't stand a chance against what David had on the inside. David made sure he knew it as he ran toward him, too: "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45)

If you're gonna be a hero, start on the inside, and work your way out. We've been given some incredible tools to fight hard, and win. Maybe you don't LOOK like a hero! But I guarantee you have it inside you!

Mighty Hero! The Lord is with you! You were born for such a time as this! You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you! So put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.

What Every Hero Needs - A Superpower

I love the movie "Mystery Men." It's a complete mockery of superheroes. You take a bunch of average guys who are convinced that they are super, with ridiculous "powers," and they end up saving the world anyway. As someone who loves idiotic movies, this is a gem. You've got the guy who gets super angry, the guy who is really good at throwing forks at people, another who beats people up with a shovel, and the guy who has horrible farts. Then there is my favorite of the group, Invisible Boy, who can turn invisible, but only when people aren't looking.

I think Christians can get caught up in the reality of this though. We read about the super heroes of the Bible, but when we hold up the mirror of God's Word to our own lives, we feel like a bunch of average
Joe's with nothing exciting to offer the world. We can become really super at being average.

The reality, though, is that Jesus never meant for the disciples to be the last of the superheroes. In fact, John 14:12 makes it sound just the opposite. Jesus says that anyone who believes in Him would do the things He did, and GREATER things. If that's the case, we need to tap into His super, because every hero needs a super power. And the power that makes US super is Holy Spirit.

The Bible seems to be pretty clear that we get Holy Spirit when we get Christ as our Savior. But that's only one part of the story. Jesus said that He would send us a Comforter, someone to guarantee our Salvation, and I believe that's what Holy Spirit comes to do the moment we are saved! However, Jesus also promised that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. That's the part that seems to get lost at times. We want His peace, but we don't always want the power - because power requires action.

Bill Johnson says this, and I wholeheartedly agree - Holy Spirit is IN us, for us. But He is ON us for others.

Jesus' entrance into ministry is a cool model for what I believe Holy Spirit wants to do in us. In Luke 4:1 Jesus goes into the wilderness following His baptism. It reads "Jesus, FULL of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." He then enters a time of testing by the Devil. And wins. But in Luke 4:14, Jesus returns - watch how it reads - "Jesus returned to Galilee IN THE POWER of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through the whole countryside." 

Holy Spirit's presence and power are two different things. We get Him when we get Jesus, and He comforts and seals us. But as He leads us, we begin to learn that He wants to fill us with power to do the work of Jesus.

It's an amazing journey, and we never stop learning, and He never stops teaching. But He also never stops giving us the tools and resources we need to change the world.

You were born to burn. Don't let yourself become super at being average. 

Mighty Hero! The Lord is with you! You were born for such a time as this! You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you!