Only a few more hours and depart from the busy city to a retreat area in the Southern part of

Belgium, where we are told there is a beautiful and spacious house in the country where we will meet.  We think we will see colder weather there.  Probably snow, but I bet you there will be little sunshine.  Belgium, much like England stays “cold gray” most of the winter months.  The only sunshine we’ve seen is not from the sky, but from the faces of the wonderful kids here in the YWAM base that truly love Jesus.  And love His anointing...

I am a little nervous about this weekend retreat because some of the staff here are older, very European, and perhaps not so sure about me.  But hey, I’m not sure about me either.  What I means is that when you around some folks you come alive, and others you feel like, “Wow, I must be careful not to be misunderstood.”  Some of that is culture, and believe me, that’s a biggie here in Europe where you have so many nationalities in one city, but it is also this way at the base we are staying at. I wonder if I should share this revelation from God that I got about 3 years ago in Australia, where there were so many Europeans.  One day the Lord said, “One of the most subtle and difficult to break off one’s life, is one’s own culture.”  I was thinking primarily about the Germans, the Italians, the Dutch and Norwegians, that seemed endlessly, day after day, to wrestle with head stuff.  No matter what I shared as life from God, words of life from God, the living Word, Jesus, they always countered with, “But...”  “But don’t you think...”  “But, but, but.”  BUT that’s when God said, “Ken, think about your own culture.  You come from the Bible belt of America!”  Ouch.  I had to face that I had my own religious culture that was just as much a stronghold and block to the Spirit in my life as the Europeans.

What do I mean by culture being a stronghold?  I will try to explain...

I am reminded of the story of minister from Florida who was called upon to address a large charismatic crowd of thousands.  Being the keynote speaker, he was a little taken back by the seeming interruption of the meeting that took place when just before he was to be introduced, the host asked for a long-haired hippy looking guy to come up on stage and to give a brief testimony.  At once this “freak of a guy” jumps up on the stage and starts blubbering out in tears and shaking the story of his heroin addiction, and how he had robbed and looted to support his addiction, and while running from the police stole a motorcycle and at over 100 mph crashed it and was thrown for hundreds of feet, crushing his back, breaking his legs, and while laying in a ditch dying, cried out to God, who instantly came into his life, healing him and setting him free from drug, alcohol and sexual addictions.  God so intervened in his court appearance that the whole case was thrown out of court.  By this time in the man’s testimony the whole crowd was going crazy, shouting and praising God.  The poor keynote speaker realized he had been totally upstaged.  Looking to God, he cried out, “Lord.  I have nothing to compete with this man’s testimony.  I might as well not speak.  I’ve nothing to say.  What should I do?”  That’s when the Lord said, “Charles.  You’ve got a greater testimony than this young mans, for I’ve set you free from an addiction far worse than heroin.  Or drugs.  Or alcohol.”

Charles Simpson stood dumbfounded. “God, what do you mean?  I’ve grown up in church and never had anything to occur that even comes close to the deliverance this man has gone through?”  That’s when God said, “Charles, worse than all of his addictions, I’ve delivered you from something far more deadly and damning.  I have delivered you from RELIGION.”

Culture.  Religion.  Boxed in beliefs from the head and not the heart.  Bound to a religious system that defines your identity.  Your behavior.  That’s what God is after in all of us...

This morning I sat with Frankwin, my friend here in Belgium that invited us to come and share.  He’s only 24, recently married, and has a huge heart after God.  I went with him yesterday down into the subway under the center of Brussels, “Central City Station,” where he began to worship God with his guitar.  Soon, accompanied by other young believers we had CHURCH!  It was glorious.  Of course most folks looked the other way as the hurried by in rush hour to catch other trains.  But something happened in the atmosphere through his heart of worship.  I believe is was what Paul wrote about in Ephesians:

“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms...” Ephesians 3:10

Worship, like the word of God, never returns void or empty.  Worship opens up the heavens.

So, today we leave with Frankwin for a retreat that I hope will become freeing for all.  As Frankwin and I were sharing about the weekend he said something this morning that I will never forget.  He spoke about how he has found more freedom sharing and worshipping in disco’s than he has in some churches.  Once he even went up on stage between sets of a satanic group and did worship that was so freeing that he witnessed to the whole band.  Then he confessed that he was far better received there than he had been in many churches.  Then the young man sighed and said, “But I know that God loves his church.  He wants to turn things around.  He wants the church to go from glory to glory... instead of going from WRECKAGE TO WRECKAGE!’

“Yes, God.  Free us from from the worst addiction of all.  Our own culture.  Our own religious system.  Free us from ourselves and what we hold as truth, so we might embrace You, Jesus, who is Truth... for You are “the Son, the radiance of God’s own glory and the exact representation of his being (Hebrews 1:3).  O Lord, sustain us and all things by the Liberty of your powerful Word.  Amen.”