I want to continue this week to discuss the subject of abiding in God, and I do so because I feel it is the key (or at least a big part of the Christian faith) that we have still been missing.

As I said last time, salvation is the beginning; it is what allows us to get back to God, to unravel the power of sin at work in the world so that we can be with God.  But it doesn’t stop with salvation. Christ is like a bridge connecting two cliffs, us and God.  Our problem is we tend to accept that there is a bridge now to get to God, yet we stay on the side we are on.  Or we might decide to walk across the bridge but every so often make our way back to the other side.  Any power sin has is because we gave it the power.  We don’t venture over to God or walk back to sin once we have God because sin still holds authority.  We allow sin any power it might now have.

If you still have an habitual problem with lying, manipulating, pornography, pride, anger, etc, it’s not because you haven’t been fully redeemed.  The work done by Christ on the cross is finished, completed, absolute, perfected, and fulfilled.  Every sin we have ever committed and will ever commit is covered by the blood of Christ.  But does that mean we stay on the other side, never crossing the bridge to God? Or does that mean we can go over to God but then make our way back to the other side here and there? No!  And most people who struggle with sin don’t want that either.  I mean, who would want to be with God in all His majesty and wonder and still go back to sin?  But for some reason, we cannot seem to break out of the cycle of giving sin a place in our lives.

Here’s my conclusion and why learning to abide in God has become a burning desire in my heart.  We can’t fully make it back to Eden until we learn how to abide in God.  Any power we have given sin will not be broken until we learn to abide in His presence.  Now I’m not talking about getting back to where we are in a Garden with God, running around naked!  I’m talking about getting back to the relationship that man and woman once had with God.  As we draw closer to Him, the habitual sins and old world perceptions of who we are literally melt away.  We become LIKE Him!  His Word and His presence are like a compass that points us back due north, that gets our focus off of the sin and on Him!  Remember sin has been defeated, stripped of all power and authority.  We just have to get the focus off of sin and onto God.

 Holiness produces separation from sin, but mere separation from sin cannot produce holiness.   It is not the absence of sin that produces our sanctification; holiness comes from the presence of God.  Christ in us is our holiness, for as close as our relationship is with Him, to that degree we reflect His holiness.

-Francis Frangipane, Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God

Our goal is to be holy, set apart like Him for holiness completely separates us from a life of sin.  The more we abide in Him, the closer we are in relationship with Him, the more holy we become.

Again ask God what it means to abide in Him.  How would your daily walk change if you were to actually be in relationship with God 24/7? Have you given sin any power in your life?  If so, what things can you do to start getting the focus off of sin and on God?  It will literally change our whole perspective and outlook on the things around us if we just learn to abide in Him.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing,” John 15:1-5.

“In Your presence all fear is gone

In Your presence

In Your presence is where I belong

In Your presence”

–In Your Presence, Jason Upton

In the words of Avril Lavigne, “Why ya have to go and make things so complicated?”  Wait.  Is this a blog about punkish rock white girls with bad choices in relationships (aka marrying a guy from Nickelback)?  I mean come on… But seriously, I promise you it has nothing to do with that, so please keep reading. :)))

I used that line because that’s exactly what I want to discuss, but related to our walk with Christ.  We are constantly making our walk with Christ a complicated thing.  It goes back to Peter walking on water – it’s simple when you just keep your eyes on Him, but the second your perspective gets complicated, down you go!

A few weeks back, I spent some time in the Ukraine, and while I can’t go into details about what we did while there, I can say that I have never seen Jesus in so many people than there.  There is no arguing about what church/denomination is the right one, no arguing about “well Paul said this”, or no fighting over what is the right way to worship.  It was just people who love Jesus, loving like Jesus, bringing meals/clothes to the needy and welcoming anyone in no matter how un-christian they looked.  They loved like Christ, which spoke more of Jesus than any arguing ever would.

I’m not talking about that “everyone is right and all roads lead to the same place” kind of love.  I’m talking about love that puts others above ourselves; a love that caused Jesus to have compassion time and time again for people He know would eventually crucify Him.  What would happen if the church put down their “he said, she said” comments and their “who’s more theologically correct” debates, and started to love like Christ, to bring “church” back to the basics?  There are people around us everyday broken and hurting and on their way to hell, yet we have made things so complicated that we have no way to reach them.

I have no problem with enjoying life and being adventurous and following the desires of our hearts!  I am all for that and so is the Father!  The problem is when all of those things begin to complicate and blur our vision of Christ and our calling in Him. Jesus teaches us two things that are of the utmost importance – to love God and to love people. It is as simple as that.

In his phenomenal book Holiness, Truth, & the Presence of God, Francis Frangipane writes:

“There are so many things to occupy our minds:  so many books, so many examples, so many good teachings that deserve our attention, that say, ‘here is truth.’  But, as I have been serving the Lord these past years, He has led me to seek for two things and two things only:  to know the heart of God in Christ and to know my own heart in Christ’s light.”

It’s about being like Christ.  We must have no other agenda, no other priority but to be like Him, to know Him.

“All I want, All I need

More of You, less of me.

Take this life, it is Yours

Have my heart, Have it all.”

-To Be Like You, Hillsong 

 

Today ends 9 days of complete silence!  I must first say that I am SO thankful to talk.  Secondly, I am SO thankful for Apple (the iPad and iPhone made communicating with people/ordering food a whole lot easier) ;).  

For those of you who don’t know, my time of silence was due to small nodules on my vocal chords, which was from over-singing while being sick for too long!  I am on the mend and continue to believe for my complete healing!

Seeing that I have been silent for over a week, it seems fitting that I should write about silence.  Now, I am not promising anything profound to come forth; but, I do know that the majority of people do not do vocal fasts, so hopefully you can learn something new from my experience!

Two funny things I learned while being quiet:

 Ordering food.  One of the BEST reactions I got while being on vocal rest was when I would go in and order food.  Obviously, I could not go through drive-thru (though I do have an awesome voice app that speaks for me in a British accent!).  So before I would go in, I would type out my order in my notes app on my iPhone, then I would go in, motion to the person working the register that I had no voice and proceed to show them my phone.  We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words but so were the facial expressions given to me by the people working the registers!

 Mute vs. Deaf.  I also learned that apparently a majority of our population does not know the difference between someone who is mute and someone who is deaf.  I cannot count the times someone told me that they were sorry that I was deaf or the number of times someone changed the volume of their speaking voice since I couldn’t talk!  If you were one of those people, please do not take offense to this!  We all have our moments :)))

 3 things God showed me while being quiet:

 Words.  You never realize how important something is until you do not have it anymore.  My inability to communicate with people was a huge struggle, and I realized how important not only words are but how important being able to speak words out is to us as human beings.  I heard once (don’t hold me to this!)  that when you speak a word, it never stops.  The sound waves continue to move passed just the moment the word was uttered.  Stops and makes you wonder what you are speaking out of your mouth over friends, over family, etc.  It makes me value my words so much more and my ability to speak them.

 Relationship.  With words, we are able to communicate and through communication, relate with one another.  I have to say that these days of silence were depressing.  Without words, I automatically lost one of the most common ways to relate with the people around me.  I realized on a whole new level that we are purposefully created to have relationship not just with God but with the people around us.  There is strength and unity in our relationships with one another, and I took that for granted.  There is a reason God didn’t stop with Adam.  He created Eve so that Adam would not be alone.  

 Prayer.  Obviously I couldn’t speak even when it came to praying.  While I do believe God hears my thoughts without me having to verbally speak them, it is extremely hard to keep your thoughts focused when you can’t verbally speak them.  So over the past 9 days, I had a hard time praying.  (Maybe that’s not a good thing to admit, but I am not trying to hide who I am.  We all struggle at times!)  I could definitely tell that I felt not only spiritually but also physically different, almost dry.  I realized in a new way the power prayer and having consistent communion with God has in my life.  I honestly do not see how people who do not have God in their lives live.  I really cannot fathom it.  

 I hope this encourages you all!  Let me know what ya think and be blessed!

 “In the silence You are speaking.

In the quiet I can feel the fire.

And it’s burning, burning deeply

Burning all that it is that You desire to be silent in me.”

–In The Silence, Jason Upton

We have all heard the story about Peter walking on water.  I think even non-churched people would say that they have heard or seen some reference to the story.  Pretty amazing story, right?  And one of the best things about God’s Word is that you can read something 50 million times and still get new revelation out of it!

For the few of you who haven’t heard the story, let me set the stage.  The disciples of Jesus are out on the stormy sea in a boat (a scenario that God must have liked to teach in since it seems to be a common backdrop to stories in the Bible 🙂 and out of the blue walks Jesus on the water. Ok, I can handle that; I mean He is the Son of God, so why shouldn’t He walk on the water He created?  As Jesus is doing this, Peter opens his mouth, which most of us know is probably not a good thing!  Peter is the guy we can all relate to but not necessarily in a good way – you know, those put-your-foot-in-your-mouth moments we have all had after we say something we probably shouldn’t have!  But hey, we’re all human, and one good thing we have going for us is grace!

So, Peter being the go-get’er that he is, cries out, “Lord if it is you, ask me to come out!”  And probably not to Peter’s liking, Jesus answers, “Come!” Peter amazingly steps out and walks towards Jesus.  Now lets really think about this.  Not only does Peter walk out on the water, but he walks out in the middle of a storm, eyes on Jesus, straight up doing the impossible!  Problem only comes when Peter starts focusing more on his circumstances/surroundings than Jesus.  That’s when he starts to sink.

In our day to day life we are faced with circumstances/situations that many times seem a greater feat than walking on water!  And a lot of times we can’t even bring ourselves to take those things before God because in some ways we are too overwhelmed by the situation and that sort of apathetic feeling comes over you – I’m guessing I’m not the only one who has felt that way!  A lot of times God feels so far away even though we know He is everywhere.  Sometimes I’m unsure if God will really see me through in a situation.  Peter walking on water is not a Christian guarantee that “You can walk on water now – literally!”  It’s a picture, almost a formula, for how to walk through the storms and valleys we go through on a daily basis – to keep our eyes focused on Christ, to choose to step out above our circumstancesand resolve in our hearts to pursue God, no matter how we feel or what logically seems impossible.

God never said there wouldn’t be storms.  But He did promise to walk us through every situation if we would just let go and trust in Him.  What better way to do this than worship?!  That’s what following God is all about! That’s faith – worshiping and praising and thanking God for an outcome that might not be logically possible or probable in the present.  Sometimes we tend to forget that God is for us!  He is working behind the scenes on our behalf in everything we walk through!

The point is not that Peter walked on water or even that he failed in the end but that he stepped out when it seemed ridiculously insane and illogical to do so.  My challenge to you is that whatever you are walking through, get your eyes off of your present state/storm/situation and get focused on Christ.  Resolve in your heart to take a step out above what seems impossible and pursue Christ.  He will never let ya down, I promise!

 

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,

Let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me.

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,

And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior.”

–Oceans, United

3am at an airport isn’t typically the best time for profound thoughts, but then again, you can find God at any moment of your life if you are looking!  

 

As I get ready to leave for this pastor’s conference in Lima, Peru, I’m trying to find the correct terminal because my airline information is only in Spanish and realizing the flight number on my itinerary doesn’t match any on the schedule.  Then God just works it all out, even to the simplest of details, having a very sweet lady help me get my things situated.

 

And I reminded of His faithfulness.  I’m reminded that while He is God of the universe, God of every created being from beginning to end, He is God of every detail of my life whether it is needing a miracle for health or even needing a great parking spot!

 

There is a saying that comes to mind that for some reason I feel like my mom used to have on a sign in her kitchen, which said, “God Bless This Mess”!  Maybe it’s the sleep depravity setting in, but I will take it a step further.  Not only is He God of every detail of our lives, but He is God even in the messy details of our lives.  I am literally speechless at the thought of knowing God is ready and willing to be a part of even the messiest details of my life.  To me, that is what sets Him apart and higher than any other religion or man-made God.  He is a God who desires a relationship with us, even if that means getting a little messy!

 

So as you begin your week anew and get caught up in all the craziness of life, my prayer is that you would let Him be God of every detail of your life, that you would let Him be God in the messy details and Father in your weakest of moments.  Let Him be God of every second of every day, not just God during your 5 minute prayer-a-day slot.  I know it’s simple, but it will wreck you just to know that He really does care.

“And I have a plan for you,

I have a plan for you,

It’s gonna be wild!

It’s gonna be great!

It’s gonna be full of Me!”

-United Pursuit/Will Reagan

 

It has been a lot of work and almost a year (CRAZY!), but the first single off of the EP is finally out!  And I am even more excited that I get to give it out for free!

A little bit of story behind the song – One of my favorite passages in Isaiah is Chapter 61:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound… To comfort those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness.”

At one point during a message that my Senior Pastor, Robert Morris, was preaching, he started talking about the fact that “He(Christ) has come”, and that phrase just stuck with me.  I begin to realize the power that those words had over every situation of my life and anyone else’s. We all go through stuff – marriages falling apart, death, depression, pain, etc.  The list goes on and on!  But the answer to every single one of those problems is the truth that Christ has come!  End of story!  He has taken our sin dead lives, our pain, our hurt, our tears, our failures, and He has exchanged it all for beauty and joy and peace and every good thing!

The purpose of this song is to convey the truth that God has come to redeem what the enemy made counterfeit.  All we have to do is walk in the truth that it is finished, Christ has indeed come, and we now walk maybe through the storm, but not in it!  No, we walk in the assurance of Christ and His love and peace through every situation and circumstance.  The most marvelous and beautiful thing that could have ever happened to us is that HE HAS COME!!  

And we are left with this promise from Isaiah:

“And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities and the desolations of many generations… So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations!”

You can download the song “He Has Come” at promo.mattbirkenfeld.com

One of my favorite classes while studying as a Political Science major in college was a class called “Religion v. Politics,” in which we discussed the influence and relationship between, obviously, the Church and government. Now, as you can imagine, this is a very lengthy, extensive topic, and I could spend pages talking about the subject in which after the first few pages you would most likely click off of the page, bored out of your mind!  Thus, you would never hear the greatness of what I have to say! 😉  So in an effort to keep your attention, let me pull out one pressing thought I gained from this class; “Where is the Church?”.  

 In his book, A New Kind of Conservative,  Joel Hunter writes, “The battle for the future will not be won in narrow ways by party politics and special interests; it will be won by broad and deep ideals coming out of the hearts of vast numbers of people.”  I understand the need to pray for godly men and women in government, and I am in no way writing against that need.  But what concerns me more than ungodly leadership in the government, is a Church that has become numb to its surroundings, irrelevant, and looking more like the world than Christ.  

 I recently came back from Oklahoma City where a group of churches from different denominations (who’d a thought?!) came together under what they call “LOVE OKC”.  On a cold Saturday morning, thousands of people from the city were loved on, given food, free medical examinations, hair makeovers, etc., a true picture of what Christ intended His body to look like.  

 We talk of entitlement programs and the inability of government to fix the problems associated with these programs, but did we ever stop to think that maybe the government is trying to fix a problem only the Church can fix?  How were hospitals started?  Was it the government or the Church?  All it takes is one city, one community at a time, and then who knows?  Maybe there would be no need for entitlement programs because the Church has already met the needs of the sick, poor, and homeless.

 I am in no way condemning the Church or saying, “Don’t pray for godly people in office!”  I love the Church and believe having godly leadership is so important!  But leaders and governments rise and fall.  My hope is not in that but in Christ and His bride.  But we as the Church must open our eyes before we can be the Church that Christ intended us to be.  The enemy’s greatest weapon against the Church is not an immoral government but an apathetic Church.

 I challenge you, whether working at a school, going to church, buying groceries, or answering phone calls in an office, whatever it is, start asking God how you can be the bride of Christ to the people around you.  Ask people how they are doing.  Pray for the sick.  Pay for a stranger’s gas.  If we will be the Church (Christ) to the people around us, we will dictate the standard of the society and culture around us.  In a government that is by the people and for the people, turn the hearts of the people towards God, and government will fall in line.

“Church arise, arise and shine!

Shake yourself from the dust,

God is calling you to go!”

-Leeland, While We Sing

Hello to all my friends, family, and everyone else who I have had the privilege to meet!  I am so excited to get to share this website with you all and really press in and dig into what God has for this next season.  Isaiah 54 has been something I have been clinging to, spreading out my tent and making room for what God has birthed in this season of my life!  I have no idea what is going to happen, but I am very expectant!

Currently, I am in camp/conference mode and might I say that it never gets old worshiping with people who are hungry for God!  As many of you already know, I have also been working on an EP since the beginning of the year, and I promise that it WILL come out! 😉  I don’t know at the moment when it will, but sooner or later I will get it out to you!

So stay tuned to the website and the blog for more updates of what is going in my world and feel free to leave comments and questions and let me know how you all are doing!  Love you all so much, and I am so thankful for all your support!

-Matt

Dear everyone,
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! I just got back into Dallas last night and just wanted to let everyone know that the rest of the trip was amazing! Thank you again for all of you guys!