Still Bearing Fruit

The other day Ingrid and I were reading together some passages in the Gospel of Luke and we ended up focusing on the parable of the Prodigal Son. This is often used by preachers to show how ready God is to forgive sinners who repent. But the real point of the story comes at the end when Jesus describes the reaction of the older son to his father’s celebrating his younger brother’s return: “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’“ (Luke 15:11-32) Ingrid offers the following comments on this: “I’ve heard this parable told again and again in church, and it’s always the same: about the Heavenly Father’s love for us. But the point Jesus is trying to make here to his audience — the Pharisees — is the behavior of the older brother. The older brother never went out looking for his brother to try and bring him back. He didn’t have a heart of compassion. And when his brother returned, he was jealous that his father had made a feast to celebrate his return.” Ingrid really nails it here. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). And if that’s what Jesus did, then that’s what we’re supposed to do if we’re really followers of Jesus. Because being a follower of Jesus simply means doing what Jesus did. And that’s what our book Simple Kingdom: Discipleship is all about. Give it a read if you haven’t done so yet, it’s free to read online and is also available as a free PDF download . Cheers, Mitch and Ingrid (Image: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, The Return of the Prodigal Son, c.1660, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland)

Happy Easter everyone!  Love in Christ, Mitch and Ingrid (The image of Christ is from our visit to the Catacombs in Rome many years ago.)

The kingdom of God was the central theme of Jesus' teaching during his time among us. Matthew reports that Jesus "went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people" (Matthew 4:23). Mark says Jesus announced that "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). The gospel of the kingdom is Good News because it means God has come in Jesus to reign and rule, and to reclaim what is rightfully his. At present we see God's kingdom coming intermittently, according to the Father's will, as people are saved, healed and delivered from Satan's dominion over them. John tells us however that the day will come when "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever" (Revelations 11:15). Until then, our assignment as followers of Jesus is to keep sowing into his heavenly kingdom (Luke 8:4-15). We do this by sharing our testimony, by praying for the sick and demonized, and by helping the poor and oppressed. We also do this by strengthening the church — God's people — which Paul describes as "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). That is our aim here with BuildPlant.org and we encourage you to sow together with us into God's kingdom by telling others about the books and songs that are freely available on our website. Our books include: Simple Kingdom: Home Fellowships , which demonstrates how small home fellowships are the place where church really happens — where people get saved, healed, encouraged, equipped and discipled. SImple Kingdom: Worship , which highlights the value of simple, intimate worship and includes detailed instruction on how to write worship songs and how to lead worship in home fellowships. Simple Kingdom: Discipleship , which explains that following Jesus means not only doing what Jesus did — gathering people into God's kingdom — but also doing it how Jesus did it — by healing the sick, casting out demons, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. We ask you to help us advance God's kingdom by sharing links to our free books and worship songs with others who belong to your church or home fellowship, with any church leaders you may know personally, and with any of your family and friends you think may benefit. You can use the icons at the bottom of each page of our website to easily share a link to that page either on social media or via email. Thank you! — Mitch and Ingrid

I've broken up the online version of our book Simple Kingdom: Discipleship into separate pages for each chapter. That way you can use the book's table of contents to jump directly to the particular chapter you want to read instead of scrolling, scrolling, scrolling until you find it. Much easier to read now instead of having the entire book on a single page. I'll also do this with our other two Simple Kingdom books when I have some time. --Mitch

Is your house built upon a rock or has it been built on sand? In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus tells the following parable: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matthew 7:24-27 ESV) What we often miss when we read this parable is that the storms of life can affect all of us. Both those who follow Christ and those who follow the spirit of this present age are subject to sudden and unexpected happenings that can shake the stability of our earthly existence. The difference though is that when your life is grounded on following Jesus, the storms of life may shake your existence but it won't all come crashing down like it does for so many people around you. Look at all the precious promises our heavenly Father has given us as his children: The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. (Psalm 34:19 NIV) The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24 NIV) Ingrid likes these promises which from Psalm 91:14-16. The translation here is from the Jerusalem Bible: I rescue all who cling to me, I protect whoever knows my name, I answer everyone who invokes me, I am with them when they are in trouble; I bring them safety and honour. I give them life, long and full, and show them how I can save.’ And then there's this one, which is one of my own favorites: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2 NIV) Ingrid also adds the following words taken from an old hymn which perfectly sums everything up: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. Both Ingrid and I can testify that God is faithful, that he always does what he promises in Scripture. So if you know God, you can always trust him completely. And if you don't know God yet, you can still meet Him through his son Jesus. Read my testimony to find out how you too can enter into a personal relationship with the living God. Blessings in Christ, ---Mitch

In his book Finish Life Like One of the Twelve (WestBow Press, 2025) Richard Morton asks, Where are the seniors? Why are they sitting in pews instead of being involved in active ministry? He blames the American Dream for this, the idea that after working hard all your life you've earned the right to sit back and enjoy life in comfort and ease. No more commitments, just play golf, travel, and throw away your alarm clock. Rick argues convincingly that this is not what the Christian Life is all about. That every believer, not just pastors and missionaries, are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus right until they go to heaven. Rick frames his argument on the message of the Kingdom of God, which was the central teaching of Jesus and his disciples. He argues convincingly from Scripture that Christians today — all Christians — are called, equipped, commissioned and sent to do the same things that Jesus did: to heal the sick, cast out demons, and proclaim God's kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. And he frames this not as a heavy burden but an exciting opportunity that believers who are seniors and retired can easily enter into. Rick also shares stories from his own life and the life of his wife Sharon to illustrate how God can use us to advance his kingdom. As a senior himself — he turned 70 as he was writing his book — Rick provides practical, actionable steps for entering into the ministry of Jesus, and into what he calls Radical Retirement — finishing the final years of your life like you are one of the Twelve. Ingrid and I feel every Christian who is a senior and retired should read this book. Some will be challenged by it, and a few may even be offended. Many however will be inspired to dive back in and start following Jesus again with renewed vigor and passion. A great way to make use of Rick's book in your church might be for a group of seniors to meet together once a week and work through it one chapter at a time. You can buy Rick's book on Amazon .

One of the great things Ingrid and I learned during the early days of the Vineyard is that you could ask people to pray for your healing whenever you got sick. And more often than not, you got healed. But you can also learn to pray effectively for your own healing, as the following story demonstrates. Recently I had been experiencing a sharp pain in my upper right chest whenever I tried to breathe very deep. This had been going on for several weeks, but not being a very mindful person I tended to ignore it. I also thought it might have something to do with the upper-body weightlifting I was doing. Perhaps it was only a muscle strain from trying to lift too much. Or maybe my heart is feeling stressed from lifting weights that are too heavy for someone my age (71) so maybe I should just dial down a bit. Which I did, but the pain didn't go away. And it couldn't be my heart, could it, since that's on the left side of my chest, not my right. So maybe it’s just a muscle strain, and those are no big deal and if left alone usually heal by themselves after a few weeks. Anyways, those were my thoughts as I continued to try to ignore my condition. But after about another week had passed, I finally decided one morning to pray for my condition. I placed my left hand on my upper right chest where the pain was located and asked the Holy Spirit to come and release God's healing power on my condition. At that moment several things happened. First, I suddenly recalled that I had experienced similar pains in my life several times in the past, and they had all been associated with having pneumonia, medically verified by a physician. "Of course!" I thought to myself, "I've just got a touch of pneumonia. How silly of me not to have recognized it!" But then I remembered that pneumonia if it is allowed to persist can permanently damage lung tissue, so it shouldn't be taken lightly. The next thing that immediately came to mind was that the pneumonia I was experiencing might have been caused, or at least aggravated, by certain lifestyle choices I had made lately. Nothing sinful, mind you—just stupid behaviors. So I resolved to try and change those behaviors if possible. But that still left the problem of experiencing sharp pain whenever I tried to breathe deeply. Then another thought struck me. In Hebrew as well as Greek, the word that means "breath" can also mean "spirit." So could my breathing problem be caused by a spirit? This idea hit me with the force of a revelation (i.e. with a feeling of certainty) so I thought it was probably a word of knowledge. Which meant that I needed to do something in response to receiving it. So placing my hand again on my right upper chest, I rebuked the spirit of pneumonia by saying "Spirit of pneumonia, I break your power over my body and command you to leave right now!" Then I took a very deep breath. And the sharp pain was no longer there. But I still felt a kind of dull ache in my right chest when I tried breathing deeply, so having driven off the demon that had been trying to get his claws into me — figuratively speaking, but literally true in ways our natural mind can't understand — I spent several minutes laying my hand on my chest and asking God to release his healing power to heal any inflammation in my lung tissue and damage my lungs may have experienced. After praying like this awhile, I tried breathing deeply and still felt the same dull ache. But fortunately no more sharp pain. So I resolved to keep praying like this for myself every couple of hours, hoping that through "soaking prayer" my remaining condition would progressively be healed. I did this three or four times that day, and then I forgot about it. The next morning I took a deep breath. No ache, no pain. And as of a week later my condition is still completely healed. What can we learn from this story? As John Wimber tells us in his book Power Healing , sicknesses often have several different contributing factors involved in causing them. These may include organic (functional) breakdowns of physical health, like wounds causing damaged tissue or through invasive viruses or bacteria; environmental factors like poisonous substances; social factors like relationship problems with others resulting in unforgiveness and hardness of heart; and various levels of demonic activity. Effective healing often involves determining which of these is the root cause (i.e. the most important or fundamental contributing factor) and dealing with that first. The root cause of a condition can sometimes be determined by careful listening to what the person you are praying for says, but more often it involves receiving a word of knowledge (a direct revelation from the Lord) as to what is causing the problem. In my case, the Lord used the word play of breath-equals-spirit to show me that I had to deal with the demonic element first before my condition could receive further healing. But if the Greek/Hebrew word for breath can also mean spirit, does this mean that pneumonia is always caused by an evil spirit? No, but sometimes it can be. And in this case, I think it was, based on the outcome of the way I ministered to my condition. Hope you find this helpful. And if you haven't read Wimber's book yet, I urge you to buy it and read it . Cheers, Mitch

There has been a formatting problem with the online version of our book Simple Kingdom: Worship where if you clicked on a link to a footnote it would take you to that footnote, but clicking the back button on your browser wouldn't return you to the place where you had been reading in the book. This has now been fixed by embedding the footnotes directly into the text of the book. An alternative and probably better fix would have been to make the footnotes popups, but unfortunately the web hosting company we use for our site charges extra for that particular feature, and we're cheap ;-) BTW if you are (or want to be) a worship leader or write worship songs, we encourage you to read our book as it steps you through the whole process of crafting different types of songs, putting together worship sets, and practical tips on leading worship in church and/or home fellowship settings. And if you know anyone who is a worship leader or songwriter, please let them know about our book by using the sharing icons at the bottom of this webpage. Thanks!

We've finished the outline for our next book Simple Kingdom: Word and Spirit and are ready to begin writing it. I'll be posting draft chapters here on our website so those of you who are interested can read them as we finish them.