The Joy Experienced by Taking a Radical Time Out

Peter denies Jesus Christ not once, not twice, but three times after he promised Jesus that he will die for Him. Peter is fully restored by Jesus Himself in John 21and Peter becomes a permanent lover of Christ and His people. Jesus Gives Peter and all of us two radical and clear commandments in Matthew 22:37-40, where He condenses the entire Old Testament. Jesus expects for us to obey without delay so our joy will then become fresh and unspeakable, reflecting the Glory of God as we believe right in His Word, which will produce happy and joyful satisfying Christians with an impeccable witness for the glorious and all redemptive gospel of Jesus Christ.

For us to experience our own Radical Time Out we must position ourselves permanently at the Cross and Christ----which is God’s Precise, Permanent Prescription for God’s glory, our Fresh and unspeakable Joy and the benefit of many who are watching us!! We take a Radical Time Out daily and to the end by making sure we filter all of our thoughts, ideas, plans and motives thru the Cross and Christ to make sure we are participating in God’s exclusive Will and not ours---that is exactly what Jesus did and what Peter finally did and what we must do today and for ever to become radical types of Christ, like Peter!!!!

May 1st of 2008 was a very significant day for me—and for us, as we, in Koinonia together, for the glory of God, and our radical and fresh joy, kicked off together Radical Time Out-- because 20 years ago, May 1st—1988—I arrived in Wheaton real wet behind my ears---just released from men’s prison to begin a radical journey and great adventure with God Almighty as His Permanent Prisoner, trusting God’s Word in Hebrews 13:5, which my mother gave me when I was Radically Resurrected thru Christ Jesus, in Caracas, Venezuela hiding from the FBI facing 60 years in prison---and my mother said surrender totally to Christ and listen, believe, and obey the Word of God from Hebrews 13:5 “…..God will never leave you nor forsake you….” The same Christ who radically resurrected you from the dead today, January 28TH, 1986, has promised to also sustain you to new levels of joy.


The late Dr. Kenneth T. Wessner told me by transferring the fear of God into me, when I arrived in Wheaton pointing his long finger with tough love into my face: “Manny I am going to help you get into Wheaton College, however, you have no room to fail.”


My only claim to fame is that I am Naïve to Believe God and His Word---I was then and I am now!!!


We must establish the importance for our own personal and corporate
Radical Time Out in the context of I Peter 1:1-9 and we must dig deeper and deeper into this gold mine of God's Word, so we will make sure that we anchor our conscience permanently in God’s satisfying Word as we become convinced that God commands and desires for us is to experience His joy with pleasure!
Peter was declared by Jesus Christ Himself as the Rock on the Permanent Rock who is Jesus Christ. We are rocks also—we have hit rock bottom and have found out that the Rock is solid, aleluya!


Peace is the objective condition of being right with God.


Grace is God’s Loving favor to us sinners in Christ---Grace is equal to Power + Ability


Our Joy must reflect Gods’ glory—this is a vital point to emphasize for our benefit and the credibility of the Gospel we proclaim and live out. Joy is indeed the trademark of a Christian. We cannot be effective Christians without fresh joy!!

When God chooses you---He will then resurrect you---declare you His---Sustain you and make you fit with fresh sustaining joy as He did Peter!

Peter truly became a type of Christ and a Type of Rock as we ought to become---Peter is the one who declares in Acts 10:34-35 when He finally realized how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.


Let’s not settle for lesser temporary joys, but rather lets go for the permanent unspeakable joy of knowing Christ in the Power of His resurrection and in the fellowship, Koinonia, of His sufferings becoming like Him in His death and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10-11)---that is exactly what the Cross and Christ represents---Suffering that leads to permanent joyful victory---in Hebrews 12:2 we are reminded and commanded to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. To learn from Peter and not to take our eyes off or away from Jesus and place our eyes on our self. No, No, one thousand times No, Every character in the Bible who lost their joy was because they took their eyese away from Jesus and placed their eyes on self. The Cross and Christ will prevent us from taking our eyes from Jesus.


In the New Testament the Cross is not only a Past Time of Objective Substitution, where Christ Jesus became sin, paid for every possible sin by taking our place on our cross and died our death for our guilt of sin, shedding innocent sinless blood, but the Cross is also a Present Time of subjective Execution—for us—We must then not only experience the Cross but also point everyone to the Cross and Christ where they will experience the joy of dying to self and living for Christ!!


The Cross is Gods’ Radical vehicle of eternal life—it will never change.


Declare Jesus as the Permanent Messiah. The Living Hope that will never disappoint us. Through His birth, death on the Cross, His blood, His Resurrection! The evidence of His new glorified body (ours also.) His ascension, His present ministry as Great High Priest, and His Second Coming to establish His permanent Kingdom on a New Heavens and New Earth….
The people need to feel Christ through us so they can trust Christ. To recommit to Christ, to become radical and addicted to Christ, to be refreshed in Christ, to commit to taking a radical time out a few times per day to feast and feed in God’s word. To become a radical, joyful, Christians to make God our Father look really good! Aleluya!


Manny Mill