Our very Nature

Our very Nature

Eph 2:3 says that "by our very nature we were subject to God's wrath".

What the Lord showed me was that it wasn't what we did, but who we were that needed to be dealt with. There's such a big controversy today in the church regarding sin and how God is punishing America for the sins that it has and is still committing. But in order for that to be true, God would have to apologize to His Son Jesus. Because what we're saying is that Jesus' price on the cross was not enough. Regarding sin, we tend to put sin in categories as if any certain sin is higher in rank than others. Adam only ate a forbidden fruit (and lost the earth), yet we commit greater sins than this on a daily basis. The misconception with sin is that people don't realize that sin is just an outward act of an inward problem. In Gods eyes it wasn't about what we did, but who we were. God needed to deal with the root of the problem by cutting away the old sin nature and give us a new Spirit, the spirit of his Son. People today all over the world are subject to the authority of the enemy and he couldn't have it any other way. The devil wants to be like God and have a people who would obey him. The only way that could happen is if people we had the same rebellious nature that he has. You nature isn't what you do, but who you are, and by nature we (if we've been born again) were once sinners. That means regardless to any law, commandment, rule, etc, by nature we would violate it. Sin disobeys the holiest of commands. Yet God in His infinite wisdom knew how to deal with a worldwide crisis. He wouldn't just deal with certain sins or one sin at a time, yet He would go to the root of the problem and offer a Solution that would cover all sins past, present, and future. He would send His Son who would die for every person on earth, and would offer life to everyone who would receive Him. Jesus died for even the most hated and hideous criminals who would ever walk this earth. And by faith if they received His salvation and forgiveness then they too are saved. The issue isn't about what you do, but who you are. If you haven't been born again you may try to do right in your own self effort, but there's something inside of you that will always draw you into doing what you don't want to do. Paul said (Rom.21) "I have discovered this principle of life- that when I want to do right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love Gods law with all my heart, but there's is another power within me at war with my mind". Sin is a slave master and people who haven't received Jesus are still slaves to it. Ultimately it gets its way. We look at such sins as murder, rape, stealing, abortion, homosexuality, violence, pornography, etc and automatically put those sins in the "Major Sins" section and toss other sins like pride, not keeping your word, jealousy, cheating on paper, taking a pen from the office, etc, in the "Minor Section". But what does the Bible teach about sin. (James 4:17) Says "he who knows to do right, and does not do it, to him it is sin". In Gods eyes there is no such thing as a big or little sin, it's all sin. God dealt with the root of the problem by sending his Son down here, who would become Sin for us who knew no sin. So is everyone saved? No. Not if they have not received Gods loving gift of salvation. That's why it's so important that we as the church minister the Truth of the Gospel to the lost. God isn't angry, God is not punishing you, God loves you… To be continued.

Why we do what we do?

Ministries conducting business.
Written by Shine 09/28/2008

Yes, this question "is" directed towards us in the Christian hip hop "industry". I feel that it might be time for us as a whole to take time out to and reflect on why we are doing what we're doing. A vision is an overall goal or something that should be accomplished. Most of the time God inspired and a mission is the means about how that vision is to come to pass. But going back and reflecting on what the vision is, helps us to stay on course with our overall goal. In saying that, I feel that many of us have drifted off course from the original path we were on. Whether you are an artists,manager,label,promoter,etc in the "Christian hip hop industry" we need to ask ourselves "why we are doing what we do". I often have to do a self check asking myself "why am I really doing this?" Whether your motives are to "Spread the Gospel", "Lift up the name of Jesus" or you just see an "untapped market" really isn't my concern,but peep it:

The Scenario: You have artists who say that rapping and Hip Hop is just "another" tool or avenue that can be used to spread the Gospel. Its a language that this generation can understand(even though they all understand English pretty well too, but I won't go there).Besides hip hop, how well have we utilized our first language "English" to spread the Good News. From my experience in ministry, you don't add on another area of ministry unless you have people to be over it and the means to support it. Even the business world knows this. It has to grow. For example, a church moves to a bigger location once the current location can no longer support its members. Its a sign of growth. Ok so I did go there,sorry.

So, back to hip hop. You have cats who feel that they're utilizing there "first language" yet also have gifts and talents that could be used to reach the hip hop culture, like rapping, producing beats,starting labels,etc. If this is the case, then reaching the lost would be your overall purpose. For example: Your an MC anointed by God and you see souls saved at your shows,local churches are requesting you to come and minister,and even taking up offerings for you and all you have is a performance track. Yet people are asking you, "do you have a CD"? This is a sign of growth or an indicator that you should go to the next level and record some material. Now I could go up each level, but for the sake of time lets jump ahead and say that now your reaching alot of people in your region and a demand is growing for your ministry.Yet you can't get to all these people on your own but realize that God has put a burden on your heart to minister to people even further out. This is where "labels/distribution or support from the Church" comes in at. Hopefully with the same vision you have for reaching souls. So lets discuss labels. Labels are supposed to be the "financial driving force" behind your ministry or music. They are supposed to get your material recorded, manufactured, packaged and put in locations that you couldn't get to on your own. But labels depend on sales in order to exist. They depend on setting a "price" and not a "love gift". The bottom line is that they set a price and that's what they expect, and like I said hopefully there overall goal is to see souls saved. Yet some minister/rapper who depend solely on honorariums or offerings. In short, a record deal is really just a "loan". Every penny that the label invests into your ministry there expecting to make back and extra. How else would the label grow? You have Christian/Gospel labels that are owned by bigger secular companies and the principles are the same. "We invest (sow) into you in order to get (reap) a return".The motives are just different. Whats funny is that the business world has been operating by biblical principles for years (sowing and reaping) and we still havent caught on. They even understand the business enviroment and climate changes in the market. They understand good ground,bad ground and when and when not to sow. As well as where. This cannot be argued that these are bible principles even though their motives are different. So now lets look at support from the church. We all have to admit that churches are starting to finally come around and give Christian hip hop artists a chance. The reason is that its all about the next generation. What attracted past generations to church isn't working with todays generation. And the results are, if they don't do something fast then many churches would die. So the mindset is "however we need to get the youth here, and keep them here, lets do it". Their prayer is that they find true ministers within this hip hop culture and not someone out for self. But even as demand grows for Christian hip hop cats to come and minister, how will they hear about you? Yes faith is the key,yet God can use a CD alot easier than no CD. I wouldn't have heard of Kirk franklin if it wasn't for the radio. I first heard of Yolanda Adams on a bus in G.R. where a lady on her street team was handing out flyers for a concert. My point is that these artists where brought across my path, whether it was a song on the radio, a concert being promoted, word of mouth or whatever. They were brought across my path. And i'm quite sure that there are many other undiscovered Christian artists just as anointed. So can we say that its a lack of faith or maybe just not having the knowledge of what needs to be done? For a church to request you, they have to first here about you.

So the question: Are you a ministry or a business? Or are you a ministry conducting business? Cause as a whole, with Christian hip hop being a sub-genre of another sub-genre(that being mainstream music, then gospel,then us)We feel a heavy burden to reach the lost, but need to realize that its going to take faith,grace,favor and "Money"a whole lot of it to get the gospel into the hands of these people. In the secular arena, our biggest artists for the most part have never been heard of. Many of them don't even know this type of music exists. So is it a lack of prayer or a lack of faith or us just not having a marketing budget to get this music on the shelves? For the most part, secular and companies pass up on investing in us "not" because we are Christian, but because we don't have a realistic business plan. Until the church finally excepts christian hip hop on a greater scale and starts supporting it "financially", just relying on love gifts and offerings is not going to get it, unless you got the faith for it. And honestly, most of us don't or we wouldn't still be getting up and going to are 9 to 5's.

The Reality is: Whether we want to admit it or not, we are still looked at as a "genre" in a business "industry" even though our whole purpose is to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There really isn't any authority in Christian hip hop, so everyone just enters into this community and feels as though they are right. Some come to minister and some come to do business. Is it wrong for a brother in Christ to want to do business with a fellow believer? No. Is it wrong for a fellow believer to always expect handouts or hookups? I'll let you answer that.
Jesus said "behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves".(Mt 10:16) We are all wise when it comes to understanding the hip hop culture, but unlearned to the principles of a billion dollar industry behind the music. Major labels are releasing anywhere up to 7000 Cd's a year, and I won't even mention how many of those are Christian hip hop(not many). You can look in the stores and tell the odds. Most Christian hip hop doesn't even have its own music section, but is tossed among other gospel genre's. Yet we say we want to be an alternative to secular hip hop. Its a serious case of David versus Goliath. We've got the sling in hand but havn't went to the creek to find the stone. Yet this giant of an industry is shouting at us saying "Am I a dog, that you would come at me with sticks"?

So the answer: Do I have one? Yes and No. Meaning that even though we don't have a revealed answer yet, we all posses the mind of Christ which is the wisdom of the God. But until we even realize that theres a problem, then the answers don't matter. In the Christian hip hop industry, we have to realize that we "are" ministers conducting business and our business deals should be reaping us a much greater harvest than the world. Money is not the motive, seeing souls saved is the motive, yet a fruit of completing this finances. It just comes along with the package, that God uses to fund the Gospel.

"IS the Holy Spirit on Parole"

"You don't need the Law to govern the Holy Spirit. Its like saying you need someone to police Him or monitor his behavior to make sure He's not going to cause any trouble" Shine

Even though it sounds crazy, thats just how most of us Christians are living our lives. As if the Holy Spirit needed a parole officer called the "Law". Your probably asking "how"? Well Gal.5:4 say,if we are trying to make ourselves right with God by trying to keep the Law, then we have been cut of from Christ.Now your probably asking me to explain. Well the word of God says that any man who chooses to keep the Law must keep the whole Law and if any man stumble at one point He's guilty of all (James 2:10)What I'm saying is, we are redeemed from the curse of the Law (Gal3:13) and we don't have to try to gain Gods approval by our religious duties. We think if I just go to church, work in the ministry, pay our tithes, and do all the things that a Christian should be doing out of love anyway and not obligation, then God will be pleased with me. I'm sorry to say, but doing all those things in order to gain favor with God is called works, and not the kind James described. Yes those things do serve a purpose,but that purpose is to help you, not God.The problem is when you stumble or fall (and you will) you think that God is angry at you, and you have to get back into Gods good grace some kind of way.Just to start the same process all over again.This is not what Jesus accomplished on the cross (Rom8:4) The Lord has accomplished "eternal" redemption for the believer, not saved-lost-saved-lost etc. So what does this have to do with the Holy Spirit being on parole in your life? Because the Law served as a guardian until the time that Christ came (Gal 3:24) Just as if someone who committed a crime and has been serving time, yet because of good behavior are released back into society (under certain conditions). They are "monitored" this is called parole.The biblical Law served as a guardian to protect you and others from the Sin nature. So for the born again believer if you have the Spirit of God living in you(Gal4:6). Gal 5:8 says when we are directed by the Holy Spirit, we are not under the obligations of the Law. When are we directed by the Holy Spirit? Hopefully all the time. Think about it, the governmental law is put in place to protect society against crime and etc. Why would we still need the Law to govern us if we are lead by the Holy Spirit? Gal 5:22 says, that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control against such there is no Law. You don't need to be "policed" if your doing these things. These are not crimes. Once again, I guess my point is that I see a lot of the Body of Christ trying to live under religious requirements thinking that these things are pleasing to God when He never intended for them to live under such bondage in the first place. People think "yeah I know that I'm saved but I still have to obey the Law (instead of being led by the Spirit) in order for God to be pleased with me.If we are thinking this way then we haven't heard the "Good News" of the Gospel. Basically saying that Jesus was enough to satisfy Gods payment for everyone. Just something to meditate on...

The Word "Lord"...

Col 3:3 says, "For you died to this life and your real Life is hidden with Christ in God".
Well if so ,then what life have we died to? Ultimately we've died to a
life without a lord and have been born into a life where we are owned
by a Lord. I know for a fact that the word lord really doesn't compute
in todays culture, but in some countries and even in ancient times if
you were owned by someone, you knew what a lord was. The word lord
basically means, "ownership". Kings are considered lords over all of
their domain or territory, because they own everything in it. The land,
the wealth, the resources, the people,etc. Even though lordship is just
one aspect of a king, you don't have to be a king to be considered a
lord.

Indentured servants and slaves alike were owned by lords or masters.
With it being Black history month, our African American ancestors
understood the concept of being owned by a lord, even though their
owners didn't operate in complete righteousness. Now how does this link
up to the current day of the hip hop culture? Simply because their are
2 owners at play. One being our Lord and savior Jesus Christ who owns
us, and the other being satan who owns the people still in the world.
If we have died to the ownership of satan and now literally belong to
the Lord Jesus Christ, then the rules have changed and they are not our
rules, but His rules. He provided salvation, He declared us righteous,
He set up His covenant with us, and we just agreed. That is what a lord
does. So back to hip hop, the rules at play are clearly opposites
between the 2 owners. Having a lord means that no matter what you do,
it all centers around him. We Glorify our Lord for who He is and what
He's done. Unfortunately a lot of the Church is still trying to "Figure
out" ways to reach the hip hop generation. Whats funny is that another
privilege of having a Lord is that He's already "Figured it out". Do
you think that Christ would walk into one of our church board meetings
and say " Did anyone figure out how to reach them brothers out there on
the block yet"? Nahh, I don't think so. The message is still the same
and it is the Gospel ( which means good news). The problem is that a
lot of the church ( no disrespect) is not sharing the truth of the
Gospel, the real good news. We try to lure the world into our kingdom
with under funded outreaches and various tactics and then deliver a
watered down version of the gospel which says that your a sinner and if
you don't accept Jesus your going to hell. Even though this is true,
its not
good news and the whole gospel. God offers us so much more than just a
Sunday morning service and the hopes of getting into heaven one day.
Here's a shocker: He actually offers us more than what the enemy offers
the world, in its proper setting. If we can get a revelation of all
that Jesus has done for us when He purchased our salvation,Our joy
would be so overwhelming that then, we wouldn't have to "figure out"
ways to reach the lost. We'd just be living in the joy of our salvation
and they'd asking for it saying" What must we do 2 be saved?" Just a
thought,Shine

Powered by ScribeFire.

Gods attitude towards us...

I recently didn't have anything to post do to a foot injury on the job. But praise the Lord I even saw the hand of God in the healing process. I know its Gods will for me to be healed, yet honestly thats an area of faith that I'm still working on. Yet God being the loving God He is meets me where I'm at. I saw awesome favor just dealing with the doctors and my job. During this time (of about 2 weeks) I continued to just meditate on a new found revelation that I received this year about Gods attitude towards me.Its awesome when you know that Gods not angry with you, and the negative circumstances in your life are not caused by God. God love you, and is not angry with us. He took out all of His punishment towards sin on His Son Jesus. By doing this God was completely satisfied with this payment for sin.All of our sins have been paid for past, present, and future. Sin is not an issue between us and God anymore.Now this does not give us a license to just go out and to continue to live in sin, because it is still an open door to the enemy.But between us and God, its not an issue anymore. People won't go to hell because they are sinners, yet because they haven't accepted the payment for there sins which is Jesus Christ. I think I've started preachin again so let me chill. Hit me up and lets discuss it, Shine

Powered by ScribeFire.

Episode 11 , Shine ministers on faith

We've made some changes in the Episodes, cause even though we we're playing the hot tracks, overall we know that its Gods word that changes lives. so this episode I discussed what God has been speaking to me about faith and works. James 2:14 says " What good is it dear brothers and sisters if you say you have faith , but don't show it by your actions?" Ultimately we shouldn't be just be given lip service, when it comes to the things of God. Also each Episode is going to be 1 hour now and uploaded every 2 weeks instead of 1. Get at me, Shine

First time on location...

Yes sir, God is Good. we where on location at Jesus Non Denominational Church
in Greenville Mi. at the first U.F.C event kickoff. I was blessed enough to be the mc for the evening and Pastor Tommy and Sis. Maria truly have a heart for reaching this next generation. Clips of the event are on episode #10