Charlie Lewis Blog

Do you ever wonder, “How can it get any better?”  We are so amazingly blessed. Just to live in the United States of America is an amazing blessing. Then to personally know the true and the living God and to be in a personal, living relationship with our Creator and our God, it does not get any better than this.  Preparing for our study on the Kingdom Definition of Success, I am overwhelmed at the goodness of our God. Before we enter time, the living God has a written plan for our success. Our plan is good and full of hope. Life on this planet is miserable without hope. Our mind plays wicked tricks on us and we imagine all kinds of disasters for ourselves. This is why He clearly said that His plans for us were for good and not for disaster. There are good plans for our success written in our God’s book before our life in time on this planet begins.

These plans are not hidden, but we do have to  pursue them. I believe our propensity for “busyness” is part of our enemy the defeated Satan’s plans to trick us into  believing that we are  too busy living life to take the time to determine what our Creator’s plan is for us and then to follow that plan. That is a huge mistake. We are told to seek “first” HIs plan and His way of doing and being right. Seeking here is defined as striving and being ravenously hungry for His plan. We are told the simple method of knowing His plan for us. The New Living Translation says “keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.” Our God is not hiding His plan from us. His overwhelming desire is for us to know His plan clearly and that we make this plan our primary motivator and heart’s desire. The following verse in Matthew (7:8) says “for everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be open.” Rather definitive results.

We are told that when we pursue His plans for our lives in time until we have discovered  His plans for us and when we then make His plans for us  our heart’s desire, our plans will be established and our plans will succeed.  The whole of the book, cover to cover is about how we can be successful now and in our eternity… Amazing! How have we missed that? How have we made it a book about religion and regulation and compliance? I am thankful to know and to share with you that the scriptures are our Creator’s instructions about our success through a living relationship with Him. Praise our God!!!

The fourth of July, our Independence Day, is such a special day in America. The entire country celebrates. Fireworks, parades, and festivals are everywhere.  It is also Fran and my anniversary. Forty-nine (49)  this year. That is amazing also.  When my Mother died she and Dad had been married sixty-nine years.. At Fran’s Dad’s death Pop and Mom had been married sixty-six years. Like the old country song, “we come from a long line of love.” And we are thankful.

Fran and I depart early Tuesday for a Familiarization cruise with a ministry as we are doing research into their operation. We will be in Italy, France, and Spain. Please pray for our protection, peace and safe passage.

I am continuing to write in the Definition of Success series, so stay posted for more of that. Until then, be blessed!

Let’s continue in the task of defining success.

What do we know so far?

1. We must know who we are
2. Where we came from
3. Why we are here
4. How we should live while we are here
5. Where we go when our body dies

To correctly understand and to achieve our success we must first define and explain success correctly.

The first question that we asked ourselves was “who we are”. I believe the answer to that question has more depth than just knowing about our self, our ancestry, where we were born, what our ancestors have done, and what we have done on this planet since we were born here. I believe that we must ask ourselves “who we are to our Creator, God.”  Why? Because who we are to our Creator has enormous impact on the correct vantage point that we must use to consider our answers to all of the other questions that we have asked about ourselves. In fact, our answers to those questions are directly connected to who we are to our Creator God. Since we came from the eternal God and because He formed/shaped/fashioned us before we entered into our Mother’s womb, and because He has stated that He has plans for us and those plans are written in His book before our first day begins, before our first moments pass, then we enter time with an assigned mission and an eternal purpose that comes directly from our Creator God. It is an eternal purpose for our in time experience. He clearly states that He has uniquely designed us for His purpose. We enter time having been designed by our Creator for a unique and special purpose that we are creatively designed to perform while we are in time. The ramifications of that simple understanding are enormous for us and for humanity. Our design means that we enter time with special talents, gifts, qualifications, callings and abilities that are given to us by our Creator, and these giftings enable us to accomplish the task of our purpose on this planet.You could say that we are deployed to this planet as an Agent of eternity to provide something that we have been given by our Creator and our God for ourselves and for all of humanity. Knowing this and understanding the impact on our life on this planet in time, adds great clarity to our lives. What does this have to do with our success on this planet and for our eternity? Our success is measured by knowing the reason/purpose that we are here, and then fulfilling our purpose – The purpose given to us by our Creator God before we enter time. So where do we look to find and to determine our purpose in life? Is it found in our time or in our eternity and in our eternalness?

We began our in time journey as a seed from our Father that joined with our Mother and produced the union that formed our body. Our body became the home of our eternal spirit while we are in time.  The Holy Spirit God provided insight to me at an earlier time about the significance of the seed of humans. Never before in the history of time has humanity’s seed been under such an aggressive and brutal attack. The major messages of Hollywood and the governments of this world are directed at destroying the human seed and subverting our seed’s ability to have the good influence on humanity that was intended in their design by our Creator. Please consider this; we enter time designed to perform a specific and unique purpose for humanity. Our creator has told us that His plans for us are for good and that His plans for us are full of hope. He does not create the plans for us after we arrive on the planet. His plans for us are written in His book before our life in time begins, before the first seconds of time have passed.  If we do not allow our seed to enter time, then the gifts and the talents that are provided for humanity by our Creator die and perish with our seed.  Our God is generous and lavish towards humanity. His generosity and concern for our needed provision is evident everywhere that we look. Each person that is ever born into time comes with unique gifts and special talents that are given to them by our Creator, to enhance and to benefit the in time experience for all of humanity.  Surely our God has a cure for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, Cancer and everything and anything else that plagues humanity. Have we denied entry into time to the seed that our God gave the cures that humanity needs to deliver these cures to humanity? The decision to terminate the life of your seed is certainly the choice of the Mother, but the ramifications affect everyone on the planet.  The lies and the deceits of the defeated Satan may declare there are no consequences, but there most assuredly are.

Homosexuality prevents your seed from ever being formed and birthed. All of the talents and gifts that a person’s seed will contain for humanity and for posterity are not allowed to enter time, because of a lifestyle chosen by the seed bearer.  Not to mention the tragedy of the gifts and the talents that are given to the seed bearer and are supposed to be imparted to their seed by those who choose the homosexual lifestyle. Difficult to see success in these arrangements, only sadness.

Another great tragedy for humanity is the impact that extramarital sex has on humanity’s relationship with their seed and their seed’s purpose and experience in time and for eternity. A gentleman, who worked with our Family several years ago, told me that sex among the society and culture of his children, a very attractive Family, had become “nothing more than a friendly handshake.” Hollywood makes extramarital sex appear very attractive and without consequences. Governments make the consequences of extramarital sex someone else’s responsibility.  Neither Hollywood nor governments show the impact on the seed that is produced by the cavalier, no responsibility actions of pleasure seekers. Our world is approaching two hundred million children on our planet without Fathers. Children who are left without a Father’s influence and who do not have their Father’s input and instructions so they know how to live successfully in right relationship with their Creator God, statistics show how difficult it is for these children to be successful and to become a contributing member of society. A larger portion of those without Fathers do not complete basic education, they become dependents of government and an inordinate number end up in prison.

We are defining success. This one experience has a devastating impact on our/your seed’s ability to achieve the success that their Creator has planned for them. Not being born eliminates any possibility where being born without a Father in your life greatly impairs their ability to know, to understand and to achieve success.

Success is knowing who you are to your Creator, understanding what He has planned for you, being aware that He has a written plan for the successful living of your life in time (now), knowing what His plan is for you, knowing how to define, how to articulate and how to write out your plan, and then following and engaging the Creator’s created design for your life in time as closely and as aggressively as you possibly can.

“But first and most importantly Seek (aim at, strive after, be ravenously hungry for) His Kingdom (His System, His Plan, His will on the earth) and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right – the attitude and character of God) and all these things will be given to you also.” Matthew 6:33

Knowing that there is a written plan for each of us before we enter time will change our life experiences. We will not have to invent or fabricate a workable plan, we identify and engage the plan that is prepared for us by our Creator God.

 

How do you define success? Google gives three initial answers:

1. The accomplishment of an aim or purpose
2. The attainment of popularity or profit
3. A person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity

My Friend Bob Williamson in his Word for the Day lists four steps in his formula for success.

1. Have a strong work ethic
2. Work smart and surround yourself with smart people
3. Persevere
4. Delight yourself in the Lord

Google estimates that 130 million books have been published in human history. Undoubtedly a large portion of the books written are about success and how to achieve success. The challenge does not appear to be a source for information about the knowledge and the understanding of “how” to be successful, but rather a clear, correct and understandable explanation and definition of how to determine “what” success really is for each of us. Success is completely individual and is not and cannot be a comparable exercise. Yet, there is a framework and there are established parameters and guidelines that must be included in our personal definition of what our personal success really is for our understanding to be accurate and to be effective for us. Can you define, can you articulate and can you write out what success is for You?  Have you done this?  This is important. When each of us do this – when we define, when we can articulate and when we have written down our understanding and our belief of what defines our success – the success of our lives will reflect this clarity and this direction in our actions and in the outcomes of our lives.

For some time now, I have felt the unction from the Holy Spirit God to write the explanation of what success really is from what the Holy Spirit God has given to me about how success is defined. Even more specific, what is defined as success in the Kingdom government, system of our Creator and our God.  I have known for some time that the Kingdom System of our God defines success much differently than does the kingdom of darkness. I have learned this personally through my life experiences on this planet. What society and the cultures of our world define as success are often major failures in the success system of our God.  Huge successes in the Kingdom of Light are very often considered failures in the Kingdom of Darkness.  We must know clearly what our Creator defines as our personal success or we will be played like a puppet on a string by society and by the cultures of this world.

To understand and to know how to define and how to measure our personal success we must know who we are eternally as well as temporarily – in time. Not just our names and the names of our lineage on the earth, but who we are and where we came from before we entered time, our origin.  We are told that “before I formed you in the womb I knew you, (what does that mean?) before you were born I set you apart and appointed you (what does that mean?)”. (Jeremiah 1:5) “but when He who had set me apart before I was born (?), and who called me by His grace”. (Galatians 1:15) Our success is knowing who we are and where we came to the earth from. We are an eternal spirit. Our existence did not begin when we entered time. We were born into time from our Mother’s womb, but we existed long before. This understanding and how we interact with our eternalness forms the foundation and our basis for our success on this planet and in our eternity. Because of the ever-present expression of our senses in time (sight, hearing, touching, taste and smell) it is easy to lose sight of our eternity. The overwhelming, present reality of our earthly senses can (visually, if we look with natural eyes) overpower our eternal senses that are permanent and forever. Just as our earthly senses are to be developed by us, so do our eternal senses. We are to respond to our eternal senses as quickly as we do to earthly stimulation.

Knowing why we are on the earth is fundamental and foundational to our being successful on the earth, for our time here and for our eternity. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts (spirits) and in their mind as a divinely implanted sense of a purpose, working through the ages (time) which nothing under the sun (time) but God alone can satisfy.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 Our purpose (why we are here) is found in our eternity. Eternity lends a much different perspective on how we determine and how we measure our success than does an earthly perspective that is based in time. A very effective test for determining the accuracy of our purpose is to evaluate whether our goals are temporary or if they are eternal.  Are we pursuing employment or deployment?  Are our motivations based on income or outcome? It is easy to see which is eternal (where we are supposed to be) and which is temporary (has an expiration date).

A very necessary and important consideration for measuring our success is the question everyone must ask, “what happens to me when I die?”. Who we are eternally is much greater and much more important to us than the temporary period of our time. If we live for one hundred and fifty years in our time excursion, one hundred fifty years divided by eternity/infinity equals zero. How are we to measure our success? By a short period of time when considered in relation to our eternity equals zero or nothing? Are we concentrating on nothing or on eternity?

We came from eternity without time. We entered our eternity with time through our human birth. When our spirit leaves our earthly body, we will   return to eternity without time. What we do while we are in time is important. The choices of our conduct and behavior in time will determine the success of what our experience will be for our eternity.

What this consideration provides for all of humanity is purpose and direction. We do not have to grope and to search for what we are supposed to be doing while we are in time (why we are here) as if there is not a plan for us. Our success is measured by our knowing the plan for us, by our understanding what the plan is for us personally and collectively, and by engaging and operating in that plan effectively. Success is not measured in how much money you have, how much power that you have, how famous that you are or how much you own. Our simple test (temporary or eternal) reveals that all of these are temporary.  They do not determine your success. Success cannot be determined by anything that money can buy. Money can only buy temporary things. Money is the currency of the kingdom of darkness.

Where is the plan for our success found? Previously we read the scripture that said that our God has planted eternity in men’s spirits and in their minds as a “divinely implanted sense of a purpose, working through the ages (time) which nothing under the sun (time) but God alone could satisfy.”  Our purpose for while we are in time is found and is based in our eternity and in our eternalness. When we search for the purpose which determines our success in the temporary things of our life that are based in time we will always be disappointed and unsuccessful.

In the book entitled Kingdomnomics in the Kingdom System Series, we presented the thought and the premise that we are to live our lives at the nexus – where the temporary and the eternal meet with our priority always being on the eternal.

What have we determined success to be? How can we define success in our lives? Is it personal? Is it comparable? Is our success negotiable?

Success is knowing who we are.
Success is knowing where we came from.
Success is knowing why we are here.
Success is knowing how we are to live while on the earth.
Success is knowing what happens to the real us, the eternal us when our eternal spirit leaves out body, its earthly home.

In future lessons we will further develop what success is for us personally and collectively as the Family of God, the Body of Christ and as living, breathing Citizens of the eternal Kingdom of our God. I am convinced that knowing what success is and how to define it is a great challenge and a huge void for humanity.

We spoke previously about our lives being in transition and about there being new open doors before each of us. As the Holy Spirit God expands that for me, there are specific thoughts that continue to become clear. As people whose purpose is determined by and is found in our eternity and in our eternalness, we must engage our individual and unique created design in the areas of service where our Creator has placed us. The Holy Spirit God said through the Prophet Isaiah that when we walk in our purpose, and when we operate as we are designed to function, that we will be known as those who “will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities, and then we will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.” Isaiah 58.

How does that happen? How do we operate as rebuilders of our cities, rebuilders of the walls, and restorers of homes? Cities are the communities where we live, work, and play. The walls refer to what we surround our cities with to keep them safe for our habitation and for our enjoyment. Homes are our Families, the basic and foundational organizational arrangement established by our Creator for our learning and for our correct development. Each of these areas were under attack when the Holy Spirit God spoke through Isaiah, as they are in our world today. They continue to suffer the onslaught of attacks from the Kingdom of Darkness. Many of our cities are unsafe and our homes are being broken and destroyed by the deceits/lies of our enemy, the defeated Satan. As Believers and Followers of Christ, we are charged to address these conditions of humanity, and to bring restoration so they/we can function as we are designed by our God to operate.

There are many aspects of this mission, all of which are not casual, but are decidedly dramatic. Our influence is described as “salt and light”.  Salt changes the complete experience of food. Darkness cannot exist where there is light. Salt preserves and light stimulates naturally. When God Himself, Emmanuel, was on the earth as Jesus Christ, He told us that in everything we do, we are to pursue His Kingdom, His method, His plan, His System, and His way of doing and being correct/right before we take any action and before we do anything. This is to be our first consideration. His Kingdom is eternal, and everything about His Kingdom is based in eternity. If it is not about eternity it is not about the Kingdom. The Kingdom way of doing and being right that we are to consider and to pursue before we take any action, the first thing that we are to consider is to be based in eternity and in our eternalness. Everything our God as Jesus did while on the earth was based in eternity. Every action. Somehow, we have not recognized this, or we have just overlooked the importance and priority of these instructions/directions, and we too often base our actions completely on time and upon things that are temporary. This is a major disconnect for humanity. We are building on the wrong foundation, and we are building things that will not last forever. Since we are eternal and because we know that we live forever, what we build must be based in our eternity and must last forever. We cannot concentrate and deal only in things that expire.

How does this relate to rebuilding the places where we live, where we work, and where we play, otherwise known as our “cities?” How do we rebuild permanently, for our eternity, the structures for our protection that surrounds us and that keeps all of the forces of the kingdom of darkness out of our cities and out of our lives? This protection is also known as our “walls”? How do we restore our homes so they function in the Kingdom method as our Creator God so clearly has told us to operate?  The task seems overwhelming. Where do we begin?

Fran and I have just attended the Council for National Policy meeting in Washington, D.C. CNP is one of the most informative thinktanks in America. Excellent speakers, excellent information, and excellent Friendship and Fellowship.  CNP is intensively engaged in the pursuit of the preservation of the values and the principles in every facet of the lives of Americans that are espoused in scripture. The meetings are intense. Several Members asked how we enjoyed the meetings. I said that we were very impressed, but looking at the challenges, I was not sure we were not depressed also. Those who oppose the inclusion of Faith in our lives are well funded and they are organized. I personally rather felt like Israel when they were preparing to cross the river into the land promised to them by our Lord. Our Lord told them, “Listen, O Israel! Today you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land belonging to nations much greater and more powerful than you. They live in cities with walls that reach to the sky! 2 The people are strong and tall—descendants of the famous Anakite giants. You’ve heard the saying, ‘Who can stand up to the Anakites?’ 3 But recognize today that the Lord your God is the one  who will cross over ahead of you like a devouring fire to destroy them. He will subdue them so that you will quickly conquer them and drive them out, just as the Lord has promised.”  Cities, Walls, and homes.  “Our Lord is with us!!!” Our victory is already won.  But like Israel, we have to fight. For so long we have retreated from engaging the enemy. And when we did engage, we did not use the weapons provided to us by our Lord; the eternal weapons that guarantee victory. We engaged in using our own knowledge and our own strength. We cannot obtain and secure victory without following our God and fighting as He describes.

This is what He told Israel; 4 “After the Lord your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, ‘The Lord has given us this land because we are such good people!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way. 5 It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. The Lord your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people. ‘”

Victory can only be ours when we from the very beginning seek our God’s plan, His method, His system and His way of doing and being right, first. Priorities are important to our God.  But, the victory is ours now. We must acknowledge Him and pursue justice His way. In all of our ways when we acknowledge our God, He will direct our paths. His paths lead to victory.

Nehemiah was faced with a dauting task. Rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. Walls, Cities, and homes all in disarray and disrepair.  The length of the walls is 4,018 meters (2.4966 mi), their average height is 12 meters (39.37 feet) and the average thickness is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). The walls contain 34 watchtowers and seven main gates open for traffic, with two minor gates reopened by archaeologists. Once there, Nehemiah defied the opposition of Judah’s enemies on all sides—Samaritans, Ammonites, Arabs and Philistines—and rebuilt the walls within 52 days, from the Sheep Gate in the North, the Hananeel Tower at the North West corner, the Fish Gate in the West, the Furnaces Tower at the Temple Mount’s South West …
The Prophet Amos said “with blinding speed and power he destroys the strong, crushing all of their defences.” (5:9)

How did Nehemiah build the wall? One brick at a time. How do we walk in victory? Identifying our purpose in eternity where our God has designed us to function and “one brick at a time” building the wall. It may appear that it will takes loads of time, but as Nehemiah, when you are walking in your purpose that our God has designed you to function, “with blinding speed and power he destroys the strong, crushing all of their defences” and accelerating our victory for His purpose to expand His Kingdom and to bless humanity.