What are you waiting for?

I’ll be honest. I hate waiting. I don’t think anyone enjoys waiting, but it is especially hard when we wait on the Lord to answer our prayers. Perhaps you are waiting on God, as I am. Perhaps like me, you have been praying for what seems like years, and you are growing discouraged. 

I’m waiting for healing. I’m waiting for prodigals to come home. I’m waiting for promises to come to pass. It has been a difficult season for me. However, I have to admit that during this time, the Lord is teaching me some hard lessons. Lessons that I know would be impossible for me to learn, if I was not waiting for them to be answered. Let me share some of them with you and hopefully encourage you not to give up.

The first thing that I began to realize during this season, is how many people in the Bible had to wait for their promises to come to pass. Abraham had to wait 25 years between the time God promised him a son and the time Isaac was finally born.  Joseph was about 17 when he was given two dreams of what was to come. He waited 20 years, 13 of those spent in prison, before he saw those dreams come to pass before his eyes. David was anointed king of Israel as a teenager by Samuel. Then he spent the next 13 or so years running for his life because King Saul wanted to kill him. These are just the more famous stories, but there are many others who also had to wait.

I also realized that God uses these periods of waiting to test our hearts. Proverbs 17:3 tells us “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the hearts.” The comparison between a refining pot and a furnace is not lost on me when it comes to waiting. Metals are heated up to refine them and purify them. The dross or impurities are then skimmed off. I would suggest that waiting is also a furnace that heats us up and allows what is really in our hearts to come out. Which brings me to another lesson learned during this season. 

While we wait on God, we have choices. We can choose to take matters into our own hands, like Abraham and Sarah did. (Genesis 36) Even though Abraham was called a friend of God, he was very much human, just like you and I. He and Sarah found it difficult to understand how  God could give them a son when they were old. They were in retirement age, to say the least. They decided that since they were well past childbearing age, perhaps Sarah’s maid Hagar could give Abraham a son. What came about was Ishmael, who sadly became a thorn in their side when Isaac, the promised son born from Sarah, came into the world. The jealousy and anger towards Isaac was no joke. 

Or, like Joseph we can become angry with those who have hurt us and perhaps caused us to wait for those promises from God. (Genesis 37) When Joseph saw his brothers, almost twenty years after they had sold him to slave traders that took him to Egypt, he was so angry with them that he sent them to prison for three days and did not reveal himself to them for quite some time. It was not until he realized that God had allowed the whole situation because it ultimately saved his entire family from starvation, that he forgave them and told them who he was.

Sadly, we can also choose to give up, or maybe even lose our faith, as Zacharias the priest did in Luke 1:18. Zacharias and his wife had spent many years praying for a child. Judging by how old they were, decades had passed. Now the old priest was standing in the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem when suddenly an angel appears to him and tells him that God has answered their prayers and that he and his wife will have a son. This was no ordinary angel. No, this was Gabriel, an Archangel. His response to seeing this angel and hearing that their prayers were finally answered is sad, but understandable. “And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” Ouch! Clearly, the angel did not react well to his response. Gabriel rebuked him and told  him that because he didn’t believe him, Zacharias would be struck mute until these things came to pass. He could not speak until his son John (later called John the Baptist) was born.

And then there is David, the future king of Israel. David was anointed as king by Samuel and then the trials began almost immediately. King Saul was so jealous of him that he tried for years to kill him but never succeeded. What was David’s response? He wrote many of the Psalms during those difficult and painful years. Clearly his response to waiting was to praise God and trust Him to bring it to pass. 

Why was his response so different from the others? I am by no means suggesting that David was perfect and was never upset or struggling with the wait, but I do notice that after King Saul did some things that were contrary to what God told him to do, Samuel the Prophet told him in 1 Samuel 13;14 “The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” Paul tells us in Acts 13:22 “And when He had removed him (King Saul) He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ 

So why was David different in his reactions? We are given a clue in the above statement. David did all of God’s will. David, you see, surrendered to God. He surrendered his own will, his own desires and plans and perhaps most important, his own understanding of things. There were many times when David had opportunity to kill King Saul, but he chose not to. He chose instead to wait on God’s timing. We are told in 1 Samuel 24:6-7 what David told his men, after he had an opportunity to kill Saul in a cave. “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way. 

David was given several opportunities to take matters into his own hands. He chose not to. He could have become angry, he chose not to. He could have lost his faith and given up, but instead he waited. And in the waiting, he wrote dozens of beautiful psalms praising the Lord that are an encouragement to us today. I have read many a psalm during difficult days and felt comforted. 

Many of the promises and prayers that I have prayed are still in the waiting period. I have waited for years for them to be answered. I will not claim to be like David. However, during this difficult time, I remind myself regularly that it is not because God does not care about me, or because He won’t answer my prayers. No, instead I look at the lives of those faithful men and women in the Bible and learn how they waited. And I pray that God would help me to surrender to His will, His plans and His purpose and to give me the grace to overcome the temptation to take matters into my own hands, give up, become angry or lose my faith. 

Perhaps you are also in a waiting period. You probably would not have read this far if you weren’t. I encourage you to not give up. Trust Him. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. I have learned over the many years that I have walked with Jesus, He is faithful and He always hears our prayers. Wait, I say, on the Lord. 

Do you have ears to hear the Lord?

Have you ever been around someone who is deaf or partially deaf? To say it is a challenge is an under statement, for both parties. But there is also something which I will call spiritual deafness. Sadly, this form of deafness might actually be worse than the physical kind because it cuts us off from hearing God. However, the good news is that this spiritual deafness can be overcome. And the one who has the power to overcome it, is you and I.

Jesus talks about having ears to hear, no less than 14 times in Scripture! Seven times in the Gospels He repeats the phrase “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt:11:15, 13:9, 13:43, Mark 4:9, 4:23, 7:16, Luke 8:8)

 Seven times in the book of Revelation, when He addresses the 7 churches, He finishes with the phrase “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”(Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:6, 3:13, 3:22)

Now I’ve always been taught that when something is repeated in Scripture, it’s important. So with that in mind, I would suggest that repeating something 14 times must be very important! But what does it mean, you might ask? Well, clearly Jesus is not talking about only physical ears, although that would definitely be part of his admonition. He is also talking about spiritual ears. I do not believe that He would say this, if He did not want us to hear what He is saying. In John 10, Jesus very clearly says “My sheep hear My voice”. This implies that not only is He talking to us, but that we need to be listening. 

It is my opinion, and the Bible makes it very clear, that not only do we have control, we are very much responsible, for what we do and do not hear. 

To give you an example of what I mean, in Acts 7:51, when the Pharisees were stoning Stephen, he spoke these words to them: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit!” He is clearly referring to spiritual ears here when he says this. And what did he suggest was their problem? They were stiff necked and had hardened hearts. Consequently, they could not hear what God was saying to them through Stephen.

Sadly, their response was very much in the physical. “Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.” (Acts 7:57) Not only did they not want to hear what he said, they killed him for saying it. 

Obviously, we are no longer allowed to kill people for saying things that convict us, at least not according to the law, but that does not mean, people are listening to what God is trying to say to them. However, we are not left without warning, when we don’t listen to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus makes this very clear while speaking to His disciples in Mark 4:21-25. After talking about the parable of a lamp, He says the following to them: “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 

He continues with this warning: “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

I’ll be honest with you. When I read this warning, it scares me. Not because I’m afraid, but because I know that the responsibility of hearing what He says to me, is mine and mine alone. Yes, He is a very gracious and forgiving God. He is kind. He is merciful. But He is also the Judge of all the earth. And when He speaks to me, I need to listen. I don’t want to be stiff necked. I don’t want to harden my heart and close my ears. I love Him and I want to obey Him. Why is that important? 

Because we are told in Scripture, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, to obey Him. John 14:15 tells us, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”. In Exodus 23:20-22 the Lord tells the people of Israel, while they are in the wilderness, waiting to enter the promised land the following: “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.” The really interesting part of this Scripture is the word “obey”, which the Lord uses twice here. It is a Hebrew word that means, to hear intelligently, to understand, to obey. 

In order to obey Him, when He speaks to me, I have to hear Him intelligently, and I have to choose to understand, and then, to obey Him. The Lord will not force you to obey. He is not interested in prisoners of war or slaves. He calls us His friends. But He is also our Father, our Redeemer, our Judge, and our Bridegroom. If we do not listen to what He is saying to us, to the church, then we don’t love Him! It really is that simple. 

Perhaps I am offending you with all this. I would rather offend you and save your soul, then speak nice words that tickle your ears, and send you to hell. We are living in a very short window of time on this earth. It is called the age of grace, or the age of the Gentiles. Jesus Himself told us in Luke 21:24, “And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” If you see what the Lord is doing in Israel, what He is doing to bring them back from all the nations of the earth, what He is doing around the world, to fulfill prophecy, you will realize that this age is drawing to a close. The rapture is at the door, and the tribulation is coming. Those horses in the first 4 seals of the scroll, (Revelation 6:1-8) are at the starting gate and if you have ears, you can hear them snorting with anticipation. They are ready and the only thing they are waiting for is the word, “come”!

So I will leave you with this. If you are hearing Him speak to you and you are not listening, if you are hardening your heart, and turning away from His voice, don’t do it! He loves you and He has no desire to pour out His wrath upon you. Repent. Obey what He is telling you. If you don’t know Him, repent and believe that He is alive and sitting at the right hand of the Father. He died on a cross for your sins and He is coming back soon as King of kings and Lord of lords. He tells us in John 3:3 that we must be born again. You cannot work off your sins. Only His blood can wash you clean. Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart, but turn and be healed. 

Is the great Tribulation God’s wrath?

We have often been taught that there will be no more tears when we get to heaven. And that is true. There are two scriptures that are used to verify this, both of them in Revelation. In Revelation 7:17 and 21:4, we are told “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” What a glorious time that will be, when there will be no more sorrow or suffering for all eternity. However, did you know that there is a time recorded in Scripture when someone actually did weep in heaven?

It is of all people, the apostle John. There is a very dramatic scene in the book of Revelation that puzzles me just a wee bit.  (not that the whole book is not full of drama). In Revelation 5:1-7 we are shown a scene that takes place in heaven, as witnessed by John:

“And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.”

Let me stop right here for a moment and ask a question. Why? Why are we shown this scene? It becomes clear, as we continue to read that the only one in this story who didn’t know that there was in fact, someone worthy to open this scroll, is John. With that in mind, I have come to a conclusion that I would like to share with you. John is the only person in this scene who was there for only a short time. He had not died and gone to heaven. He was still very much alive on this earth and was simply witnessing this scene after he was told “to come up here”.  Since he was then sent back to earth to write the book of Revelation, we can only come to the conclusion that this whole scene, was in fact, for our benefit. For you and me. With that in mind, let’s continue reading what happens next:

“But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.”

Now, let’s go back to that first part. No one in heaven, or on the earth or under the earth was worthy to open the scroll. No one. Remember that. 

I’m going to pivot here for a moment and talk about some end time theology that has many people confused. There are many in the church who claim, that the first half of the tribulation, is not in fact God’s judgment or His wrath. They teach that it is man’s wrath or satan’s wrath. That the 7 seals are just men being men, and killing each other. That satan is doing all this mayhem and destruction on the earth. But if we read what this scripture tells us, what this scene actually describes, it becomes clear that this teaching cannot be true. There is no one in heaven, or on earth or under the earth, who is worthy to open that scroll. Or, interestingly enough, to even look at it. Remember? Therefore the 7 seal judgments cannot be anything but God’s judgment on the earth.

In case you are not familiar with these 7 seals, let me refresh your memory. Seal one is the rider on the white horse, which cannot be anyone but the anti-Christ. Seal two is a red horse bringing war, conflict and people killing each other. Seal 3 is worldwide inflation. Seal 4 is death. Seal 5 is the cry of the martyrs that have been slain for being Christians. Seal 6 is cosmic disturbances both on earth and in heaven. This last seal is so powerful, that we are told the following:

“Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:14-17)

Now I want you to notice something important here. For anyone who tells you that these seven seals are not God’s wrath, show them this passage. The people of the earth, both rich and poor, free and slave, are begging the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne. That’s the Father, my friends. God Almighty! And, lest we forget, from the wrath of the Lamb! They acknowledge that the great day of His wrath has come. During this terrible time, the worst time that the earth has ever experienced, according to Jesus Himself, the people still alive at this point, know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is God’s wrath, the Lamb’s wrath, the wrath of Jesus Christ!

But wait. There’s more! I haven’t even mentioned the 7th seal. Because this seal is actually the prelude to what comes next: “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.” This final seal brings even more judgment onto the earth, the 7 trumpets, which are then followed by the 7 bowl judgments. 

So why is all this so important? Because there are many deceivers out there, who call themselves teachers, prophets and pastors, yes, even apostles, who are in fact teaching lies to the church. They are teaching things that are contrary to what scripture teaches. The Bible is very clear that judgment will come on this earth. God hates sin. He hates it so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins on a cross. Jesus then rose again on the third day and conquered death, so we can live forever with Him. But just because God made a way of salvation for us, does not mean everyone will accept His free gift. There are many who will not humble themselves and repent for their sins. And there are many who do not believe that He died and rose again and is alive today, sitting at the right hand of the Father. 

The Bible teaches us over and over that a day of judgment is coming on those who will not repent and choose to be wicked. The Old Testament calls it the Day of the Lord or the time of Jacob’s trouble.  Jesus told us in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 He would one day return to this earth and set up His kingdom in Jerusalem. He warned us that before He returns, He would judge the nations for their wickedness. That time is called the great Tribulation. Yes, we will have tribulation on this earth. But our sorrows and suffering, our private tribulation, is not the Great Tribulation. 

But I cannot stop there because the Bible is also very clear that God’s people, those that are His, those that have repented for their sins and believed that Jesus died for those sins and is alive in heaven, are not destined for His wrath. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 tells us, “For God did not appoint us to wrath”! 

Therefore my friends, do not be discouraged over what you see happening on this earth, or become afraid from the false teachings of many false teachers who try to persuade you that you must suffer through God’s wrath. Instead, be encouraged and comforted because Jesus has promised us that He will return and take us home to be with Him forever before He pours out His wrath on this earth! Paul makes this very clear in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18:

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

I don’t think it gets any clearer than what Paul says above. Being alive and subject to God’s wrath, as some have suggested, is not a comfort to me and I can’t imagine it is to you either. 

Will God judge the righteous along with the wicked?

Have you ever thought about having lunch with Jesus? Your mind might immediately be going back to the gospels and how often His disciples and others ate a meal with Him or how often He fed people who had been with Him for days. But did you know that there was another man, thousands of years ago, who also had lunch with Jesus? His name was Abraham and we are told about that amazing meal in Genesis 18:

“Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”
They said, “Do as you have said.””(Genesis 18:1-5)

Now you might be wondering how Abraham knew it was Jesus, because we know that He is not called that in the Old Testament and He was not called that in this story either. Jesus actually tells us in John 8:56 while He was having a discussion with the Jewish leaders who were telling Him He had a demon and was out of His mind:

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

Clearly, Abraham had a very special relationship with Jesus.

So why am I talking about this lunch? Two reasons. First of all, Jesus tells us in Luke 17:28-30 that during the end times and before the start of the great tribulation, the world will be like the days of Lot. So we need to pay attention to what happened in this whole story. 

Second, although this lunch and the promises given to Abraham and Sarah in this chapter were no doubt amazing, it was what came after that I want to talk about here. After the meal is over, the Lord and His two angels begin to walk away, and Abraham, obviously not wanting their time to be over yet, follows them. It is during this little walk, that the Lord says the following to Abraham:

“And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” (Genesis 18:16-18)

What was it that the Lord was doing? He was looking at Sodom (verse 16) and then He looks at Abraham and says this:

“Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”(Genesis 18:20-21)

Did you notice the word “outcry”? It means cries of distress. God heard those cries of injustice, and suffering in heaven, so He was coming down to look around and see if it was true. That alone is astonishing! But before He looked at Sodom He spent time with His friend, Abraham. 

And then the Lord says something to Abraham that we often skip right over or fail to think about. He says to him, should I tell you what I’m about to do? Should I hide it from you? (Genesis 18:17) Why would He ask that? Because He knew that Abraham would intercede. And he did. In verse 23, Abraham draws near to the Lord and says to Him, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?”

But that’s not all Abraham says to the Lord, and this is important. He asks Him the following: “Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:24-25)

And that last question is really the crux of this matter. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Abraham goes on to barter with the Lord, asking Him if there are only 40 or 30 or 20 or heaven forbid, 10 righteous people in Sodom, would He still destroy it. And the Lord says no, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” But if we go on to read the rest of the story, it becomes clear that there are not even ten righteous people in Sodom! Only Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his wife and two daughters are considered righteous. And therefore all the cities of the plain are destroyed with fire and brimstone from heaven. If you want to know why, go read the story. What happens next is disgusting to say the least, as the two angels, who look like men, come into the city and spend the evening with Lot. But there is something else that happens that is also really important to understand. 

When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”(Genesis 19:15-17)

Lot, who is clearly struggling with the whole situation, and truthfully, I don’t blame him, is lingering and trying to figure out what to bring with him. But then the angels say something else to him that I really want to emphasize here:

”Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”(Genesis 19:22) 

I want to really focus on this last sentence because it’s so important. They (the angels) cannot bring judgment until the righteous are removed! And that one phrase, when you add it to this whole story, brings me to something that has become such a bone of contention, even division in the body of Christ. I cannot believe how many people, many of them pastors, have mocked the concept, the very idea, that God would remove His bride from this earth before He brings judgment on the wicked. What is commonly called the rapture, has become a mockery in the church.

So I will ask you the same question that Abraham asked the Lord on that fateful day. “Would not the judge of all the earth, do right? Would He really punish the righteous with the wicked? Would He choose to beat the living daylights out of His bride, before He marries her? The answer, according to scripture, is no! He cannot, He will not, bring judgment until the righteous, the church, is removed from the earth!

Just as a small point of reference, in the 7 seal judgments in the book of Revelation, one quarter of the earth is killed. Could you survive that? That’s almost 2 billion people!

If you have been struggling with this whole idea, torn between right and wrong, wondering what is the truth, let me assure you that just as the Lord did not destroy Lot and his family with the wicked men of Sodom, He will not punish you and destroy you either, if you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have repented of your sins, been born again, and are filled with the Holy Spirit, you are the bride of Christ. He will not beat you up before He marries you. What husband would do that? Not a good one! And we know that God is good and there is only one who would persuade you otherwise, and that is satan. So don’t listen to the mockers and scoffers. Judgment is coming on the evil and wicked people of this earth. All the signs point to it. May I just remind you of all the rich and famous of the earth who visited Epstein’s Island, to mention just a little bit of wickedness.

But if you are His, you will meet Him in the clouds on that glorious day! Do not allow anyone to steal your blessed hope! (Titus 2:13) I will leave you with this word of comfort from Paul:

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”(1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)

What on earth is going on with the church?

I usually like to start my posts with a story of some sort. But I don’t have a story this time, just a heavy heart. Can we be real? If you, like me, are watching what’s going on in the church these days, and feeling all sorts of emotions, not the least of which is dismay and disillusionment, then keep reading.

Let me start by saying, I am a charismatic. Perhaps even a Pentecostal. I speak in tongues. I believe in the gifts of the spirit. I love His presence. I’ve spent years, no decades following the most popular ministries, Bethel, Morning Star, even a little IHOP here and there. I have their books on my bookshelf. I’ve read them, learned from them. Enjoyed them. I’ve gone to the conferences. Listened to the teachings. Believed these people were hearing from God. But I’ve also learned something else, something I didn’t get from them. I’ve learned to read my Bible. Every. Single. Day. For an hour. Since I was born again, many years ago, I have made it my habit to read the word. It’s harder to be deceived when you know the word. But these ministries deceived me. I did not see the scandal coming. 

And that is perhaps why it has been so hard. It caught me off guard. The scandals came out of left field for me. Perhaps they shouldn’t have. I’ve seen the scandals in the Catholic Church, and in the non Charismatic evangelical churches, not the least of which was Ravi Zacharias just 4 years ago. I don’t know why I didn’t realize that God was cleaning house, knocking over tables, if you will. But then I realized that none of this caught the Lord off guard. He actually warned us it would happen in the last days. We just didn’t see it or believe it. If you relate, follow along as I show you from Scripture that non of this stuff should have been a surprise to us, and, more importantly, what do we do now.

In Luke 12:1-3, Jesus warned us about hypocrisy in leadership. 

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

I’m sure the disciples wondered how things could be proclaimed from the housetops, but here we are. Technology solved this problem and the hidden things, done in secret, have indeed been proclaimed into every home. What was He really saying to them? Be careful what you do in secret, especially if you are a leader in the church. I will tell the world!

Jesus also warns us in Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

When you really read that passage slowly, it sounds very much like He is referring to the things happening right now and what will happen to those false leaders.  They will stand before Him at the judgment and shout, “look at all we’ve done for you”! Think about the arrogance and pride it takes to stand before the judge of all the earth and say that! I don’t see any fear of the Lord, do you? But what is just as enlightening is actually what came before this particular passage. In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus tells us:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

I want you to think about the imagery Jesus is using here: Thorn bushes and thistles. Have you ever touched one of them? Thorns puncture and hurt deeply. Thistles get stuck in your skin and hurt when you brush against them. Thistles are more subtle in their pain, while thorns are immediate and obvious. Now think about how that relates to wolves in the church. And not just wolves, but ravenous wolves. They are starving, lusting to eat the sheep. What a sad indictment! Shepherds on the other hand, feed the sheep, just like figs and grapes feed our bodies. 

One more. In Matthew 24:4, when Jesus is asked what will be the sign of the end times, He warns us with this:

“Take heed that no one deceives you.”

And then with this in Matthew 24:11:

“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

So you see, we were warned, we just didn’t want to see it or believe it. Even now, we make excuses for them. Perhaps they didn’t mean it. Maybe they didn’t understand. Surely not my favorite prophet, teacher, pastor, leader! Only the Lord knows their hearts, but truthfully, it’s not looking good for them. Can they repent? Of course! Will they? Only God knows. 

But that is not why I wrote this. Yes, I’m looking at bad fruit, fruit I’ve touched and tasted, and apparently didn’t realize was bad. But what I’m really asking is, where do we go from here? What now? 

And that brings me to this conclusion. We cannot build our houses on a ministry or a leader. That is in fact, building our house on sand. Ironically, this parable comes right after the passages about wolves and people shouting at the Lord on judgment day. In Matthew 7: 24-27, Jesus tells us this:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

I would suggest that the winds are blowing, the rain is descending and the floods of scandal have come. The only thing that will keep my house standing is if I have built it on the Rock, Jesus Christ. Do not build your house on anyone or anything else. Do not build your house, your faith, on a ministry or a leader. If these winds, these scandals are rocking your world, making you lose your faith, making you walk away from God, then your house is not built on the Rock! Come to Jesus and trust in Him. He will not lie to you or deceive you. He will not betray you. But you must repent and believe that He is alive and that He is coming back soon. Only then will your house be built on the Rock. 

Let me know in the comments if you have struggled with this issue and how you’ve handled it in a way that does not make you lose your faith.

How do you not become deceived with all the deception on earth?

There’s an obscure little story in the book of 1st Samuel that would be easy to miss, but it’s very important. Saul has become the 1st King of Israel, and the country has been captured by the Philistines, a neighboring nation that hates Israel. Saul, even within a short period of time, just two short years, has already proven himself to be a poor king, unwilling to obey the Lord. The Prophet Samuel has told him that God would not allow Saul’s kingdom to continue past his own life. In other words, his son’s would not become kings after him. With this background in mind, we come to the little story that is almost buried in 1 Samuel 13:19-22:

“Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; and the charge for a sharpening was a pim (a small measure of silver)for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan.”

Did you catch that? The army had no weapons! Neither sword nor spear. Nothing. Can you imagine a modern day army with no weapons of war? An army that is completely dependent on the enemy to even supply them with the machines to harvest their crops? Only men with sticks and stones, hoping they can defeat an enemy that is more powerful than them? What are the odds that they could defeat such an enemy? I would suggest zero to none.

Now let me ask you a question. Do you, as a Christian, have a sword by your side or in your hand? What am I talking about, you are thinking. Let me show you something in Ephesians 6:11-13 that Paul admonishes us to do:

‘Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” 

Paul goes on to describe the various pieces of armor, namely the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, putting the gospel of peace on our feet, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. You might look at these and think, check, yeah, I believe in Jesus and I think I understand the gospel. No worries, right? But then Paul mentions one more piece of equipment, and I want you to ask yourself if you have one and if it is dull or sharp? Is yours a butter knife, perhaps? I’m being serious. It’s the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. 

The sword of the spirit which is the word of God. Did you know that every time you read the word of God, which is the Bible, you are (proverbially) sharpening that sword? But, and this is a big but, unless you pick that Bible up, you don’t really have a sword do you? It might as well be a butter knife, for it does you no good in a battle. Look at what the writer of Hebrews says:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Are you taking someone else’s word for what the Bible says or are you reading it yourself? Are you believing that if you listen to sermons, or are reading a devotional every day, that that is enough to know the Word? What if I told you that when Jesus told us about the last days, the first warning He gave us is that there would be rampant deception. Matthew 24:4 (Take heed that no one deceives you.)

In 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 Paul warns us that there would be many false teachers and prophets, even in his day. He also tells us why:

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”

The reason they pretend to be ministers of righteousness is because they are not following Jesus, they are following satan. And how my friend, will you ever be able to discern who they really are, unless you have a very sharp sword in your arsenal? You must read and study the word of God. You must sharpen that sword every single day. It is the only way that you will know the truth and know it well enough to hear when you are being lied to and deceived. 

Now lets go back to our story of Israel and the Philistines. Why do you think that they took away Israel’s weapons? That’s an easy answer, isn’t it? Because they didn’t want them to fight and actually defeat them. They even removed all the blacksmiths from the land so they couldn’t secretly make weapons of war. 

With that in mind, why do you suppose we have a modern day church that doesn’t know the Bible? Why do so many people who call themselves Christians, never open their Bible, except maybe in church? I’ll tell you why! Because the enemy has convinced them that they don’t need to read it. They are far too busy doing more important things. I’m too busy. I volunteer at church. I have kids. I have a job. Etc. And so we have an army without weapons. An army that has willingly laid down their arms, and bought the lie, “you don’t need to read the word, just listen to a sermon”, “just read your two minute daily Bible verse or a devotional”. But isn’t a sermon or a teaching or a devotional just someone else’s opinion? 

This blog post is my opinion. It might be true, but in the end, it’s not the word. It’s not the sword of the Spirit. It’s just my opinion. I could be lying to you. I could be deceiving you. How will you know? Take the verses I gave you above and open your Bible and read them, then read what was before and what came after. And might I add, keep reading the whole chapter. Now you are picking up your sword. Now you are sharpening your sword!