DANGER ZONE

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There is a line from the Kenny Loggins song Danger Zone from the movie TOP GUN, which says You'll never know what you can do, until you get it up as high as you can go .

Somewhere along the line, God s people decided it was easier to settle for second best and stay in the COMFORT ZONE! As a result, we don t know what we can do with the Gifts the Lord has given us. We sit back and say the Jesus is coming back soon, so all these problems will go away - because we re in the Comfort Zone. We think the Great Commission is a salary perk for the Ford car salesmen at the auto dealer and not for us because we re in the Comfort Zone. We write checks for missions and feel good, but won t dirty our hands because we re in the Comfort Zone. We bring the Godless secular culture into our homes and see nothing wrong with R rated movies because we re in the Comfort Zone. We allow our young people to get their theology from cookie cutter contemporary Christian stations because we re in the Comfort Zone. We see nothing wrong with 57% of Evangelicals believing there is another way to heaven than Jesus because we re in the Comfort Zone. WE ARE IN THE DANGER ZONE BECAUSE WE ARE IN THE COMFORT ZONE! BUT WAIT! THERE ARE ANSWERS! THERE IS A WAY TO VICTORY! JESUS NOT ONLY SHOWED US THE WAY, HE GAVE US THE POWER AND AUTHORITY TO EXECUTE HIS PLAN (JOHN 1:12)

FOCUS OF DANGER ZONE Less time is spent diagnosing and/or criticizing because I focus MORE on Winning the Victory and becoming the Leader Christ expects us to be!

This is a book on Biblical Leadership. There is no other kind. Even secular world governments were ordained by the God of the Bible! Therefore, it behooves us to look at the Word of God within the parameters of Leadership. The Bible EMPOWERS us both men and women to be the best we can be. To begin the process of reclaiming our calling, I go through significant and selected portions of Scripture to see the model God has set out for us. Three steel girders buttress this foundation Legacy, Leadership and LIVING (or Lifestyle). All three have to be powered by Perseverance and Prayer.

LEGACY Every Godly family tries to leave the next generation better than we got here. We all want our children to do better than we do. It s called Legacy. In the book, read about the results of the Blessings Jacob (or Israel) gave his twelve sons as he lay dying in Egypt and the results of those hard words to most of his sons! Almost none of them turned out worth anything! Then read about the Godly legacy of Edward Wightman, who is listed in the Foxe book of Martyrs. One of his descendants worked with me on this part of a chapter and we traced Ron Wightman (now of Salt Lake City) all the way over to Abraham Lincoln!

LEADERSHIP Jethro, the great priest of Midian (and Moses father in law) set up the Leadership Principles and the Judicial System we live under today! I go into some detail about how he did that.

There is also a thorough examination of one of the greatest leaders of all time JOSHUA! In fact the Name Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua .which also means Joshua! Joshua was God s true general and we see how he won the victory for God. We are all leaders at home, in our offices, churches and communities, therefore these Godly principles apply to both men and women.

LIVING (OR LIFESTYLE) People see the words Fourth Quarter and think the end of a football game or some such thing. When they see the phrase Fourth Quarter Christian , they think it may apply to some old guy! They could not be more wrong! If the average person lives, say, 72 years, he or she enters the 4th Quarter around the midforties. HOWEVER, take the great and famed missionary Jim Elliott. He was killed at age 29. We still love Oswald Chambers who wrote the classic My Utmost for His Highest. He died at age 43! Jonathan Edwards had the greatest sermon ever preached in an American church. It was called Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God . Over 500 people got saved after that message. He died at age 55. When was THEIR 4th Quarter?!! See what I mean! No one knows the time or the hour of our death. Are YOU prepared to meet the Lord Jesus Face to face and the final judgment in front of His bema ? Do you want to slide into heaven OR are we going home with dirty boots on; rips and bullet holes in our armor and ALL BATTLE FLAGS FLYING! This is the question I address in the chapter called The Power of the Fourth Quarter Christian .

PERSEVERANCE AND PRAYER

Perseverance seems to be a bad word in these days of Instant Gratification. Perseverance is a steadfast single-mindedness of purpose and that purpose is to stick it out! Christ is our principal Focus. Knowing Him and being like Him should be the fulcrum of our lives. His three hours on the Cross is worth more than a lifetime of sticking it out for the Eternal Riches of Heaven. The Power of Perseverance is the fast moving second chapter which deals with this topic with real life examples of well-known Americans who persevered. If they could in the natural, why can t we, in the supernatural, when Christ has already empowered us with the Holy Spirit and dunamis HIS DYNAMIC POWER???!!! We all know and quote Isaiah 40:31(NASB) which says Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. But are we really equipped to persevere as saints of the Living God to make this powerful verse an integral part of EVERY fiber of our being? Prayer equips us! It does! I examine at least two great prayer lives Hannah (the great mother of the Prophet/Judge Samuel) and Joshua. The book also ends with over 170 names of the Lord Jesus Christ and a practical way on how to pray each of those names. One of the chief functions of prayer is not just to Worship God and fellowship with Him, but to intercede for others. We have no great example than our Advocate Christ, Who shows us the mechanics of prayer!

IN CONCLUSION One thing you will note about this short book (152 pages and published by Theocentric Publishing Group) is the Bible is the only textbook I use.

All life experiences spoken of in this book are viewed through the lens of Scripture, which will never be broken. I never twist the meaning of the Holy Word nor do I put in extra-biblical sources and call it Canon. Therefore, I stand on everything written in here. What is written here is an attempt to give us some of the tools we need to know about the Lord Jesus. It begins a process whereby we can move from the Comfort Zone, through the Danger Zone, to the place we abide, live, set up shop and put down stakes in the Shalom or Rest of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a starting point for further study where we can grab a hold of the Sufficiency of Scripture and real life examples in both Biblical and later day heroes who exhibited, by their faithfulness, not just how to survive, but how to thrive even while living in the DANGER ZONE!

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Bernie Lutchman
Author, DANGER ZONE (2011) www.bernielutchman.blogspot.com