The Letters

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭12-‭13‬ 

God is bringing many changes to the church. 

But, many are afraid to step outside the norm. They know that God is speaking to them, but they won’t move. Some have “too much to lose.” They have built churches, ministries, partnerships, and friendships. Their lives are well established, and to obey God would put all of that in peril, and so they stagnate. They begin to lose their cutting edge and a sense of God’s presence in their lives. 

God has not deserted them, but He has moved, and they have not. 

In John 12:42-43, many of the chief rulers believed in Jesus. They knew that His testimony was true, yet they would not confess Him. Why would they not take that final step? Their entire lives had been built around the synagogue. They were pastors and leaders. They had family, friendships, businesses, and ministerial relationships in the city. They were well established in the religious, political, and cultural order of the day. Their entire social and financial frameworks would crumble if they stepped outside the camp. They would be excommunicated, ostracized, finished! It would all come crashing down. But God was not only stepping outside the camp, He was saying, “I am finished with this! New wine, new skins. This brook is drying up!”

Will you come with me?

God is speaking to His people today. He is calling us to step with Him outside of the camp. To follow unfamiliar paths. To make certain changes, not only in what we do, but in what we believe and how we think. 

Why do we hesitate? 

For some of the same reasons. We are afraid of losing all that we have built. We are afraid of “missing it.” We don’t understand why God would lead us in a particular direction. It doesn’t “make sense.” It doesn’t follow our conventional understanding of How God does things. Yet, we know deep down that the Holy Spirit is speaking to us.

We read the Bible and we think, “Of course, these great men (and women) heard God’s voice and obeyed Him!” But we don’t understand the price that they had to pay. What they were up against. How they laid down their reputations, their connections with friends and families, their livelihoods. 

The Law of Moses was not just a set of “archaic” laws that are insignificant to a modern Christian. It was a way of life. A governmental system that dictated the entire culture of that day, along with many traditions and customs that were non-negotiable in order to be accepted in society and religious circles. Jesus and His family grew up in Nazareth, and were respected members of the community. He even read the scriptures in the synagogue every Sabbath day. But then one day, as they gathered, Jesus, the Carpenter’s son, stood up again to read. Jesus, the one who built the additions on their homes, fixed their dog kennels, made their new kitchen tables, a fine young man with a promising future! An upcoming leader in the synagogue! A respected business owner and community example! He stood up to read, like at any other time. But this time would be different. 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… 

This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears… 

No prophet is accepted in his own country…

And He continued. 

Suddenly things changed. Just like that! In a moment of time! The nice church-folk weren’t so nice anymore! They had grown up together, went to Cub Scouts, Little League, and attended His high school graduation. They had even sworn life-long friendships. BFF’s forever!

But now, none of that mattered.

“And they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. And they rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill wherein their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way.” Luke 4:28-30

What happened? 

Jesus had dared to step outside the camp! 

In Acts 10:9-17, Peter received a vision from the Lord. Peter was a man of like passions as ourselves. He was no different. He had his reputation, his honor, and his relationships in the city. He even had a wife. But God came to him and asked him to step outside the camp. 

The Jews were strictly forbidden from eating certain animals. They were unclean, abominable, detestable, and reserved for heathen nations that did not know God. But in the vision, God showed him an abundance of unclean animals, and told Peter to “rise and eat!” It was not a suggestion but rather a command. It was in reference to the Gentiles being accepted into the Kingdom, but the principle also applied in a broader sense, which included the liberty to “eat all things,” and to step into grace rather than legalistic commands and ordinances. 

What God has cleansed shall not be called unclean…

Peter vehemently objected on moral grounds. Not so Lord! This, of course, was not the first time that Peter had told the Jesus “Not so!” Peter had sworn that He would not deny Jesus, even after Jesus had told him that he would. “It’s not going to go down that way Lord!” He also told Jesus that He (Jesus) would never wash his (Peter’s) feet. “Nope!” “Not going to happen!” Peter told Jesus that He was not going to go to the cross. “No, you can’t do that Lord!” “That’s not a good idea!” And now Peter was telling the Lord that he sure was not going to eat any of those dirty and unclean animals! 

But God was asking Peter to step outside of the camp. 

Peter loved Jesus, and wanted to do whatever Jesus wanted him to do, but like most of us, he struggled at times.

Peter stepped out of the camp. He became a great apostle. But even after that, some time later he “revisited” the camp. For a moment, he forgot his place and his authority. He became fearful and forgot his place of freedom. 

But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. Galatians 2:11-12

Was the Lord pleased with what Peter did? After all, he wanted to maintain a good appearance, right? To abstain from all appearances of evil, and not to be seen “partying it up” with a bunch of heathen!

To lay down our liberty or our mission in order to be accepted by men, or because of the fear of men, is to cast off our faith and dishonor God.

Many believers do not consider this type of backsliding as serious, but God does. In fact, a good portion of the book of Galatians addresses this issue. 

There have been some things that the Lord has revealed to me over the last several years that seemed to go so much against the grain of tradition, and what I have always believed, that I had struggled with what He has said. I struggled even after He had revealed it, not only by two or three scriptures, but also a continuity of principle throughout the entire Bible as a whole! 

Don’t allow a fixation on a scripture that you think you understand, to steal and obscure the revelation and light that God has actually given you!

For example, to hear “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon the earth” (Matthew 6:19) as God saying that wealth is evil, will render anything else that He tries to show you in regard to prosperity without effect. No matter what you try to do, you will never have wealth because you innately believe that it is evil. When in fact, the entire Bible, when understood in proper context, reveals that wealth and prosperity has always been a blessing, and not a curse, and poverty has always been a curse, and never a blessing. 

It is one thing to hear God’s Word, feel good about it, and even preach it to others. It is another thing entirely to actually believe it in the heart. It is what we believe that brings us victory, not what we think intellectually, or feel emotionally.

As I was writing, The Lord gave me this short word by prophecy, as it goes along with what I am writing here. Maybe it will minister to you also! 

“I have made it clear time and time again, and yet you continue to doubt and question what I have told you!”

God doesn’t want us double-minded. He cannot do anything with us when we are doublemined. He wants us to have confidence and believe what He tells us, and then step out in faith on what He says. If we don’t believe His words, then they do not benefit us, no matter how good the words make us feel at the time! 

Jesus is standing outside the camp. He is waiting for you to join Him!

What is your camp? 

Is it the fear of men? Desiring the praise and acceptance of men more than God’s approval? Trusting in other things besides the Lord? The desire for things that the Lord has not granted, or perhaps not yet? Fear of failure? Self-doubt? Adherence to a religious establishment, order, belief, or tradition?

There is victory outside the camp. Provision outside the camp. Peace outside the camp. Your calling and rewards are outside the camp! What you have greatly desired is outside the camp!