A Message From The Heart

This may seem like a difficult or hard message to receive. In fact, it may be one of those that is intended only for those who have “ears to hear,” as I am quite sure many will not want to receive it. 

Over the past thirty years, the Lord has allowed me to witness and be involved in a variety of spiritual “movements” that included everything from tent revivals to the prophetic and on to the apostolic waves of more recent times. With that being stated, it is time to voice some challenges and concerns. This is not intended to be negative, as I am a man of faith.

One of the great concerns involves the American church’s need, or hunger, for sensationalism. By this, I mean that it seems many spiritual leaders are seeking the next big thing. All the while there is a desperate lack of unction or anointing. People have a difficult time discerning the difference between drama and dynamics. It seems a bit appalling to see churches using spectacular light shows and smoke machines in an attempt to reproduce the presence of God’s glory. Some people have a hard time telling the difference between a counterfeit and the real thing. Many preachers have quite simply become motivational speakers. A good number of worship leaders are mere stage entertainers, and prophets are too moved by profits!

I miss the likes of David Wilkerson. I can certainly state that I did not always agree with him, but I have always respected him for passionately proclaiming the message that burned in his bones. Where are the true prophets of today? We need the voice of one “crying in the wilderness.” I fear that if we heard such a voice as that of John the Baptist, the church may well want his head on a platter! We need modern-day prophets like Isaiah and Elijah. Today, we have many that call themselves prophets, and they really seem to be “life coaches” that are skilled in psychology and motivating folks through positive mind control. I would categorize some of these as “pop-culture prophets.” I use this term because of the influence they have on a society that follows the latest fads.

Here is a recent quote that was published by a very popular pop-culture prophet:

“Don’t listen to negative prophetic words and reports. God is still in charge and releasing something new for you.”   

Now, speaking as a “word of faith” preacher/teacher, I understand the power of confession. Additionally, it is quite clear that “God is in charge.” However, one has to wonder about the first statement. What if God were commanding repentance and turning from sin? There are many instances in Scripture where God’s prophet spoke some very negative words. What was the result? They were usually put to death.

The Body of Christ has a sin problem! Yet, all we want to hear are pleasant sayings.

I am reminded of an Old Testament account found in 1 Kings 22. Here we see the king of Israel detesting the prophet of God. Verse 8 sums up how the king felt:  

1 Kings 22:18  “… I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.”

1 Kings 22:13   Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.”

1 Kings 22:14   And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.”

I understand that, according to 1 Corinthians 14:3, he that prophesies “speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” 

This does not mean that the purpose of a true prophet is to make folks feel comfortable with sin or other forms of spiritual neglect. I recall a time when believers felt a bit “uncomfortable” when in the company of a true prophet of God. It was as though that individual could see into the hidden part of our lives; we may have feared what they saw! Today, we have a very different disposition. Many can’t wait to hear something that tickles the ear but rarely changes the life. We see no reason to fear a holy God; it seems as there is no cause for repentance. After all, “God is love.” He is love and that is exactly why He calls us to turn and follow Him, His ways, His will, and His Word.

Without true repentance and humility before a holy God, man will move down a path of confusion and despair. The Lord calls us to repent. This is not from a posture of mere judgment. Rather, He loves us so much that He provides the avenue of mercy that can only be experienced through true repentance. 

America continues to stand on the edge of a very steep cliff. I refuse to believe and accept that God has turned His back on a nation that He founded for an incredible purpose. However, if His people (the church) refuse to heed His Word and do what He commands, there will be very serious repercussions. 

It is incumbent upon those who are called by His name to turn from idolatry and the lusts of the flesh. It is time to return to the God of Salvation. May we stop being conformed to the world and truly be transformed through the process of renewing our minds which Apostle Paul wrote about. 

May we cease seeking to be entertained and endeavor to be enlightened; may we deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Grace & Peace,

pg

A Powerful Gospel, Part 2

Greetings from the beautiful Dominican Republic!

In the last blog we focused on the ability of God's power to transform us. We're going to pick up there and talk a bit about how that translates into making us a new creation!

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." That is one of those simple verses we've known for so many years, and yet, ponder the words carefully: a new creation. "Old things are passed away and a few things have become brand new, and you get to choose what things you want to be made new. Now, if you don't want those things to change, then you're okay. You just come to therapy every Sunday." NO, that's not what the Word says! It says that all things are made new! That's radical transformation . . . not evolution! A Christ-less Gospel is a powerless Gospel, and it would appear that society, particularly modern society in America, tends to gravitate towards this mindset. That, in turn, leads to a form of righteousness, but it denies the power of Christ. When all you have is a form of righteousness that denies the power, that equates to nothing more than religion!

Every major religion in the world has the ability within it to make a person "better." If that is all it's about, you might as well convert to being a Muslim or a Buddhist. Now those are some peaceful people! I've hung around Buddhist societies before. Do you know one of the things that a Buddhist notes about Western culture? They believe that if a person loses his temper or gets frustrated in a grocery line, it is a clear sign of weakness. You or I might think that someone is just being short-tempered, but the Buddhist is probably thinking, "This one is weak." They tend to lean towards the belief that if a person is strong, then those deficiencies in behavior will not surface. There is something to be said for that . . . I mean . . . come on, if we can't even bear to wait for three minutes in a grocery line or at a red light, who then shall stand in the day of adversity? But the transforming power is not simply about becoming "better people." Having the power of the Gospel activated in our lives gives us the ability to demonstrate God's miracle-working power.

So many times the Church attempts to try and meet the needs of the world using worldly means. This is not to say that feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are not valid or great works to pursue. A good question to ask ourselves when pursuing those types of works is: "Am I doing this for God's glory and for His alone?"

Jesus came preaching the Gospel. It was not a message of how to evolve, how to better your life, or even how to become a more acceptable person. He came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and it was not a message of simply being rescued from something, it was a proclamation that God's Kingdom was and is yet at hand. He was making very, very clear to us that not only can man be saved from something, but that he can be saved unto something!

There's a whole new life available to those who want it. We would do well to evaluate our own lives. I would challenge you right now, very quickly, to look back and consider what a difference Christ has made in your life. Somebody might say, "Well, I wasn't that bad of a person to begin with." Another one might say, "I was a nice person then, I'm a nice person now, and I just want to be nice." You know, I've read a lot of books, and I've read the Bible quite a bit in the last thirty years. I've also read a lot of characteristics about men like John the Baptist and even Jesus Himself. Through all of that studying and reading, not even once have I ever read that, "Jesus was a very nice person." I've never seen it. "John the Baptist: he ate locusts, wore camel hair, and he was a very nice man." No, I don't read "nice" in any of the descriptive terms. I don't mean to insinuate that gives us a right to be rude; I believe that Christians never have a right to be rude.

The American church, frankly in my opinion, has become "too nice" in an attempt to be socially accepted. We want the world to like us, so can't we all just be nice? "Well, it's those Christians that are so intolerant." Tell that to the Mayor of Chicago. It's the Christians who are supposedly intolerant, but in the meantime, if you believe in the sanctity of marriage, "You are not welcome in our city." Just as bad, there are those who call themselves Christians and take on the posture of, "Right on, brother."

I'm going to pause here and carry on with this same train of thought in my next blog as there really is not a good stopping point, but there is much more to be said along these same lines.

My prayer is that we will wake up and stop trying to placate the world or be swayed by society's opinion. Let's refocus and get back to the principles and morals proclaimed throughout the Word of God!

~ pg