Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’
Christianity: Failed mission or glorious victory? Yes.
Failure or victory? Yes.
“The big idea is this: I don't know if you are aware of it, but Christendom is dead,” he says during a recently released video promoting the book's theme. “The bus is no longer carrying us, it's running over us. Christianity is no longer popular and there are no social benefits to waving the Jesus flag. All you are going to get is persecution, opposition, and criticism. That's the day in which we live. The question is what will we do?” ~Mark Driscoll
“We have the victory!”
This is something we hear shouted in churches all the time, and, as stated, it is true. What we need to discuss is the actual reach of that victory. True Christians (who are much fewer in number than we’d realize) absolutely have had victory availed to them through the death and resurrection of Jesus. There are two specific issues, however, that we must consider.
- First, we as Christians can shout “Victory!” all day long, and live in depression, deception, defeat, fear and turmoil if we don’t actively live according to that victory. We have a part to play (a big part).
- Second, the true scope of the victory is limited. We can get excited about our own victory while failing to see how rare it is—as the high majority of people on the Earth are not victorious at all. They are lost.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 John 5:4
Victory and faith are one in the same. This reveals quite clearly that we must be active in faith in order to experience victory. And, of course, as was stated above, that victory is tragically limited. It’s truly few on the Earth who are living in faith and victory even though the cross and resurrection of Jesus provided victory to everyone in the world—everyone who would respond, that is.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
As we, through faith, abound in the work of the Lord, we will live in victory—yet more importantly, our labor will result in victory for others. That’s the true purpose of our lives.
A Rescue Mission
Prior to the cross and resurrection, humanity was flooding into Hell. The rescue mission of the cross was necessary, and the power it released was immeasurable, but its impact was minor when you take into account how few have responded to it.
It’s no surprise that the idea of Christianity experiencing failure feels both ridiculous and offensive. It’s ridiculous to those who are so inwardly focused on their own personal experience that they don’t see reality around them. It’s offensive because it presumes the sacrifice of Christ was insufficient.
The emergence of Christian Universalism and its various sects has resulted in a faux spirituality for innumerable people—people who presume that the cross of Christ resulted in one hundred percent of humanity being redeemed. Any thought of a lesser success rate is immediately resisted with mocking and even rage. After all, their comfortable, eternal utopia is threatened, and any theology that puts it at risk is soundly rejected.
Most play the good vs. bad card just as the lost do. Have you ever seen the interview on the street segments where people are asked, “Why should you be allowed into Heaven?” The answer is always, “Because I’m a good person.”
The thought is that Jesus would certainly allow entrance into Heaven anybody who lived a good live and who voiced even the slightest affirmation of the Gospel. Only the hateful, evil people of the world would be cast into Hell. This thought is rampant in Spirit-filled churches today.
…as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:10
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:18
We have underestimated the power of the blood of Jesus while overstating the role of the blood of Jesus. The shed blood of one Man long ago was powerful enough to eradicate the multiplied trillions of sins that had been committed, and those that would be committed in the future. Further, one drop of that ancient blood was sufficient to heal every disease. We have barely tapped into its power.
However, people wrongly presume upon the blood to apply itself simply because we have voiced a commitment to the one who shed it. The blood doesn’t grant us immunity, it grants us authority. We must apply it. We must live a life empowered by it. Though the blood paid the price for sickness, it is still required that we heal the sick. Though the blood paid for salvation, we must walk that salvation out with fear and trembling.
The church in the Western culture barely has a heartbeat, and this is due largely to a casual, entitled people who presume wrongly upon the blood of Jesus instead of taking up their cross, laying down their lives and operating in the bold authority that such a great sacrifice by a great God demands. We have a part to play.
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Luke 10:19
If we tread, then we won’t be hurt. Why? Because we applied the blood of Jesus. We advanced in the authority that it provided. If we don’t tread, we will be stung.
It’s not a prayer alone that saves us. It’s a lifestyle of enduring surrender. Salvation isn’t a status, it’s a lifestyle. We work it out, we endure, we repent. Salvation is not a dime store item on the shelf that anybody with a little curiosity and a minimal investment can receive. Salvation is immersive, dynamic and all consuming, and can’t be simply analyzed with a logical mind. It’s not a switch that’s flipped. It’s a relationship. Anybody who’s been in relationship knows it has up and downs, and it grows, ebbs and flows.
A relationship with Jesus is otherworldly and it is discerned spiritually. This is why so many are so terribly deceived into thinking they are saved simply because they believe in Jesus and live a good life (which isn’t actually possible without living in the power of Jesus). The majority of church attenders presume it’s easy to get saved. This deception is growing deeper and deeper as is evidenced in faulty theologies such as Christian Universalism, false-grace and Antinomianism. (Antinomianism in Christianity is the belief that under the gospel dispensation of grace, moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation.)
For example, an increasing number of professing Christians have subscribed to an expression of Christian Universalism that believes that Hell is a temporary holding place for those who rejected Jesus, and will be released from torment at the end of the Millennium. This is a result of a misunderstanding of the role of the blood. Its reach is only as far as we affirm and apply it.
The cross of Christ, the blood of Jesus, possesses such unimaginable power. However, it didn’t result in salvation for all. This means that the glorious cross and miraculous resurrection set many captives free, but not all. Not most. Not even close.
The question is, is this failure Christ’s or the church’s? Of course it is on us.
Victory’s Limited Reach
The fall of Adam and Even was more cataclysmic than any of us could imagine. The general thought is that they fell and God then sent Jesus who would resolve everything. That’s the incorrect belief that this article is addressing.
After the fall, God moved into the world’s most dramatic and comprehensive rescue mission—a mission that by most any standard would be categorized as a massive failure. Contrary to Universalists, this rescue mission will not result in every human being being saved, redeemed. In fact, we should be haunted and grieved by the reality. Statistically, the numbers are horrifying.
It’s been recently reported by Barna Research that only 4% of Americans fit within the category of professing, active Born Again Christians.
Without any true ability to know the exact numbers of people who have or will be cast into Hell, we can at least entertain an estimate.
The official estimate of people who have ever lived on the Earth is approximately 108 billion people. Others who subscribe to a 6,000 year history put the number closer to 50 billion. Let’s use the 50 billion estimate.
How many of the 50 billion people experienced victory and how many did the mission of Jesus fail to save?
At 4%, which may even be a little high (some suggest one in one thousand on the earth today are truly saved), that would mean 2 billion through all of history were successfully saved through the cross of Christ. That would mean 48 billion are currently in Hell (or on their way there).
So, you might wonder just what the point I’m trying to make is.
Here it is: When declaring victory, shout it with boldness and humility and great thanks, but absolutely do not stop there. Cry out to God and volunteer to move outside of your comfortable safe place, focusing on your own victory, and volunteer for the ongoing rescue mission.
To shout about victory without understanding how rare and precious it is, and without brokenness about the condition of the world, is narcissistic, selfish and evidence of a radical lack of revelation of God’s heart for the lost.
Who’s Number One?
Today the church is looking out for number one, and, unfortunately, all too often, number one isn’t Jesus. It’s self.
Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 1 Colossians 1:18
While others are convulsing, burning, roasting in the fires of Hell for eternity, Christians today are lining up for events that promise health, prosperity and happiness for themselves in their few short years on the Earth. They are already convinced of their own eternal security (often wrongly), so the next obvious step would be to have their life on Earth enhanced.
Every day countless people are entering eternity without Jesus, while never being prayed for, never having a Christian stand in the gap for them, never having the opportunity to know the love of Jesus.
Where are those Christians who should be weeping and hurting over the condition of the lost? Too many are self absorbed, entertained and working on living a more fulfilling life. They are looking out for the wrong number one. They are asking, “What’s in it for me?”
I see a lot of Bible Promise books out there. Where are all of the Bible Command books? What if we asked, “What is required of me?”
A wrong understanding of victory will result in presumption that Jesus did it all, we have no part to play and now all we should do is go about our personal lives.
A right understanding of the status of the mission will result in lives of Believers laid down as willing martyrs for the sake of slowing the flow to Hell.
Simply said, the cross of Christ resulted in glorious victory for those who have received him. However, those people are very few and very far between. Salvation is rare indeed.
Hell is expanding to hold those who are descending into it, and this is a tragedy that we can’t ignore. It’s not about us. It’s about them and it’s about Him.
Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. Isaiah 5:14
Reality
We must be realists. We must not reject truth, even when that truth is fearful, traumatic and heavy.
Certainly, in the end, Jesus will win the victory over Satan and the kingdom of darkness. We understand the great battles that are coming will be won by Jesus and his army.
That is a mighty victory for sure!
The redeemed will experience such phenomenal, glorious victory and their eternities will shine forever!
This absolutely is news worth rejoicing over!
But, we cannot stop there. Not now. Not when people will die in their sins tonight. Not when it’s so unbelievably rare to make Heaven. It’s time to pray. It’s time to fight. It’s time to lay down our lives—for real this time.
Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 21:13
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. Revelation 6:9
The forsaken focus on the reality of Hell : Where are they now?
The reality that MOST people in the world and MANY in the church will be tormented forever in Hell grips me night and day.
Yesterday I wrote an article titled “Shock Christianity.” I strongly exhort you to read it as this is a follow up message. You can read it HERE.
You can also listen to a provocative podcast on the same topic of Shock Christianity and what love really looks like on that page.
We have been duped.
So many in the church have been deceived into believing in a costless, easy salvation—and it is so penetrated our culture that any argument against it is aggressively rejected.
The false grace message, as I have shared many times, is lulling people into a spiritual coma, and that is the best part of the news. The worst? Many of them will move from coma to trauma as they enter eternity into the terror of Hell.
Just as I shared yesterday, I am beyond concerned and troubled regarding the state of the church.
When I walk into even the most vibrant, Spirit-filled church, the grid I see is that of many people who are intimate with Jesus, and potentially many who are following Jesus in an unsaved condition.
In fact, in a life-giving church of 1000 people, it wouldn’t surprise me if 100 of them are truly saved.
False Love
As I wrote in yesterday’s message, there is a false love movement that is exceedingly popular in the world today. The focus is on self—our experience, our emotions, our feelings. The goal is affirmation and emotional intimacy that masquerades as true love.
The result? People avoid dealing with the tough issues in the hopes of encouraging and affirming people. Many people in the church who are on their way to Hell are affirmed in their journey—by other Christians! No alarms are sounded. No warnings shared. No grief and tears. Just a smile and a hug for their friend who is in a treacherous, lukewarm condition.
Consider the shocking statements by the Pope this past week:
“The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone,” the pope told worshipers at morning Mass on Wednesday. “‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”
Francis continued, “We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”
Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, said that although he has been skeptical of Francis' outreach to the nonreligious, he welcomed Wednesday’s comments.
“I gather from this statement that his view of the world's religious and philosophical diversity is expanding,” Speckhardt said. “While humanists have been saying for years that one can be good without a god, hearing this from the leader of the Catholic Church is quite heartening.”
Regardless of whether his true intent was lost in translation or not, the message he sent is being received by many that they can simply do good and that they are safe. My God.
Hell isn’t for bad people. It’s for those who reject intimacy with Jesus. It’s for those who reject his Lordship.
This passive approach of false love extends well beyond the landscape of the church. We have overestimated the power of being nice and passive with those in the homosexual movement, for example. How is this working for us? Many churches functioning in a spirit of false love and overreaching sympathy are now affirming people in the lifestyle that is killing them!
Churches “very rarely talk about sin and refuse ever to say that homosexual behavior is a sin.” Only a minority of people in the churches in Britain, “speak out the word of God. And they get a lot of aggression for it,” she said.
“The church is doing a disservice to homosexuals by denying sinners their liberty in the lord Jesus Christ. They are blind guides leading others into a ditch of destruction.” ~Lesley Pilkington
So, what is true love for the homosexual community? Warn them! Awaken them! It’s not about being moral or talking about how it affects them here on Earth as much as it is about their eternity.
We have to have the guts to tell them that Hell is their future and we desperately don’t want them to go there! Staying silent is not love.
Jesus made mention of Hell and a coming judgment dozens of times in the Gospels. Jesus had more to say about Hell than He did about Heaven!
And Jesus made it absolutely clear that people who refuse to repent, who turn away God’s provision of forgiveness and salvation, will spend eternity separated from God in a place of conscious torment that He often called “Hell” (Matthew 5:29).
Now in spite of the Bible's clarity on this issue, Satan has deceived millions of people into believing a variety of other “softer” options. Satan, “the father of lies” (John 8:44), never ceases to take advantage of those who are willing to lay aside Biblical revelation for something that is more palatable. ~Charlie Campbell
Where are they now?
Rest in peace. That phrase is spoken at most every funeral in the world, yet it’s only truly applicable in a small percentage of those who enter eternity. Most don’t rest, and most have no peace.
I have heard many say that it’s not loving to mention the reality of Hell to people. When evangelizing, many completely leave out the truth about eternity without Jesus. Hell isn’t mentioned. The cross isn’t mentioned. Repentance isn’t mentioned. And, as a result, people are lured into a false religious experience that gives them false hope. Some say that we only need to reveal the love of Jesus, and it’s actually detrimental to mention negative things such as sin and Hell. If that’s the case, Jesus himself failed. He mentioned Hell often.
Let me make it clear: It is deep love that warns people about eternity separated from Jesus!
Some say it’s a fear tactic to mention Hell. That is absolute insanity. With the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus didn’t say that it was unloving to mention Hell. He said that it’s a part of the presentation of the prophets, yet it is ignored! Jesus said that people needed to hear about Hell and be convinced about it!
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers —so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” [Luke 16:19-31 ESV]
So, just where are people who have died right now? Just who is resting in peace?
Some suggest that just one in one thousand avoid the torment of Hell. This would be a narrow road indeed.
Where are Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Andy Griffith, Steve Jobs and other stars who have died recently? Really think about it. Of course, we can’t arrive at a definitive answer, BUT we must consider the question.
If we default to believing Whitney Houston, for example, went to Heaven, that belief will impact the way we live our own lives. Of course, my sincere hope is that she is there…that goes without saying. But, lets think about this very difficult question.
Another way to ask the question is, is it truly rare for even professing Christians to make Heaven? Is it possible that a small percentage of church goers will truly make it?
Now, compare the two perspectives.
The point? Hell is real. Hell is expanding. Most go there. They are not resting in peace. Affirming people in unsaved, lukewarm conditions is aiding them in their journey to Hell. That is not love. Not even close.
This is the issue that grips me every day of my life. My primary message is for the church. I can’t get too excited about teaching on anything other than awakening if that teaching will only help people in the few years leading up to their plunge into Hell. The spirit of awakening is upon me!
The Good News
I don’t believe you can preach the Good News without it being in the context of the bad news.
Approximately 100 people die every minute. This means, possibly NONE of them are in Heaven right now. Possibly all 100 are in Hell. Or, maybe one or two made it.
In the time it has taken you to read this article so far, approximately 500-1000 people have died. It’s possible that 950 or 975 or 990 of them, for example, are in Hell right now.
Many of them are absolutely shocked to be there. This very second, as you are reading this, somewhere in the belly of the Earth, they are freaking out. They thought they were saved, but were not. Nobody sounded an alarm in their life. The Gospel was possibly dumbed down and diluted—and that is what they bought into.
Getting saved is simple but not easy. Free but not without great cost. Few are interested in salvation like that.
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said,“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” [Mark 10:17-31 ESV]
Who then can be saved? The disciples wrestled with the issue of salvation, and so must we! We must work it out with fear and trembling. We must endure to the end. Few do that, and a prayer decades prior with some cleaned up living and church attendance is not what saves.
Without intimacy with Jesus and a willingness to surrender all, Hell is the future.
So, the Good News is truly good news when seen on the backdrop of eternal darkness.
The love of Jesus is clear when presented in contrast to such hatred.
It’s time friends to shout from the rooftops this message. The fear of the Lord must grip us and the hunger for intimacy with Jesus must overwhelm us!
It’s those who aren’t intimate with Jesus who will be cast into Hell. People who he didn’t know.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers! ’ [Matthew 7:2 HCSB]
Do you know anybody who’s not intimate with Jesus? Warn them. Call them higher. Pray for them. Do not presume that they are safe. They absolutely are not.
Compliance: I’d like to confess two personal sins to you
The concept of compliance to prophetic voices and even to God himself is diminishing in our culture—and the consequences will be disastrous.
…A Greek word for proclaim…is kerusso… It means “to be a herald.” A herald was a public crier who was a speaker of divine truth. The message delivered by the crier was a public and authoritative announcement that demanded compliance. When you kerusso, you are like a town crier making an announcement that requires the hearers to comply. How powerful! ~Barbara Wentroble
Today, prophetic voices are neutered by a culture that is extremely independent, and, as a result, are declaring the sharp word of the Lord less and less. Instead, those with prophetic ministries have abandoned the call for compliance to a correction or redirection of God for words that tickle ears and communicate positive destinies even for those who are in direct rebellion to truth.
I was at the Detroit Prayer Furnace recently, and, prior to seeing this message by Barbara Wentroble, God dropped a very clear, weighty word into my spirit: COMPLIANCE.
I immediately knew that we as a nation were moving into a very troubling and dangerous time where prophetic voices must unapologetically call the church into compliance with God’s very costly, inconvenient calibration. No longer can we act as salesmen, forming our words in such a way that people will buy what we are saying! Prophetic messengers will be shunned, assaulted, resisted and accused due to the calls out of a theology of comfort and independence.
It is beyond critical that these prophetic messengers are living holy and are sensitive to the leading of God.
MINOR IS MAJOR: TWO PERSONAL LESSONS
Minor is major with God. Two recent minor sins had a major impact on my life. I’m about to confess those sins to you.
With the emergence of the false-grace message, there is an increase in people who believe that their sin is little more than temporarily troubling while being eternally benign.
Additionally, there’s a decrease of the fear of the Lord and any concern at all over eternal destinies.
Read this disturbing account of a young Christian at a homosexual parade as told by Dr. Michael Brown:
When asked why they were at the gay pride event, the young women stated with enthusiasm that they were there to support people they love. (To watch the entire, extraordinary video interaction, click here.)
The same girl reiterated that gay s-ex was sinful but that supporting the gay pride event didn’t mean she agreed with it since, again, being gay was a “lifestyle.”
When asked once more if she believed gay s-ex was sin, she replied, “It’s a sin, but I’m not against it. I think you’re forgiven no matter what.”
She was then asked, “If you’re a Christian, you’re forgiven of the sin?” She replied, “Yeah, absolutely. You’re forgiven of everything except not believing.”
When asked, “So, you support people having gay s-ex?” she answered, “Yeah, I think that you can’t help your heart sometimes.”
Did you notice that the false-grace believe that she held to? Christians can sin without any fear of judgment. This belief is sending so many to Hell.
As I said above, minor is major with God. So often we hear the argument regarding the “big sins” of homosexuality, murder, etc., that “all sin is the same.” The argument is that God can forgive a murderer just as quickly and completely as he can forgive one who gossips, lies or lusts. I do agree with that. (For the record, I don’t believe all sin is the same, and you can read more about that here. But, for the sake of this point, let’s agree that God can forgive all sin equally.)
What if we turned the argument around? If all sin is the same, then the sin of gossip is as detestable and eternally destructive as the sin of murder. Lying can send one to Hell just as quickly as premarital sex. Minor is major. And, no, we aren’t exempt from eternal threat simply because we consider ourselves to be Christians. That is one of the greatest, most devastating fallacies in the church today. Christians who sin absolutely are at risk of eternal separation from God.
Hebrews 10:26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
LESSON NUMBER ONE
I know a key assignment for me is to call the church back into radical holiness and consecration, and my authority to do so comes via the blood of Jesus. When I sinned in what I would consider a minor way, my assignment was compromised.
I temporarily lost my authority to prophetically call the church to corporate holiness when I didn’t respond to God’s call to personal holiness. I no longer could impact the major because of my failure in the minor.
A couple of weeks ago I was writing a post just as I’m writing this one now. Many people presume that I haphazardly write and say anything that comes to mind in a cavalier way. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Every word that comes out of my mouth is measured and ordered via the fear of the Lord. It’s a daily, weighty matter for me to ensure I’m not withholding anything due to the fear of man and that I’m not saying what I should not due to the fear of God. To be a prophetic messenger requires this wrestling match.
As I was writing the message, I boldly said what I felt the Lord would want me to, and I was making some sharp points.
I was also listening to a teaching about how certain sins can manifest in our bodies as sickness. For example, if we gossip and don’t repent, it’s not uncommon to have tooth pain or even to need expensive dental work such as a root canal. Gossip out of our mouth affects our mouth. As I continued writing, I was thinking to myself, “We need prophetic people who don’t wash their mouths out with soap, but with the blood of Jesus!” I kept seeing pure mouths of bold messengers filled with the blood of Jesus as they declared truth.
I came to a point in the article where I relayed an extremely minor, common issue that can come up in a messenger’s life. I wrote in an extremely generic, careful manner about a personal situation that happened in my life recently. The content wasn’t the problem, but the attitude of my heart was. Again, it was so minor. You’d laugh if you knew just how minor it was! But, as I wrote it, God gave me a gentle check in my spirit. I considered the check, wondering if it was just my own emotions—then I ignored the check. After all, there was nothing that I wrote that would raise alarms whatsoever.
I finished the article and prepared to send it out. I always post it to the web first, and then immediately send it to my email list.
Then, I got up from my office chair and I felt something in my mouth. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Directly under my tongue, right in the center, I saw a blood blister! It was not there five seconds prior! God immediately reminded me that his prophetic voices must have their mouths filled with the blood of Jesus, and I was instantly convicted. I ignored Jesus. I immediately repented from a deep place of my heart. I was wrecked!
I went back to my office, troubled that the tainted message was now all over the world. But, then, I noticed something. I had actually forgotten to send the message to my email list, which would have been a point of no return! I quickly removed the questionable sentence, reposted it to the web and then sent it to my list. Less than three hours later, the blood blister in my mouth completely disappeared! God is so kind as he is training us in righteousness! I learned, as a seasoned minister of 22+ years, that promotion to new assignments requires trust of God that we will respond immediately and exactly to him. I learned that lesson…or so I thought.
LESSON NUMBER TWO
About a week later I had a great meeting with two state prayer leaders in Dearborn, Michigan. I can’t explain it, but God was REALLY getting my attention that day. It was as if there were an open heaven over me and God was calling me to engage with him. After I left the meeting, I felt compelled to stop by the Detroit Prayer Furnace on my way home and get along with the Lord. I craved him, and I could tell he craved time with me.
I had also wanted to go to Best Buy at some point that day to buy something I had really wanted, so that was definitely in the back of my mind.
I spent about 45 minutes getting into the zone at DPF and trying to hear what the Lord had for me that day. I was still extremely stirred.
A friend then showed up and we talked for just a little bit. He decided to leave, and, with the desire to head to Best Buy increasing, I did too.
I felt a minor check in my spirit that I needed to stay put and keep seeking after God. Instead, I responded casually and thought that I could pray in the car and possibly reconnect with God later that night or tomorrow.
Well, I couldn’t connect in the car, and my spirit was increasingly grieved, but I excused it away. I got to Best Buy, and almost left without buying what I wanted, and I felt that’s what God wanted. Keep in mind, this is all low level stuff. I didn’t see an angel with instructions from Heaven. I was discerning something that felt more like the story of the Princess and the Pea. That small irritating pea wouldn’t go away.
Before I left Best Buy, I checked one more aisle, and there it was—it was exactly what I wanted! And, they price matched Amazon.com, so I saved $20! I bought it, and my grief increased.
For one week my life was a swirl of God, Satan and flesh—all assaulting me. A very minor decision to casually respond to God and ignore his gentle prompts resulted in sleepless nights and non-stop feelings of demonization. Trust me, I am not exaggerating.
I was in rebellion. My minor sin was major. My rejection of God was real. He had called me up to the mountain to meet with me and I chose to remain at the bottom with a spirit of Egypt compelling me to worship a golden calf. I actually had a picture of my rebellion resulting in an eternity in Hell—just me, demons and that stupid item I bought at Best Buy! I was tormented!
You might try to encourage me by saying that there’s no condemnation in Christ Jesus. That’s true. But, I’m sober enough to admit that, in that moment of rebellion I really wasn’t in Christ Jesus—and that’s why the shouts of condemnation by the enemy were piercing me so effectively. Now, I believe God knew this trial would hit me, and he knows my heart is so deeply in love with his, so I wouldn’t be dying in that state of rebellion. It was a Peter denying Christ type of moment. However, I’m also convinced that continued rebellion by me, someone who leads ministries, has written books, teaches on holiness, goes to church, pays my tithe, prays continually—would absolutely put me at risk of Hell.
Yesterday, I was exhausted as I keep trying to connect with Jesus who I love so much, and who loves me so much. I prayed, I worshiped, I listened to anointed music. Nothing worked. I had my intercessors praying for me. I was in darkness and I was wiped out. I cried out to God, “Please talk to me! Give me something that will reveal what I am to do! I can’t go on feeling alone and separated from you!”
Within moments, my good friend Julia Palermo posted this on Facebook:
Any place in our lives and heart where we are exerting our will and ways over God's will and ways will inevitably drain us of energy and resources. Exertion=Exhaustion. On the other hand, death to self requires only that we lay down at the foot of the cross and give up the right to run our lives. We say with Christ, “Not my will but Yours be done Father.” The Crucified life is the entrance into true rest. #ComeAndDie
Jesus! I immediately packaged up what I bought at Best Buy to take it back. I crucified my flesh and returned my idol. Peace flooded my soul. The life and love of Jesus IMMEDIATELY returned. I felt him instantly! The anointing spiked.
It’s absolutely stunning how simple, minor sins can have such a profound impact on those called to serve the Lord!
Minor is major! The sins of apathy, gossip, independence, selfishness, materialism, idol worship, homosexuality, murder, rape and all of the others, major or minor, required the same death of Jesus.
Sins that are repented of, that have the blood of Jesus applied to them, are eradicated! But, if we refuse to repent and confess and allow Jesus to have Lordship again, we cannot presume to be in a safe place.
God is going to hold ministers to a much higher standard. This is why we must pursue holiness and refuse to participate in the sins of culture through media, rebellion, materialism and independence.
It’s time to embrace a spirit of repentance. God is extremely kind. He was in my two back-to-back sins. But, he’s equally serious. He will discipline those he loves. I am so thankful that he loves me.
COMPLIANCE
This brings us back to compliance.
God is raising up voices that will walk in true consecration and holiness. Not perfect people, but responsive people. People who will quickly repent and who will walk in true authority—authority to call the church into compliance to the Word of God.
When this generation’s true prophetic messengers sound an alarm, it won’t be open for discussion. We won’t have the option to consider whether we want to obey or not. We will have to comply. Are you one who will awaken the church and call it to holiness, to prayer and to consecration? Are you walking in holiness? Are you listening to God, or are you casual, as I was in the two above stories? Pray for your discernment to increase, and get ready to gather the ready, responsive remnant that will offer no excuse as they respond to the alarms of the Lord as they are shouted through your blood filled mouth!
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 2:15-17, ESV)
False Human Rights | They are destroying the church and our nation
Does a moment go by that we don’t hear about some group or movement making demands for their supposed human rights?
My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy
What happened to this? What happened to America? What happened to the church?
John 15:13 (ESV) 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Today we are absolutely overwhelmed by the constant, self-centered shouts of those who demand that their country—or their church—gives them what they believe is rightfully theirs.
It’s a false human rights movement.
The RIGHT to abortion. The RIGHT for same sex marriage. The RIGHT to be equal. The RIGHT to be heard.
It’s a sickening, selfish focus that is driven by human desire instead of a willingness to take up our cross and die. How often have people left churches because their supposed rights weren’t addressed? How much dissention is in the workplace because people are looked over in favor of another?
I’ve said it before—today, when people’s self-centered pursuits are rejected, they abandon relationships, leave churches and cause division, but when Jesus was rejected, he didn’t abandon people. He didn’t forsake the church.
He let people kill him so they might be saved. He died so the church could thrive.
My point in this article isn’t to address specific issues as much as it is to deal with a deadly demonic spirit that is extremely advanced in its progress in the destruction of the church, and thus, the nation.
A SPIRIT OF ENTITLEMENT
This spirit is pervasive in our nation, and, unfortunately it has infiltrated the church to such a degree that it has altered the very DNA. Today people attend church with expectations of how they should be treated instead of a plan to lay down their lives for the sake of the mission. There is a predetermined checklist of items that they presume they are rightfully entitled to. If those demands aren’t met, then trouble is initiated—just as the enemy planned.
This spirit of entitlement convinces us to look inward and fight for our perceived rights. It’s fueled by pride that results in the pursuit of personal attention, gain and satisfaction.
Isaiah 14:12–15: How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Lucifer was focused on self—entitlement. This pride resulted in destruction beyond anything we could measure. He fell and weakened the nations simply because he was focused on self!
America, are you listening?
Because of Lucifer’s attitude, millions of people have been destroyed, the Holocaust terrorized a generation, an ancient flood destroyed the masses, 55 million American babies have been murdered and Hell is growing in size to hold the increasing number of people who will live there for eternity.
Yes, a spirit of entitlement destroys.
Proverbs 16:18: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 11:2: When pride comes, then comes shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Proverbs 18:12: Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility.
TAKING ON OFFENSE
When entitled people gather together, you have a union. Here in Detroit, this is understood well. There are certain expectations that must be fulfilled by leadership, or, those in union will threaten harm to them or the organization. This concept isn’t hard to understand. Often on the news we hear of school teachers or bus drivers who are in a union, and when their demands aren’t met, they strike.
When an entitlement isn’t met, offense is the result—and when people are in union with another who has been offended, they very quickly take on that offense—and, again, it is deadly.
We see this happen in churches all the time. Offended people have friends, who, unify with them and come into agreement with their arguments.
Of course, it would be very easy right now to start considering all of the secular benefits to actual unions. We could discuss how the playing field is evened and the way leadership treats the working class is improved by holding them accountable.
But, I’ll say this very clearly—this spirit of false unity, entitlement and offense has no place in the church. And, our nation would begin down the road of healing and strengthening if we all stopped making demands and started serving, loving and following Jesus and the principles of scripture.
An offended people will destroy a nation. A surrendered people will build a nation.
As an example, the spirits of entitlement and offense drive the abortion industry. False compassion, demonic in nature, is one of the tools that is used to gain sympathy and support for that movement. The threat is that we will come across as unloving, uncaring people if we oppose that movement. The same is true with the homosexual agenda. False love results in accusations of homophobia and hatred for those who don’t support their movement.
As Christians, we are handcuffed as we are forced into a position of affirming our love of these people, and if we don’t, they win the debate.
Our only weak, predictable response seems to be, “We love the sinner and hate the sin.”
BOLDNESS!
We as prophetic voices in the church must brake off intimidation and fear of man! Keep in mind we are wrestling against demons, not humans. What is difficult is when humans embrace the lies of the demons, we who stand for truth can come across as attacking those people. So, many Christians avoid any appearance of conflict at all.
LISTEN CLOSELY: People are going to enter into Hell today! If we don’t have bold prophetic messengers rise up in the spirit of John the Baptist, in the spirit of David and other historic Godly warriors, millions upon millions of people will actually, literally go to Hell! If it’s rare to make it to Heaven, and common to enter Hell, how can we sit back and avoid a violent conflict with those forces of Hell? We cannot!
Matthew 11:12 (ESV) 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
Check out this commentary on the above scripture:
Greek: biazo (GSN-<G971>), to use force, to force one's way into a thing. The idea here is that before John the kingdom could only be viewed in the light of prophecy; but now that it was preached, men were pressing into it with ardor resembling violence or desperation. They appeared as if they would seize it by force (Mt. 11:12; Lk. 16:16). It expresses the earnestness that men must have in getting rid of sin, all satanic powers, the world, and in standing true when relatives oppose them (Mt. 10:34-39). Dake's Annotated Reference Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments of the Authorized or King James Version Text.
This is where we are now! Let the fire-branded, love-driven warrior bride arise!
When David killed Goliath, it’s true that he killed a human, but he was actually fighting against a demon that was manifesting through a human. David didn’t sit down in a coffee shop to passively, casually discuss the dispute with Goliath. He was ready for a violent assault against the kingdom of darkness.
He made clear what the situation was and what was to be done! How easy it would be for David to be accused of not loving Goliath! But, the truth is that David loved God first (Luke 10:27) and was fully invested in partnering with him. Human arguments would have to meet the fierce decrees of the child of God! Fear-driven false humility was not an option for David. David was on a mission of salvation—the salvation of God’s people.
1 Samuel 17:26 (ESV) 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
David was bold! Who is this uncircumcised Philistine? He was calling out Goliath’s immorality and his lack of consecration to the Lord.
Come on church! Quit cowering in false-humility and rise up in the greatest love this nation has ever known! It’s time to declare the word of the Lord to the uncircumcised enemies of the Lord in America!
But, beware, many in your sphere, in the camp of the Lord, will also be intimidated by your love driven boldness. The prophetic, apostolic anointing often results in jealousy and accusation against the one advancing fearlessly. Accusations of pride will always accompany those who are willing to live radically by laying down their lives for the Lord.
1 Samuel 17:28-29 (ESV) 28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?”
His brother attacked him! I’m sure he felt conviction as little brother David was going to do what every other person should have done—deal with the uncircumcised Philistine with expediency!
Will you raise your anointed, prophetic voice, or will you seek a false sense of peace? Remember we are to be peacemakers not peacekeepers! We cannot keep peace were there is no peace!
We have no obligation to passively form our words in such a way that we will be heard. It’s time to bring a shaking to this nation—before it is literally destroyed!
1 Samuel 17:41-46 (ESV) 41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel…
It’s time that we go after the anti-Christ spirits that are overtaking our nation! We can no longer use human arguments. It’s time that we are anointed in the boldness and power of the Holy Spirit! We aren’t to prove our love, we are to love—and true love brings true problems in the pursuit of liberty for a nation! We see this cover to cover in scripture.
LET ME BE CLEAR: I DEEPLY LOVE BUT DO NOT CARE
I will say it very, very clearly. I RADICALLY love those who are advancing humanistic agendas, even though you may not believe me. That’s your battle, not mine.
Jesus loved people though he would not bend to their demands. He cared about their emotions, their hearts, their eternities—but, he didn’t defend himself. He let his accusers kill him. Who was the one who cared and loved when he was lifted up on a cross that day?
In an attempt to break the church out of a passive, false-love driven debate over holiness and morality I will say this very clearly:
I DO NOT CARE ENOUGH, young woman, about your career, your comfort, your supposed right to independence or the crisis and cost a new baby will bring to your life to affirm your plan to kill your baby. You are not entitled to comfort. You are not promised happiness. I challenge you to lay down your life for a baby that God thought enough about you to entrust its care to.
When you wave a coat hanger in the air during an abortion rights protest, you are declaring that you have more compassion for one who would intentionally harm someone than one who is being harmed. The answer to losing access to ‘safe abortions’ (how is intentional murder safe?) is not to head out to the back alley to abort the baby yourself with a hanger—it is to have the baby and love it with selfless passion! The answer is so simple!
I DO NOT CARE about a supposed right to sexual freedom, gay or straight, that results in a devastating lifestyle that is bringing destruction on our nation. Decrees of holiness must return to our churches and nation again!
I DO NOT CARE about equality in our nation if it results in climbing over people who are in our way or forcing them to affirm our self-centered position. It’s time that we lay down our demands, surrender our agendas and quit manipulating systems in a selfish pursuit of personal gain. It’s time for humility to reign in America again!
Christian leaders I honor you deeply and pray for you and I do understand the pressures you are under. However, I DO NOT CARE about personal agendas, self-centered ministry projects, your self-assigned titles or ego-driven programs and will not unite with those who embrace them. Your legacy and history in the city is meaningless unless it results in a future of Holy Spirit freedom for desperate people. I will expend energy, time and money to run with you if you are humble and passionate about the plans of God in the region. Let’s slow the flow to Hell together.
Philippians 2:4-8 (ESV) 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
I CARE ABOUT THE HEART OF GOD and his overwhelming love for people—and the fact that Hell is swallowing millions of them. I care about the clear truths of scripture. I trust in God’s wisdom and I refuse to allow humanism to gain the upper hand in the debate. I care about bold prophetic messengers who will lay down their lives and open their mouths and shout truth from the rooftops.
Today, not tomorrow, it’s time to die to self and run to the battle as the spirit of Goliath is threatening to destroy us. It’s time for the circumcised, consecrated lovers of God to take back America.
Four Demon Accusations That Stop Spiritual Warriors
Four Demon Accusations That Stop Spiritual Warriors
Wow! This article by Jonas Clark is right on…and timely! You can see the original article here: http://www.jonasclark.com/spiritual-warfare-prayer/demon-accusations-hindrances-spiritual-warriors.html
Spiritual Warfare and Prayer
Demon powers know how to stop most Christians. You are not like most Christians. You can see what others don’t. How you see Jesus affects your life. Jesus was a spiritual warrior. After the anointing of the Holy Ghost came on Jesus He rebuked demons, faced Satan, healed the sick, and spoiled principalities and powers. He defeated death, hell and the grave. He is your redeemer and he is risen!
spiritual warfare is part of Christianity and the spiritual warfare is not over. Historically, the rise and fall of spiritual power within the Church of Christ has been related to the acknowledgement and opposition toward demonic principalities and powers. As leaders recognized the spiritual warfare caused by demon powers they equipped believers to use their delegated spiritual authority to fight back. When leaders ignored the dark rulers of this world believers and the Church suffered.
You are in a spiritual war whether you want to be or not. Jesus did not ignore demon powers and he didn’t teach his apostles to ignore them either (Matthew 10:1). The Apostle Paul taught the church in Ephesus how to battle saying,
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand (fight back) in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)
Warriors wear armor. Armor is for the fighting man. Paul likens spiritual opposition to warfare. He teaches five important truths.
- Christ’s followers should be strong in the Lord.
- Be full of spiritual power.
- Recognize devils have wiles or tactics.
- The battle is a spiritual battle not a natural one.
- Spiritual warriors wear God’s armor.
- The battle ready fight back.
The Apostle Paul knew much about the spiritual opposition against him. “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9). He continually uses warfare terms when teaching and training leaders:
FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12)
A GOOD SOLDIER
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Timothy 2:3)
NO MAN THAT WARRETH
“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:4)
WAR A GOOD WARFARE
“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare.” (1 Timothy 1:18)
WAR NOT AFTER THE FLESH
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:” (2 Corinthians 10:3)
WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. “ (2 Corinthians 10:4)
ARMED CONFLICT
Paul uses terms such as soldier, fight, weapons and armor. Warfare means “armed conflict against an enemy.” As Christians we understand there are many spiritual enemies of Christ including demons, principalities and powers. Included in that list of spiritual enemies but seldom discussed are the systems, structures, kingdoms, and organizations that demon inspired people build. This is something worth thinking about. Christians should not yoke themselves with systems the demon influenced build like fiat money printing and exotic financial instrument schemes such as junk bonds, abortion clinics and drugs, or thief by political deception. These are the results of demonic influence. Satan’s cohorts come only to steal, kill and destroy. This is one way to identify them.
spiritual warfare is a spiritual fight against a spiritual enemy. Paul identifies those enemies as:
- Spirits
- Principalities
- Powers
- Rulers of the darkness of this world
- Spiritual wickedness in high places
Again, our battle is not against flesh and blood. Our warfare is a battle in the spirit that manifest in the natural. Win spiritually and things get better and better naturally. Lose spiritually and things get worse and worse naturally. This is where the Word of God and battling prayer become vital to the disciple of Christ. There are many different types of prayer. Not all prayer stops demon powers. Mature in the Word and learn how to pray.
INCREASING IN DISCERNMENT
Are you afraid to discern the presence of demon activities? Some are. Demons influence people and their activities must be discerned. You can’t stop them by ignoring then. Evil spirits, spirits of infirmity, seducing spirits, spirits of error, unclean spirits, anti-Christ spirits, Jezebel spirits and divination spirits have infiltrated the Church. They target the high places of authority and power. Sometimes these spirits work alone and at other times they network together.
Some have been victimized by evil spirits because they are afraid to judge demonic operations. Apostle John taught to try the spirits. He said, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). As already said spirits work through people. To “try the spirits” means to put them to the test. When you do this devils respond. Here are four things spirits use to stop your spiritual discernment:
- Don’t judge least you be judged.
- Let the one without sin throw the first stone.
- The measure you use to judge someone else will be measured back to you.
- Take the beam out of your own eye first.
The list goes on and on. Did you notice the devil will use the bible to stop bible believing people? Yes everyone should examine their own hearts “first” but spiritual discernment requires sound judgment. You must judge. To judge simply means to make a judgment. Making a judgment “is not” being judgmental. A judgmental person is a fault finder. That’s not what we are discussing.Christians should never be fault finders or false accusers. We are writing about spiritual discernment that affects lives. Remember, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, that’s people, but against demonic spirits.
You make judgments every day. You believe what you hear or you don’t. No you are not judging any ones salvation, that’s between them and God, but you are judging what spirit they are flowing in and the fruit of their lives and ministries. Good trees bear good fruit. Bad trees bear bad fruit. This is where shared values and world views come.
SHARED VALUES
Listening to and being around people lets you know what they value. You make judgments during conversation and by watching people’s actions. What do they embrace? Value? Pursue? Talk about? Value based judgment happens every day. Scripture says, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Shared values draw people together. Those core values govern your life. Values determine your relationships with others. Shared values empower folks to walk together. People fellowship with each other based on shared values.
- What you value you will pursue.
- What you value you will protect.
- What you value you will enjoy.
- What you value you will fight for.
- What you value you will keep.
- Decisions are based on what you value.
Churches are built on shared values, political groups are built on shared values, organizations are built on shared values and relationships are built on shared values. Values differ. You spend time with people that value what you do. That’s human nature. Scripture says we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple” of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
How would you know if you are unequally yoked if you don’t’ make a judgment? In this scripture the Apostle Paul was not being judgmental against unbelievers. He was pointing this out for your protection. It is guidance for the sons and daughters of God. Christ authorized you to make judgments about people. Yes he did. Christ said, “You shall know them.” In other words, you shall accurately know them.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-18)
WEAPONS OF MASS DEFLECTION
It is unscriptural for someone to tell you not to judge because the spiritual man judges all things. Scripture makes this clear, “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things yet he himself is judged of no man” (1 Corinthians 2:15). Did you get that? The spiritual man judges all things. Are you a spiritual man? To judge, Greek anakrinō,means:
- To investigate, examine, enquire into, scrutinize, sift and question.
- As a judge would hold an investigation.
- To interrogate and examine the accused or witnesses.
- To judge, estimate, determine (the excellence or defects of any person or thing.
Christ never taught his followers to ignore demonic spirits. Don’t let demon spirits use their weapons of mass deflection to stop your spiritual discernment. As already stressed, you are not to unfairly judge people, be judgmental, mean spirited and hurtful, condemn people or judge their salvation. This article is about demons stopping a Christian’s spiritual discernment. You must make judgments as you seek to weigh what you hear and what you see against the written Word of God. It takes spiritual maturity to see things as they really are. Demon powers know how to stop most Christians. You are not like most Christians.
Your partner,
Jonas Clark
Christians in Hell: “The rate of Heaven and Hell is 1 to 1000.” (Matt 7:14)
Christians in Hell: “The rate of Heaven and Hell is 1 to 1000.” (Matt 7:14)
Heaven and Hell: A Thousand to One By Rev. Park, Yong Gyu. http://www.DivineRevelations.info/PARK
In 1987, Reverend Park had died from high blood pressure. But by the grace of God, his life was extended for another 20 years. However, for the first four years, he was not able to speak due to his condition. He was about 50 years old when he had come back to life. During his death, the Lord showed him to Heaven and Hell.
I want you to know if you are arrogant and prideful, you will bring curses upon yourself. I had a mega church of 5000 members but I was struck down by God due to my arrogance. Now I fear God. (James 4:6)
I used to own property worth about 150 million US dollars. I owned five luxury cars. But after my death experience, I gave it all away. Please remember, salvation cannot be achieved by your possessions but through faith. And now I plead to the deacons, elders, and the other leaders in their churches to serve your pastors with all your heart.
On December 19, 1987, after I had finished my lunch and while I was resting, I began to feel excruciating pain, it was so unbearable that I felt as though I was going to die. Then I lost consciousness. I woke up four months later in a vegetated state, and my doctor told me that I would eventually die. All my body parts were mangled very badly from the paralysis. And my family had never allowed any of the church members to visit due to my horrible appearance. Then I finally died.
When I died, I saw two people enter my room. But these people had entered into my room through the wall. I screamed, “Who, who are you!! My house will crumble down if you do that!!” Then one said, “We are angels descended from Heaven. We are from God’s kingdom.” A brilliant light shinned from the angels.
The angel to my right introduced himself. “I run errand for Jesus in His kingdom. Jesus called me and commanded me to go down to the Earth. He commanded me to take you to Heaven. You are dead. But since your family cries out with so much sadness, He desires to grant you a little more time to live. But for now, He desires to show you Heaven and Hell. He will show you and you will witness to the people of the Earth. May the number of people
who end up in Hell be decreased and the number of people going to Heaven increased through your testimony. This will be your mission. God instructed us to tell you not to delay. If you delay, you will not be able to visit Heaven and Hell.”
Then the angel to my left said, “The moment you were born and until the moment you had died, I had been with you.” At that time, I did not understand what the angel had meant. Now I know. He was my guardian angel. So I said, “I cannot go! I will not go! I am a pastor! I cannot meet the Lord in this physical condition. I want to see Him as a healthy person. I would probably be receiving more rebukes than compliments from the Lord. I am prideful and arrogant and now I am cursed and sick. How am I able to enter Heaven? I am so scared. Please go back to Heaven and ask the Lord to heal me. Then come back and take me to Heaven through my dream. Please ask for mercy on my behalf.”
But the angels were not listening to my arguments. They took my clothes off and said that they were too filthy to be wearing in Heaven. They then clothed me in a white gown. (Zech 3:4)
They grabbed my hands and we flew straight up to Heaven. We flew through the clouds and as I looked down, I saw the Earth becoming smaller. They let me go near an endless Golden Street. I saw a brilliant shining light, too bright to look directly at. I said, “Where is the light coming from?” “It is from Heaven” the angel responded.
I thought, “Wow! It is huge!” I saw groups of people in white gowns flying ahead. “Who are they?” I asked.
The angel replied, “They are the ones who had served God faithfully and trusted in Jesus by obeying and following the lead of the Holy Spirit with all their heart. Their bodies are dead on Earth. They are now the souls heading toward Heaven.”
The other angel continued, “There are twelve gates in Heaven. When a saved soul comes to Heaven, they must enter through one of those gates.” We were standing in the south gate but it was closed. As we were waiting, I asked the angel, “Angels, why is this gate not opening?”
The angel replied, “It is because you are not singing the Heavenly worship song.” (Psalms 100:4)
I asked, “Angels, I was very prideful and arrogant and as a result I was cursed with sickness. I am not good at singing Earthly worship songs. How am I able to sing Heavenly worship songs when I had never heard it before?”
The angel replied, “You are correct. But you must still prepare yourself to worship. You are a prideful person but prepare to sing.” The angels began to sing. As they sang, I began to sing with them. It became natural to me, and we entered in.
The scene of Heaven was indescribable. I can’t describe Heaven with my Earthly words. I said, “Lord! Thank you so much! Even though, I was very prideful and arrogant and cursed with a sickness, You have still brought me to Heaven to show me around.”
I then heard the voice of God, “My beloved Pastor Park, Yong Gyu, I welcome you. You have made a long journey here.” His voice was overflowing with love and tenderness.
I replied back crying in tears, “Lord,….” The angels immediately said, “you have been a pastor for 20 years. Do you not know your scriptures? There are no tears in Heaven. Please stop it!” I was not even able to cry. (Rev. 21:4)
The Lord then asked me five questions.
“How much time did you spend reading the Word (bible)?
How much did you give of offerings?
How many times have you evangelized to people? Did you tithe properly?
How much time did you spend in prayer?”
I could not answer the fifth question. The Lord rebuked me for the fifth question.
“After you had become a mega church pastor, you had become very lazy with prayer. Being busy is no excuse to Me!” I had to repent of it later. “The angels will show you many places in Heaven and of Hell. Look around as much as you desire. You will leave after witnessing many different places in Heaven and Hell.” But the Lord did not allow me to see His appearance.
The angels first took me to three different places in Heaven. In the first place, I saw little children living together.
The second place was where the adults lived.
The third place was where the souls had barely made it to Heaven. Even though they made it to
Heaven, they had made it shamefully.
Many people had asked me how old the little children were. They appeared like kindergartens. They were not the little boys or girls as we would know of gender. Each child had their own baby angel to accompany them.
In Heaven, most of the souls will have their own individual home. (John 14:2) However, there were some who did not have
homes. I will explain this later. Moreover, the children did not have their own individual homes
either. I asked, “The children are also souls, why do they not have their own homes?”
The angel replied, “Just as the people on Earth require materials to build their homes, we in Heaven also need materials to build here. When a person serves the church and others faithfully unto the Lord, those deeds will become materials for a person’s home in Heaven.
When the materials are provided, the angels assigned to build a saint’s home will go to work on constructing it. The children who are below the accountability age have not built up any materials to build a home. In other words, they did not have the time or chance to earn their rewards/materials. This is why they do not have homes.”
I continued with my questions, “What shall I do on Earth to provide more materials for my home?”
The angels replied, “There are seven things one must do to build up their materials to build their home.
The first is their accumulation of worship and praise to God.
The second is their time spent reading the bible. Third, their time spent praying.
Fourth, their time spent evangelizing to people.
Fifth, one’s offering to the Lord.
Sixth, their obedient tithes to God.
Lastly, their time spent serving the church in any way.
These are the deeds or works of obedience in which one accumulates materials for their Heavenly home. If one is lacking in these areas, they will have no materials to build their home.”
There were numerous people in Heaven without homes. Many who did not have homes were actually pastors, deacons, deaconesses, elders, etc. I asked out of curiosity, “Where do the children live then?”
The angels replied, “They live here.” As I looked around, they were gathered throughout the garden of flowers. The garden of flowers was so beautiful and the fragrance was out of this world. The scene was beyond what I could describe with my words.
The second place was for faithful adults. There is a difference between salvation and rewards. This place had so many homes. The homes were built with beautiful gems and rare stones. Some of the homes were as high as the highest
skyscrapers on Earth. Those people who had faithfully served the Lord while living on Earth had their homes built with beautiful gems and rare stones. In this particular place, all the people looked around the age of 20 to 30 years old. There were no men or women in regards to gender. There are no sick, old, or lame people.
I once knew an elder named, Oh, Im Myung. He had died at the age of 65 years old. He was a very short man, as tall as 2nd graders in elementary school. He had suffered from a rare disease called rickets. However, when it came to the bible, he was a PHD. He had written many commentaries. I met him in Heaven, and there he was tall and handsome. He was no longer sick but healthy. Heaven is a very wonderful place!! I am so full of expectations! Please believe what I am saying beloved people!
The third place was for those who were shamefully saved. (1 Cor. 3:15) This particular village was enormous in size, several times bigger than the second place, where the homes were made of gems and rare stones. I arrived at this place at great speed, riding a golden chariot. It was very far from the other beautiful places I saw in Heaven.
I asked the angels, “I see great wilderness and fields. Why do I not see homes?” The angel replied, “What you are seeing are homes.”
I saw huge wide flat houses, which reminded me of a large chicken coop or some type of warehouse. These homes were not glorious, but shabby. This village and homes were for the souls who were shamefully saved. There were numerous large sized shabby looking homes. This village is several times bigger than the place where rewarded souls reside.
The angel said, “Do you see the two large homes, one to your right and one to your left? I answered, “Yes, I do see them.”
The angel said that he wanted to show me those two houses specifically. He said, “The right home is for those who were pastors on the Earth. The left home is for those who were elders on the Earth.” As we arrived to the front of the two homes, I noticed they were humongous. My jaw dropped. When we opened the door and entered, my first impression was, ‘chicken coop.’ Instead of thousands of chickens living in their coop, I saw souls. The angels advised me to observe very carefully because I would recognize some famous pastors from history. It was true. I recognized many pastors from history. I specifically picked out one pastor and asked the angel, “I know that Korean pastor! I know how famous he was and the work he had done for the Lord. Why is he here? I do not understand.”
The angels answered, “He never provided any building materials for his home. This is why he is living in a community home.”
I asked out of curiosity, “How did this happen? Why did he not have any materials?” The angel answered, “While he was a pastor performing the functions as a pastor, he had loved to be complimented by the people. He had loved to be honored. He had loved to be served. There was no sacrifice and servitude on his part.” This particular pastor was greatly honored in Korea and is an icon within the Korean Christian history. But he had no reward!!
You pastor out there, please listen! You have to lead people to more than just Sunday morning services. You must visit them in their homes. You must take care of the poor, the lame and old. The pastors who have served without sacrificing their lives and loved to be honored have no reward in Heaven. (Matt 23:5-12)
After I had witnessed this scene in Heaven and after I had come back to the Earth, I immediately gave all of my possessions away including my five luxury vehicles. Our life is but a moment. In the bible, the average life is about 70 to 80 years old. But it is only God who knows when a person will die. Anyone can die before the age of 70 or 80 years old. I had decided to give everything away, even my clothes. The people I saw had received salvation in shame. They were pastors, elders, deacons, and lay believers. There were multitudes of elders and deacons in this flat shabby home. But of course, it is much better than Hell. However, why would anyone want to enter Heaven in such a way? I will not end up in that shameful place. Their clothes were even shabby.
What are the requirements for Christians to receive such beautiful homes in Heaven? First, we have to evangelize to as many people as possible. How should we evangelize? The angel told me, “Assume there is an unbeliever who does not know the Lord. The moment you decide to evangelize to that particular person, the building materials for your homes will be provided. As you unceasingly pray for their salvation, more building materials are provided. You must continue to check up on them, visiting them and continue your evangelizing. This will add more materials to your home. If a person says he/she cannot make it
to church because they do not have nice clothes, then you must provide them with some. If the person says he/she does not have a bible, you must provide one. If a person says he/she does not have glasses to read, you must provide it for them. You must provide whatever you are able too so this person can be led to the Lord. Those who live in the best homes are those who had evangelized many times.”
The angel then escorted me to the place where the saints lived in nice homes. This is where saints who had evangelized much lived. It felt like downtown Heaven.
In Christian history, there are four people who have the biggest and most beautiful homes. The angel showed me the home of American evangelist D.L. Moody, British Pastor John Wesley, an Italian evangelist, and Korean Evangelist Pastor Choi, Gun Nung. These four people have the largest homes in Heaven. These four had spent their whole lives evangelizing to people even through up to the time of their deaths.
Within the Korean believers, there was a lay believer who had a large home. This lay believer had built many church buildings with his all his possessions. He had given three thousand bags of rice to the poor. He secretly helped thousands of pastors and leaders with their finance. He helped students studying theology or in bible school with their tuitions. He had also taken in a pastor (65 years old) into his home and took good care of him. His own church had kicked him out.
I heard an angel shout, “The materials are coming!” I questioned the angel to my right about the materials and he told me, “These materials are for a deaconess from a small church who is from the country. In fact, she receives materials every day. Even though she is poor, she comes to early morning service each day. She prays for 87 church members daily. When she finishes praying, she cleans up the church.”
I heard another angel shout, “Special delivery! The daughter of the deaconess has given what little money she had to her mother. However, the deaconess did not spend it on herself. She bought five eggs and two pairs of socks for the church pastor. Even though it may appear to be a small offering, she had given all she had for the day. This became special materials for her home in Heaven.”
Second, those who also have a large home are those who have built church buildings or other buildings for Kingdom purpose with their possessions and resources.
In Heaven, I also met an elder named Choi. Among all the Korean elders and deacons who are in Heaven, he had the most beautiful home. His home was much higher than the tallest building in Korea. Choi had built many churches in Korea with his wealth.
I asked the angel, “How about my house? Is it in the process of being built? The angel said, “Yes it is.” I begged to see my house. But they told me it was not allowed. I continued to beg and after some persistent begging, the angels said that the Lord will now allow it.
We entered the chariot and traveled very far to another place. I was full of expectation. I asked, “Where is my house?” The angel replied, “It is over there!” But it looked as though the place was only a foundation, only ready for development. I cried out, “How could you do this to me? How could this be happening? How can my house be in a developing zone? Surviving the Korean War, I sold my only home to build a church. This church eventually grew to five thousand members. I wrote many books inspired by the Holy Spirit. One book became a best seller. With the proceeds from the books, I built Christian schools. The school birthed 240 pastors. During tenure as the dean, I had given out over 400 scholarships to over 400 poor children. I have built homes for the widows to live in. This all cost huge amounts of money. So how could this be? Why is my home in a land development? I am so upset!”
The angel replied sternly, “You do not deserve to live in such a beautiful nice home in Heaven because you have been honored by people countless times. Every time you had built or done something good, you were praised by people. You were even honored by the secular news. Therefore, all your works are in vain.” (Matt 6:1)
I looked at my home in the development zone. It was located in the middle of three other homes. It only had three stories. The house had many small rooms on the first two floors. I asked the angel, “Why do I have such small rooms?” The angel answered, “These rooms are for your sons and daughters.”
“I only have four children,” I replied. The angel responded, “No, they are not for your Earthy children, but for the ones you had evangelized and are saved.” I loved it! I asked, “Where is my master bedroom?” The angel said that it was on the roof. That bothered me.
My room was not even finished. In an angry tone I said, “It is so small! Why is it so difficult to finish?” The angel replied, “You are not even dead. We cannot finish your home or rooms because we do not know if more materials will be provided. Do you understand?”
When we entered my room, I saw two certificates hanging on my wall, so I went to read them. The first certificate described when I was 18 years old living in an orphanage. On Christmas day, I was on my way back to the early morning church service. I had seen an elderly man shivering on the street. I took my jacket off and gave it to him. That deed had given me a reward in Heaven. The second certificate described the same incident but it was for buying some bread with the little money I had for the elderly man. The amount is not the issue. The act must be accompanied by genuine faith. The dollar amount has no significance.
We left the place and headed back out. During the ride, one of the angels asked, “Are you sad? I will tell you how to have a beautiful home built. The Lord said when you go back to the Earth, you must go to tell the people about Heaven and Hell as you have witnessed. Second, the Lord desires you to build a place to gather elderly female pastors and evangelists who do not have places to go or live. If you truly faithfully do these things, you will have a beautiful home.”
Hell
The two angels escorted me to Hell. They said, “Now you will visit Hell.” You have no idea the enormity of Hell. I kept shouting, “It is so big! It is so big!” This is the place where souls who are cursed and receive eternal damnation are placed. It felt like Hell was a thousand times larger than the Earth. Half of Hell was colored red and the other half was pitch dark black. I asked the angels, “Why is this part red?”
The angels replied, “Do you not know? It is burning sulfur. The other half is darkness. When people sin and end up here, they will be tormented from both sides…There are multitudes of churches on the Earth and many of the churches are filled with many people. However, most of them are not true Christians. They are but church attendants. The true churches will firmly believe in Heaven and a Hell. The lives of many Christians are in chaos because they do not firmly believe in Heaven and Hell. When one soul enters Heaven, one thousand cursed souls enter Hell. The rate of Heaven and Hell is 1 to 1000.” (Matt 7:14)
I am a Presbyterian pastor and a well-known speaker. I have graduated from one of the largest theological school in Korea. I never believed those Heaven and Hell stories. But now, I am one who writes such experiences to testify to others. Although you may believe you are a Christian, if you live your life according to the will of demons, you will end up in Hell!
The first place I saw was a place of burning sulfur. You can’t even imagine how hot the fires of Hell are. No one can bear the intense heat.
People in Hell say three statements.
- First, it is too hot and they feel like dying. (Luke 16:24)
- Second, they are so thirsty and feel like dying.
- Third, you will hear many asking for water. (Zech 9:11)
It is eternal! Many people say we are free in Christ and they live their lives as they desire. I asked the angel, “Those who are in here, what have they done?” The angel answered, “The first group is unbelievers.” Those who had not evangelized to their own family must repent!
The angel continued, “The second group is those who believed in Jesus, but did not repent of their sins.” We must repent of our sins and must confess to the Lord. We must not sin. Just giving lip service is not repenting. With a contrite and earnest heart, we must repent!
Christians in Hell
I then saw many pastors, elders, and deacons in Hell. I asked the angel, “I know them. They had served God faithfully while on the Earth. They had died some time ago. We all had thought they were in Heaven with God. But now, I see them all in Hell and they are crying out that it is so hot! Why are they here?” There were so many pastors, elders, deacons and all other lay believers.
The angel answered, “Pastor Park Yong Gyu, a person can appear to be a true follower of Christ on the outside but God knows the heart.
THEY DID NOT KEEP SUNDAYS HOLY. IN FACT, THEY HAD LOVED TO MAKE MONEY ON SUNDAYS. (Jer. 17:27)
Many of the deacons and elders had criticized the sermon of their pastors.
(PS. 105:15) (Num 12:8-9)
THEY DID NOT TITHE PROPERLY. (Malachi 3:9)
THEY DID NOT PRAY.
They had not evangelized to people at all. (Ezekiel 33:6)
Many of these elders and deacons had harassed their pastors and would come against their authority. They had interfered with the pastor’s duty and business. (Num. 16)
On their death beds, they thought they had done a good job so they did not repent of those things. This is why they were thrown in the fires of Hell.”
I then saw a king and a prince who were had first persecuted Christians in Korea. This king and prince beheaded many of the first believers in Korea. They were placed in the center, which was the hottest place of all. I also saw Hitler,
Stalin, Mao Zedong, and a famous pastor from North Korea named Pastor Kang, and a famous Japanese hero, and many more.
Then we arrived at an extremely dark place, too dart to see where to step. I shouted, “Angels! Angels! It is so dark! How can I see anything?” The angels patted my shoulder and said, “Just wait a little bit.”
Within a few moments, I was able to see a countless number of naked people. All of them had insects crawling all over their bodies. Not an inch was spared as their whole bodies were completely covered with insects. The naked people attempted to drive the insects away gnashing their teeth. I asked, “What did these people do as they lived on Earth?”
“They are those who have criticized and back stabbed each other. They were not careful of what they had said to one another.” (Matt 5:22)
I saw the demons piercing and stabbing the stomachs of the people with sickles. Their screams were unbearable to me. I asked my escort, “Angels, what did these people do as they had lived on the Earth?
“These people had jobs, houses, and families but they did not give to God. They did not help the poor, their churches, or other Godly purposes. They were very stingy and greedy. Even as they encountered the poor, they ignored them and did not care. They only cared for themselves and their families. They were well clothed, fed, and had a comfortable life. This is why their stomachs are pierced for their bellies were full of greed.” (Proverbs 28:27)
It was a very frightening scene. After witnessing such a scene, when I got back to the Earth, I gave all of my money and possessions to others. Salvation cannot be earned with money or property. It is by faith. Hell is an unbearable and miserable place. It is eternal torment!
I also saw people who had their heads hacked off by a very sharp saw. I asked the angel, “What did these people do to deserve such awful torment?” The angel replied, “Their brains were given by God to think good and beneficial things. But these people had thought of filthy things. They thought of lustful things.” (Matt 5:28)
Next I saw people being stabbed and cut into pieces. The sight was horrible. I asked, “What about these people? What did they do to be tormented in such a way?” The Angel replied, “These were elders and deacons who did not serve their churches. In fact, they did not even want to work or serve! The only things they had loved were to receive and receive from the flock.” (Zech 11:17) (Hosea 6:5)
I saw the elders, deacons, and other lay believers tormented by the demons. The demons made a hole in their tongues and placed wires through the tongues of one another. Then the demons dragged the people with the wire. I asked again, “What did they do on Earth?” The angel answered, “They had committed four different types of sin.
First, they had criticized their pastors. They would speak negative things about their pastors. They were back biting and ridiculing their pastors.”
(James 3:6) (Matt 12:37)
I plead with those who have committed such acts to REPENT, REPENT!!
The angel continued, “Second, they insulted the church with their words. They had harassed other Christians to the point where even the faithful ones were affected and they stopped attending church and even caused some to stop believing. They did all they could to stop faithful Christians from doing God’s work. These wicked ones caused many faithful to stumble.
Lastly, there are spouses who drank alcohol and were abusive to their family members.”
I saw demons piercing men and women in their stomachs with a very huge sharp nail. I asked, “What did they do?” The Angel replied, “These are men and women who had lived with one another but were not married. These are guilty of abortions as they also got pregnant. They had never repented.”
I saw another group of people. The demons were slicing their lips as if one thinly slicing meat or vegetables. I asked, “Why are these people tormented in such a way?” The angel said, “These are sons, daughters, son in laws, and daughter in laws who had talked back to their parents. All they had to do was say, ‘I’m sorry’ instead of making things worse. Many of them had used abusive language. They had attacked their parents with harsh language. They were rebellious. This is why their lips are being sliced.”
Brethren, we are all going to die one day, but we don’t know when that will be. Please be prepared. Being prepared is to go to Heaven. When we go is not the issue. Please forgive each other as frequently as necessary if you need too. Repent and repent and do it all day long if you have too.
My beloved brethren, I used to ignore such testimonies. I was a conservative Presbyterian pastor who ignored such things. But now, I must witness and testify to you what I have seen. Please do not hesitate to live a holy life. Please avoid this miserable torment and judgment. Be saved! Do not live for your flesh but submit to the Kingdom of God. Please pray for those who do not know Jesus. Evangelize and bear fruit. Please pray early in the morning and keep Sundays HOLY. Please tithe to the Lord properly. Accumulate your rewards in Heaven and not in this Earth. I pray and bless you in the Almighty Name of JESUS! By Pastor Park, Yong Gyu
‘All sin is equal.’ Is that true? : Excellent post by Mark Driscoll
‘All sin is equal.’ Is that true?
This is an excellent article that I felt worthy of a repost. You can see the original article here: http://marshill.com/2013/01/06/all-sin-is-equal-is-that-true?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=marshill&utm_campaign=Mars%2BHill%2BTwitter
When we believe that all sins are equal, it often causes us to not take the problem of sin seriously.
Have you heard this said? Maybe you’ve said it yourself—it’s a common refrain among people, Christians and non-Christians alike.
But is it true?
Why do people say this?
People may use the statement for one of the following motivations:
- They don’t want to be like the Pharisee in Luke 18.
- They want to find common ground with non-Christians.
- They don’t want to be labeled “legalistic” or “judgmental” by others.
These motivations are understandable, but the question still remains whether all sins are equal before God.
Deadly sin, deadlier sin
Sin is the great equalizer. Whether a beggar on the streets or a king in a palace, every single person is—apart from Christ—a sinner both by nature and by choice (Rom. 3:23). Sometimes the sin is obvious and we know what it is, and other times, the wool is totally over our eyes and we have no idea.
All sin is deadly, but there are many passages in the Bible where different types of sin are spoken of as being particularly grievous:
- Numbers 15. This chapter differentiates between sins that are unintentional and sins “of the high hand,” meaning sins that are intentional and rebellious. (Think: middle finger to the sky.)
- Deuteronomy 18:12, 27:15. In the Mosaic Law, certain sins are listed as being abominations, meaning these sins are an offense to God (e.g. sexual sin, improper worship, idolatry).
- Proverbs 6:16–19. Seven things are listed as sins that God hates (and they’re not the seven deadly sins as most people know them).
- Matthew 12:31, Mark 3:29. Blasphemy against the Spirit is said to be an unforgivable sin. (For a good treatment of this subject, listen to Acts 29 pastor Sam Storms’ sermon “So close, yet so very far away.”)
- Luke 20:47. Jesus says that the Pharisees will receive a “greater condemnation” for their sins of religious pride (yikes!).
- John 19:11. Jesus tells Pilate that Judas has committed the “greater sin.”
- 1 John 5:16–17. John differentiates between sin that leads to death and sin that does not lead to death.
In one particularly striking New Testament passage, Paul speaks of sexual sin as being different from all other sin because, “Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18). Bible commentators are fuzzy on what the phrase “against his own body” means exactly, but it doesn’t take a Bible degree to see that Paul is urgently, passionately warning his hearers to avoid sexual sin at all costs.
Why does it matter?
All sin is deadly, but there are some types of sin that are so serious that they warrant an extra-impassioned warning, a sterner rebuke, a more drastic plan to avoid temptation. Additionally, some sins are worse than others in terms of their immediate effects. If someone steals a candy bar, sinful as that may be, it does not have the same effect as when someone molests a child.
I am convinced that use of the claim “all sin is equal in the eyes of God” is inaccurate and unhelpful. It is inaccurate because it does not line up with what the whole of the Bible teaches. It is unhelpful because it downplays just how serious the problem of sin really is. Sin, by its very nature, is never satisfied. It grows from bad to worse and leads to death (James 1:15). As the great English preacher John Owen put it: “Every rise of lust, if it has its way reaches the height of villainy; it is like the grave that is never satisfied. The deceitfulness of sin is seen in that it is modest in its first proposals but when it prevails it hardens mens’ hearts, and brings them to ruin.”
When we believe that all sins are equal, it often causes us to not take the problem of sin seriously. This attitude then leads us to not take seriously the biblical command to put our sin to death by the power of the Spirit.
The cross, the cross, the cross
The good news is that regardless of what sin we have committed, forgiveness is found at the cross of Jesus Christ. And when someone sins against us, we can find cleansing and redemption in Jesus. On the cross, Jesus took the beating that we all deserve for our sins. It might not be truthful to tell someone that all sins are equal in God’s sight, but it is very truthful to tell them that all sins can be forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross. We can confidently proclaim forgiveness for any type of sin because Jesus rose again on the third day to prove that he was God and that he was able and willing to forgive sinners. What an amazing Savior!
Are you in Christ? Then God has forgiven you for all of your sins—past, present, and future. Jesus Christ shouted from the cross as his final words in triumphant victory, “It is finished!” At that moment, sin was atoned for and sinners were forgiven.
–Pastor Mark
Who Do You Think You Are? p. 157.
Is your high school student ready to BURN? theLab begins soon!
An emerging burning army of young people will usher in revival…theLab is a training ground for this raging remnant!
FIRST: Tomorrow (Sunday) at Revival Church, I’ll be teaching on the next threat to revival: FEAR. Get ready to have fear broken off of your life!
Revival Church meets Sundays at 6pm at CENTRAL CHURCH, 1529 E. 12 Mile Rd, Madison Heights, MI 48071.
SECOND: Don’t forget to apply for membership to Revival Church! This is an exciting time to lock in with a family of revivalists in Detroit whether you are local, or participate online! www.johnburton.net/membership
THELAB: MOTHERS AND FATHERS, SONS AND DAUGHTERS
Some churches have youth groups. We have a School of Fire.
For the very first time, theLab School of Fire is open to everybody in high school and on up. Only $100!
LEARN MORE AND APPLY TODAY! The next session begins January 20th!
God is marking the young generation with fire, and he’s awakening them into a prayer-fueled life of wonders.
theLab is a fiery and focused movement of revival that refuses to allow anyone, young or old, to live below their call and destiny.
CARRIERS OF FIRE
Elizabeth was barren and old—yet she carried a burning prophet who would prepare the world for the coming of the King.
Luke 1:15-17 (ESV) 15 …and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
Mary was a virgin and young—yet she carried the King of glory.
Luke 1:34-37 (ESV) 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
The two generations converged, the baby leaped, the Holy Spirit arrived and the world was shocked into freedom!
Luke 1:39-42 (ESV) 39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
theLab School of Fire is an extreme and unapologetic movement of revival, and our mandate is to raise up carriers of fire who shock the world with the prophetic, burning word of the Lord.
TIME IS SHORT! Applications must be received no later than December 20th, 2012.
LEARN MORE AND APPLY TODAY!
A sobering yet clarified end-time vision for the church
Our role has become much clearer after the troubling end of the Presidential election.
My focus in this article is to bring clarity of our vision to the Revival Church staff and team, yet it’s something that any Christian will appreciate.
I am simply confounded. No matter how I try, I cannot even come close to understanding how a Christian would support a candidate that has so clearly, boldly and methodically renounced biblical truths. I’m beside myself.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (ESV) 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
That is a verse specifically dealing with the antichrist, but the principle remains. There is a strong delusion in the world today as the antichrist spirit gains momentum.
For example, consider abortion. If you understand biblical history, you know that it is a violent antichrist spirit. Just as with Herod during the arrival of Jesus on the Earth, there is an antichrist, God killing spirit in America. To stand with anybody who promotes this spirit is beyond nonsensical.
Yes, it’s true that one day after the election that Jesus is still the King. However, I’m trembling as I believe the King is closer to executing desperately needed judgment on America than he has ever been.
Franklin Graham, regarding the election of President Obama to another term: “…I think it will be to our peril and to the destruction of this nation.”
Have you ever considered the nation we love ceasing to exist? It’s possible. Many think it’s probable.
I’ve asked the following question several times yet it’s almost always dodged without an answer:
If a candidate were to support the murder of any child under the age of two, for any reason, would you vote for him? If it was OK to take your toddler, who was becoming an inconvenience to you, or if you couldn’t afford to take care of him, down to the clinic to have him dismembered and disposed of, would that be acceptable? If not, why is it OK to stand with a candidate who supports the murder of children who are younger?
Another even more provocative question is this:
If a two year old child was the result of rape, should it be OK to kill them? If not, then why is it OK to kill them at an earlier age?
The other issues that I consider most troubling are the destruction of the traditional family through the promotion of gay marriage, and the resistance to stand with Israel.
For me, the economy is a near non-issue for the Christian as our needs were already guaranteed to be supplied. My vote was not at all driven by questions about our economy.
A LUCIFERIAN SPIRIT
It’s shocking how deeply a Luciferian spirit has infiltrated the church and our nation. There is a deeper teaching that this article can’t give justice to, but allow me to share some of the key issues that we must be aware of so we can best understand our vision of reformation.
Simply stated, Lucifer was in the very presence of God, witnessing and experiencing all of his love, power and glory. The radiance of God’s presence and his unlimited and immeasurable power was before Lucifer continually. So, what happened?
With God in the room, Lucifer was focused on self.
It’s crazy! Yet, we see this every week in churches from coast to coast.
We see this troubling spirit in the story of the money changers in the temple. Jesus violently reacted as he picked up on this self-centered, Luciferian and religious spirit that resulted in people using God’s holy place for their own personal gain. The temple wasn’t about worshiping God that day, it was about worshiping self just as Lucifer did.
Today’s church, and today’s America is largely about the pursuit of happiness. God’s presence is not enough, and, an even more troubling reality is that, with God in the room, if he is blocking what we really want we will forsake him and spiritualize our own endeavors. That’s what happened with Eve in the garden. Satan appealed to her desire for godliness, for personal gain. So, she rebelled all while spiritualizing her decision.
It’s a Luciferian spirit that is driving so many in the church to focus on personal gain. It shockingly results in some Christians actually supporting abortion if it will result in a better life for the mother. It’s such a high level demonic deception that it has put our entire nation, not to mention the church, at great risk.
The Lucifiarian tradition usually reveres Lucifer, not as the Devil, but as a rescuer or guiding spirit. This philosophy is based on carnal fulfillment with consideration for the preservation of self.
How interesting.
This spirit must be dealt with from the opposing direction. Check out the story in Revelation:
Revelation 12:11 (ESV) 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
The blood of Jesus, the declaration of our surrender to him and focusing not on personal happiness but on embracing the call to martyrdom is the answer.
Our churches and our American lives can no longer be about personal gain, storing up blessings, self-centered happiness or loving our lives.
It’s so sad to me as a leader that the church at large is not satisfied with the fact that Jesus died for them. Is that not enough for us to lay down our own lives for him?
We see most every Christian conference today focusing on our blessings, our identity, our rights. Of course, there is biblical precedence for such topics when handled rightly, however the concern is that self-focus is what draws the crowds instead of the call to die daily and surrender all.
We also see this issue manifesting in the realm of finances. The greatest offerings are received when the greatest teaching on financial return is delivered.
It’s a Luciferian spirit that drives abortion as well. When focused on our own happiness, our delusion results in a willingness to to remove any hindrance to that pursuit—including unwanted children. That self-centered spirit is what drove Pharaoh when he tried to annihilate the Hebrews and what drove Herod when he tried to eliminate Jesus by killing children. It’s the same spirit that fueled the Holocaust. That spirit is powerfully active in America today.
The current abortion crisis in America is significantly worse than the horrific tragedy of the Holocaust. 17 million vs. 55 million dead.
Now, let me say this very, very clearly. I don’t believe the primary reason abortion is freely available in America today is our elected officials. It’s because the same Luciferian spirit that drives the abortion agenda drives so many in the church. Those seeking abortion are on the hunt for personal happiness and the elimination of any threat to it. In the church, the focus has become the same—personal benefit, happiness and freedom. The tickling ear messages and the focus on personal gain is rampant in the church today. Instead of calling the church to lay down their lives, the messages are nearly always about finding themselves and having the best life they can. As I’ve said before, I don’t believe it’s time to “become a better you,” it’s time to “become a deader you.” Dead to self, alive in Christ.
This is the current state of the church.
Charles Finney brought this strong charge back in 1873:
“The error that lies at the foundation of this decay of individual and public conscience originates, no doubt, in the pulpit. … Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree.
“If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it.
“If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.
“Let us not ignore this fact, my dear brethren; but let us lay it to heart, and be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation.”
So, that’s our setup. Now, what should our response be?
THE VISION
Revival Church team, it’s imperative that we all understand what the vision is and what it is not so we can fulfill the very finely focused mission God has given us.
Further, we must understand if a function of our ministry is a key component of the core vision, or if it’s a supplemental support to the core, or even if it’s contrary to the core. This will help ensure that the main things remain the main things.
Our call is to deal directly with a sleeping and dying church. It’s our prophetic mandate. The alarms must be sounded and repentance must be the result. There is a holy grief and a spirit of mourning that must be upon us, even as we are driven by a deep, abiding joy as God moves through us. Remember, Revival Church is a prophetic ministry that is focused on reformation and calling the greater church into a revival ready model. Many of the messages that come out of this ministry are not only for those in our church but are for those throughout the Detroit region and beyond.
The two chapters in the Bible that must be continually opened at Revival Church are Joshua 3 and Acts 2. Those are our blueprints. Study them. Memorize them. Pray through them. Continually.
Our key verse is Joshua 3:5: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
My book 20 Elements of Revival is our practical guidebook as it gives us a step by step process of city-wide revival. If it’s in there, it’s in our DNA.
Again, as we look at the vision, keep in mind the state of the church and the state of the nation. There is much calibration to be done.
WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT ISN’T
- Revival Church is prayer-fueled and aggressive. We are calling people into an urgent lifestyle of holy striving and zealous prayer as we press toward the goal together. There is a literal groan of intercession that we must discover and release night and day.
- Revival Church is a movement of holiness, repentance, excellence and radical discipleship. Joshua 3:5 reveals that we are to consecrate ourselves and prepare for a life of wonders.
- Revival Church is an apostolic and prophetic church. As an apostle/prophet with a regional and national focus, we are leading from that edge. The constant focus around here is reformation, revival and regional impact which means we are always shifting and redirecting in our methods as we pursue the ultimate goal. Following a prophetic leader is a challenge to say the least. The vision is always expanding and the methodology is always changing which requires that everybody involved is ‘instant in season and instant out of season’. New projects are often initiated well before old projects are completed.
- Revival Church’s message isn’t locally limited. I say often that I’m a one string banjo. We are all about revival on a regional and national level. So, what this means is that those in our church will be hearing the same revival thread in our messages over and over again. We are intentionally focused and limited instead of diverse in our teachings. I understand that the messages I deliver are mostly for the region and nation, and the primary vehicle we are using is the Sunday evening Revival Church service. I’m certainly preaching to those in attendance, but I’m equally targeting those who will be hearing the message online. If I have to say the same thing over and over until those in attendance have it memorized word for word, that’s OK as long as the message is impacting those who are listening in our target areas around the world.
- Revival Church, by design, does not give all five of the offices equal attention. This is not to say that we don’t value all of the offices, but it does say that we know who we are and who we are not. In the current church structure the presumption is that all five offices must be active in every local church. That’s not true. First of all, that’s not realistic for smaller churches. Second, in scripture we know the church is identified by the city, not by the local expression. The five-fold offices must be in effect in the city church, which will require that we as leaders are OK with people in our church participating in other local churches that are anointed in another office.
- Revival Church, again by design, is not a Pastor led church. The current Pastor led church system in our nation has resulted in a lot of false expectations that are placed on leadership. This is one of our greatest challenges. Again, it’s not that we don’t value the Pastoral office, we do. However, our focus, time, energy and resources are not to be used to focus at a significant level on developing pastoral ministry. Interestingly, the presumption might be that without a strong pastoral focus that people can’t easily grow. It’s quite the contrary around here. We are raising up people who are growing at a faster pace than I’ve ever witnessed—and these people are self-motivated. When they notice a struggle in their lives, they proactively take steps to resolve it. False expectations can lead people to presume I as the Senior Leader will be fulfilling the role of pastor in their lives when, in reality, I’m not a pastor at all. This is a challenge to communicate and it can often feel like rejection to those who want close and constant access to me. However, it’s not rejection at all. It’s simply that a prophet/apostle interacts very differently with people than a pastor does.
- Revival Church has an unapologetically high bar of commitment. We believe the 24/7 church is coming, and the call around here is to start modeling this emerging church structure. Additionally, we are launching 50 new churches in this region alone, and we are asking everybody to consider how they will participate in this mission. Everybody here has the goal of changing the Detroit region and working toward revival. We are an “all hands on deck” ministry and are calling everybody to gather every time the doors are opened and the alarm is sounded.
- Revival Church has a vision that demands we expand and look outward. There is much that feels undone in our local church due to our focus to continue expanding in the region. We refuse to wait until everything is perfectly in place and mature before we move out and launch other ministries and projects.
- Revival Church’s core vision is extremely limited. If I had to narrow it down to just a few focuses I would have to include: Prayer, regional revival, church planting, groans of intercession, holiness, equipping carriers of fire and releasing regional and national prophetic alerts. Other focuses and ministries may or may not fit within the scope of our vision. Some are supplemental and greatly needed while others are beneficial, but not in our setting.
- Revival Church is less about the experience and more about raising up sober, broken prophetic messengers. We are preparing people who will prepare regions for coming moves and judgments of God. While having a happy heart, we will also carry the weight of the cross as we call people to surrender and awaken a sleeping church. Our services and ministries will reflect this, and while often joyful, the extreme nature of the burden and mission demands that we gather together, go low and allow God to use us to carry some of the most challenging burdens we’ve ever known.
- theLab is our primary equipping center. We are aggressively encouraging every person in Revival Church to permanently call theLab their home. It is where our core DNA is best experienced and where the team will discover their cohesion and receive their assignments. The limited focus of the church is mirrored at theLab as we raise up an army of people who carry the DNA of revival. (You can apply to theLab School of Fire here: www.revivallab.com.)
LAST THOUGHTS
To confront the spirit of this age that has made significant advances even in the last 24 hours, and to promote the spirit of revival, we must all be signed up, locked in and carrying the message of freedom in our nation.
This means a de-emphasis on personal enjoyment in the church must come as we make way for the remnant to take position, lay down their lives and advance the Kingdom of God in America.
That’s not to say that we aren’t joyful in the house of prayer. We must be. But it must be unto something. The joy of our salvation must explode as we carry the vision of salvation for a sleeping church and a lost society.
theLab 2013 and the birthing of houses of prayer and fire
Get trained in the fire in Detroit—and experience an aggressive house of prayer planting movement.
theLab School of Fire’s next session begins January 10, 2013 and runs through March 28th.
The Revival Tribe (www.revivaltribe.com) movement that is launching 50 churches and houses of prayer in the Detroit region will be uniquely infused by theLab students and team.
The opportunity to be baptized in a culture of extreme fire and a prayer-fueled atmosphere of wonders is exciting and available for any passionate and serious disciple of Jesus Christ.
You will receive training in planting ministries, fulfilling your calling and much more!
THE COST
$75. That’s it! That price includes registration and all materials.
THE SCHEDULE
TRAINING Thursdays 7-10pm
The night starts with an hour of burning intercession and prophetic ministry, continues with an hour of life rocking teaching and concludes with personal ministry and prayer.
LOCAL CHURCH Sunday 4-10pm
Participate in an exciting local church team that helps set the atmosphere of fire at Revival Church each week.
REGIONAL CHURCH Various evenings (1 per week)
We will travel to various Revival Tribes, church plants and other churches in the region to burn and minister. This is a key expression of theLab and it is sure to change your life.
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
We will also be involved in special revival and prayer events in the city. Students will be expected to serve at these events.
CLASSES
THE MINISTRY OF THE FORERUNNER
There is a rising remnant of prophetic messengers who are consumed by fire and propelled by a burning zeal for advancing God's Kingdom. Discover more about this critical end-time ministry.
INTIMACY/LOVE
The most critical fuel the church needs to go empower every key ministry is the same fuel we need to launch us in our personal lives. That fuel is the burning desire that results from an intimate encounter with the Lover of our souls.
UNOFFENDABLE
Offended hearts are imprisoned hearts. This teaching has set many people free, and you will learn how to grow in God without the hindrance of offense slowing you down.
REVELATION DRIVEN PRAYER
There is a dramatic and wildly dynamic life of revelation that is available to all of us. Learn how to hear God clearly, encounter his heart and advance with a precision focus of prayer and intercession.
INTERCESSION
You are a carrier of the mighty presence of God. As you pick up the Ark of God's presence and move ahead through rivers and around imposing walled cities, you will lead the people through their own seemingly impossible situations.
DELIVERANCE
First, you will discover the wonder of freedom from personal struggles, fears and obstacles. Then, you'll learn how to set the captives free!
20 ELEMENTS OF REVIVAL
There are over 19,000 cities in the nation, and none of them are experiencing the biblical normalcy of revival. You will investigate how to initiate a step-by-step process of transformation and revival in your city.
A SPIRIT OF INSIGNIFICANCE
Many in the church are convinced they do not play a significant role in God's great plan. That strategy of the enemy will be dealt with directly as we learn how God sees each of us-as mighty people of valor.
ENCOUNTERING AND RELEASING THE FIRE
There is a baptism of Fire for every Believer in Jesus Christ. Experience this Fire personally and learn how to release as burning men and women of God.
COVENS AND PHARAOH IN THE CHURCH
There is a way to interact with authorities in our lives that will result in a great escape into the wilderness of encounter. Learn how you can move out in abundant life and extreme freedom while running well with the leaders God has put into your life.