Monthly Archives: August 2010

Click on following link for earlier article: Part 1.

Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. And behold two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. (Luke 9: 28 – 31)

Matthew, Mark and Luke included this scene, the Transfiguration, in their gospels. John did not, but John wrote his gospel account, thirty years after the other three and mainly filled in the holes which the the first three had overlooked.

Now, we have to remember that the Father is the most awesome and meticulous Director ever. By comparison, anything that Hollywood has ever directed or produced is but a second-rate, shoddy rip-off. You see, when God is the Director, nothing is left for chance. Every detail is planned and arranged ahead of time, and the Transfiguration is one of God’s most majestic events.

Peter, John and James go along with Jesus to pray on a mountain. While the three are praying, Jesus is transfigured into a glorious being, and if that’s not enough, Moses and Elijah appear. The two Old Testament icons talk with Jesus about His soon crucifixion.

“Wait a second!” you shout. “How did Moses and Elijah know what was about to happen to Jesus?”

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19)

Moses and Elijah had been looking forward to the Son of God arriving on the scene for hundreds of years. But the important question is not how they knew, but rather, why they were the chosen representatives of all the saints who had died before this time?

Now, we can understand why Moses was selected. After all, he was the man which the Father used to bring the Law to Israel and Jesus was the Lamb of God who fulfilled the Law. Thus, Moses was there to pass the torch to the Lord, the bearer of the better covenant.

But why Elijah? Why not King David who was also a prophet? Or Isaiah? Or Jeremiah? Or Ezekiel?

(Continued in Part 3)

Quite a few years ago, I attended a meeting at a small country church where two traveling prophets were ministering. I specifically went there in hopes that I would hear a prophetic word for myself.

Both of the prophets were veterans and had been in ministry for twenty years or more. Their usual practice was for one to preach a message one night, while the other preached the following night. During the ministry phase of the service, both prayed for people.

I sat on a back pew during the man’s message and because of the time lapse, I don’t recall what he spoke about. But I do remember, what I felt.

My spiritual radar was turned on and I could feel the hurts and wounds of the people sitting in the pews throughout the sanctuary. Almost all needed deliverance from some type of demonic oppression or another. And at the time, I felt that if the people did not receive their deliverance, any other ministry would mostly be a waste of time.

When the man finished his message, the other prophet joined him for the ministry phase of the service. Both stood at the front of the church, ready to pray for people.

“Does anyone in the sanctuary need prayer? If you do, just come forward and we’ll pray for you,” one prophet said.

I wanted prayer, but at the same time, this was not the church I regularly attended. So, I waited for the church’s members to go first. No one did.

“Well,” said one prophet, “since nobody wants prayer. We’ll close the service and meet here again tomorrow night, okay?”

My politeness went out the window when I heard his words and I stood up. I believe that if you come to get something, no use in leaving without it, right?

“Hey, I need prayer!” I shouted as I walked down the aisle toward the front.

The two prophets laughed along with the rest of the church. Then, the two prophets prayed for me and I heard the prophetic answers I needed for my life. I left the meeting as a blessed man.

But what about the other people who sat in the pews?

In the days following the meeting, I bugged the Lord on why the two prophets did not discern the needs of the people sitting in the pews. (If you are wondering, the Lord likes to be pestered and bugged by us believers. So, bug Him!)

Eventually, the Lord spoke to me and His answers changed my life.

(Continued in Part 2)

This is a continuation of the nine-part series,  I’d Like to Prophesy, But…

Click on the following links for earlier articles: Part II-1, Part II-2, Part II – 3, Part II-4, Part II- 5, Part II-6, Part II-7, Part II-8,  Part II – 9, Part II- 1o and Part II- 11.

Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6: 46)

“Find a way to hook into those people who disagree with you” was a truth that I learned as a young believer from a book written by Rev. Kenneth Hagin.  And over the years, this statement has helped frame how I try to relate with other Christians.

For instance, I was once visiting with a Christian who was in full-time ministry. Though I had never met him before, he had somehow heard about me. Early in our conversation, he said, “I don’t believe in prophecy, speaking in tongues or that there are even such things as prophets or apostles anymore.”

“Oh, okay,” I said, not really giving it much thought one way or the other.

The man continued on speaking about his beliefs that the spiritual gifts and the ministries of the prophets and apostles were relics of the past. He quoted some scriptures and mentioned some noted Bible teachers who agreed with him.

As I stood there listening to him, a prophetic word arose within me for him and his ministry. Now what? I thought.

The man finally finished his speech and seemed satisfied that the boundaries of our fellowshipping with each other had been set. He then showed me around his place and explained about the goals of his ministry.

I listened and asked questions. We enjoyed our time together.

When it was time for me to leave, I asked, “Do you need prayer for anything?”

“Funny that you should ask,” he said, “but I do need special prayers for some problems I have.” He explained the problems to me. Then he added, “But remember: no tongues or prophecy. Okay?”

I nodded agreement to his reminders and I began praying.

First, I prayed for his problems, proclaiming scriptural answers. Then, I prayed like this: “And Lord, if this happens in his life, show him this. And if this happens, show him this…”

On and on, I prayed in this manner for about ten minutes. When I finished, his eyes looked as big as pie plates.

“How’d you do that?” he asked.

“What?” I said.

“How’d you know about my dreams and heart impressions that I haven’t told anyone about, not even my wife? How’d you know?” he demanded.

We then talked about the gifts of the Spirit. He no longer talked about his arguments, but rather, he talked about his new experience and what it meant to him and his minstry.

And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, so that your faith would not rest in the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2: 4-5)

(Continued in Part II – 13)

This is a continuation of the nine-part series,  I’d Like to Prophesy, But…

Click on the following links for earlier articles: Part II-1, Part II-2, Part II – 3, Part II-4, Part II- 5, Part II-6, Part II-7, Part II-8 and Part II – 9.

Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say? (Luke 6: 46)

A year or so ago, a major ministry, headed by a man who has written more than twenty books and was involved in a well-known revival, asked me to comment about an article that an editor wrote in their online magazine. I was flattered and agreed to do so.

The article outlined how the editor believed the Lord was using prophets in today’s churches and cities and regions. His main point of emphasis was that the Lord was now using teams of prophets and prophetic people. He went so far as to say:

The Lord no longer uses “lone wolf” prophets acting just as individuals, apart from a team approach or under a ministry umbrella.

I wrote a comment generally agreeing that the article pinpointed the ministry of today’s prophets. But in one short blurb, I added: “I do not believe scripturally that you can justify saying that the Lord no longer uses “lone wolf” prophets. The Lord is the Boss and if He chooses to send one man to a city, He can. After all, the decision is His and not ours to make.”

Now, you would have thought that I had slammed the editor and the whole ministry with my itsy-bitsy blurb. Because for the next two weeks, the editor, his staff and even the ministry head wrote comments back and forth to me on the website.

Their two major points of disagreement with my remarks about “lone wolf” prophets were:

1. The Lord already had church governments set in place in cities through pastors, elders and city councils,

2. And so-called “lone wolf” prophets are not accountable to the local church governments and can cause great harm to the communities.

I agreed with both of their major points, but even so, I wrote in so many words, “So what?”

You see, by their definition, John the Baptist was a “lone wolf” prophet and so was Jesus. And if you include the Old Testament, then you would also have Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah and countless other prophets. Who were these prophets accountable to? No one except the Lord.

Once again, I reminded them that the Lord was Boss and He could do whatever He wanted to do. If that included sending a “lone wolf” prophet into a city to shake it up, then that was the Lord’s decision. The Lord is not worried one way or another about our accountability systems nor is He worried about the messes that His prophets may make.

The ministry head relented a bit after a week or so by saying:

I could see the possibility of the Lord sending a “lone wolf” prophet to a city if the local city church government had deep-rooted sin and refused to repent of their sin.

I replied the Lord may send a “lone wolf” prophet to a city irregardless of sin issues. He may do it just to check out the hearts of the leaders and the believers, but there again, that’s the Lord’s decision.

Our two-week debate ended with us agreeing that we disagreed with each other on the “lone wolf” prophet issue.

Why are the forerunner prophets different from the John the Baptist anointed ones?

(Continued in Part II – 11)

This is a continuation of the nine-part series,  I’d Like to Prophesy, But…

Click on the following links for earlier articles: Part II-1, Part II-2, Part II – 3, Part II-4, Part II- 5, Part II-6, Part II-7. and Part II-8.

Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6: 46)

Why did the Lord create the callings of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher? Yes, we can read Ephesians 4: 11 – 16 for ourselves, but in simple words that are easily understood, why did He do it?

I believe the Lord created the callings because He gave the church certain specialists, and also, examples for us believers to pattern our own lives after.

For instance, the Greek word apostolos which is translated into the English language as apostle really means the “sent ones.” But if you look at the Great Commission, aren’t all believers told to “Go,” and thus, are sent ones, too?

And by the same token, evaggelistes is translated into the English as evangelists (“bringers of good tidings“), poimen is translated pastors (“shepherds”), and didaskalos is translated teachers (“ones who teach”). But once again, each believer is called to evangelize or shepherd or teach someone, if only their own children or loved ones, right?

But the one calling, which causes today’s Christians to get all bent out of shape, is the Greek word prophetes which is translated into the English word prophets. The Greek word actually means “the ones who speak for God.”

Now, the ones who speak for God (the prophets) have discomforted and irritated people throughout history. And the reactions of the people to the words spoken by the prophets have not always been pleasant. Abel was murdered by Cain. Isaiah was sawed in half by King Manasseh. Jeremiah was tossed into a cistern. Countless numbers of other prophets were slaughtered in the Old Teastament.

Yet, there was a quiet time when God did not speak through His prophets to Israel. This four hundred year period occurred between Malachi and the New Testament, but the quiet was broken when John the Baptist arrived on the scene.

John’s words of “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” were well-received by the people who flocked out to hear him, but his words were not accepted by the Jewish leaders (Pharisees, scribes and priests). They ended up beheading him.

Later, Jesus was asked by the temple leaders about His authority and Jesus asked them an interesting question in return.

“Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From men?” – they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. Answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know” …. (Mark 11: 30)

So far, the American church has only seen a few forerunner prophets. But as yet, we have not seen prophets with John the Baptist anointings whose words cause leaders to worry about what the people will think or say. When this happens, what will the leaders say?

(Continued in Part II – 10)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16 and Part 17.

As with most walks with the Lord, my journey out of the traditional church system has not been a straight line. There have been a few left and right turns along the way.

One such detour happened in the fall of 2001.

Honey was selling furniture in Yorba Linda, California, and a Christian couple invited her to attend their church for a Sunday service. She wanted to please them and felt we both should go.

Now, the couple’s church was the mother church for a denomination which is famous for worship music, casual dress and laid-back style. The denomination’s founder had recently passed away and another had replaced him. And to be honest, the denomination was one which Honey and I usually searched out in the many cities we had lived in.

So, I was eager to visit the church.

The couple greeted us at the door and led us inside the sanctuary to where they were sitting. As we sat down, the husband leaned over and said, “The new pastor mentions finances a little more than our founder did. It’s probably because the church has dropped from 5,000 in membership to 3,500. “

My antenna went up, as did the hairs on my neck.

The service began with worship music, followed by the taking of the offerings and a few prayers. Then, the pastor strolled to the pulpit. He was forty-ish, dressed in Dockers and had a pleasant voice.

“I was going to speak on prayer today, but I felt a pressing need to speak on a different subject,” he said, looking around the sanctuary.

Now, what subject do you think had jumped over prayer to the top of his sermon docket? Was it salvation? Or healing? Or love? No, no, no!

It was finances!

The pastor explained how the church had just spent millions of dollars to purchase a parcel of land next to the church for possible expansions in the future. The additional expenditures increased the church’s total debt to $13 million. $13,000,000.

“As always,” said the pastor, “our goal is to help the poor, but until we pay off our debts, the poor will have to be put on the back burner. Then, when the debt is retired in twelve years or so, we will be in a strong position to help the poor and others.”

Yipes! Yuck! Yowie!

Now, you might be thinking this left turn experience is the exception for the traditional church system, right? Sadly, not so!

The Barna Group which is known for their extensive surveys on Christianity and churches has conducted yearly surveys on church finances. Their findings for all of the Protestant churches in America are that 85% of the tithes and offerings are spent on mortgages, construction, salaries, building upkeep, special programs and miscellaneous. Less than 10% is given to the poor or foreign missionaries.

For me, this last church experience was the dot at the bottom of the exclamation mark after the words, “Pull the plug!“

(Conclusion)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15 and Part 16.

…Feed My Sheep (John 21:17 NKJ)

It’s interesting to note that John recorded the intimate discourse between Jesus and Peter when the “Feed My sheep” quotation was spoken, but Mark did not. Supposedly, Mark received most of his information from Peter; and yet, Peter must have chosen to remain silent about this particular conversation.

Now, wouldn’t you think one of the apostles chosen as the foundation for the church would have mentioned such an important quotation as this? After all, it provides the basis for which all of our modern American traditional churches revolve around: the pastor’s sermon.

Yet, Peter does eventually provide insight into the “Feed My sheep” theme.

Shepherd [or Feed in the King James Version]the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. (1 Peter 5: 2-3 NKJ)

When did Peter first hear about not being a lord over believers and being an example to them instead? It was on one of those days when the disciples were arguing over which of them should be considered the greatest.

But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet, it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10: 42-45 NKJ)

Maybe you’re thinking, “So what?”

But once again, you have to take off your rose-colored glasses and ask some interesting questions, like:  How can there possibly be a separation between clergy and laity if no believer is supposed to lord – or exercise authority – over other believers? Isn’t that exactly what clergy are supposed to do?

And how can the modern pastor be an example to a congregation when he (or she) is standing behind a pulpit preaching a sermon and the passive believers can not do likewise? Or should all the pews be removed and everyone be allowed to have their own pulpit to stand behind, awaiting a turn to speak?

Doesn’t it seem that our traditional church system consisting of clergy, laity and sermons falls apart when it is lined up with scriptures?

(Continued in Part 18)