Category Archives: reformation

An Updated Rerun 2009 Series

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

How to be a Radical Christian (v).

And it was so, when the Philistine (Goliath) arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. (2 Samuel 17:48)

The Philistine army was on one mountain. Israel was cowering on a mountain opposite the Philistines. A small valley ran between them. The ten-foot tall giant, Goliath, was dressed in bronze armor and was standing in front of the Philistine army, challenging Israel to a duel. He was armed with a sword, spear and javelin. His shield bearer was standing off to his left and slightly in front of him, protecting him from arrows.

There, standing out in front of the Israeli army was a fifteen year-old kid with a sling and five stones.  No armor. No sword. No spear. No javelin. No shield or shield bearer.  He was all alone and could expect no assistance from the nervous Nellies standing behind him wearing Israeli uniforms.

Goliath mocked and cursed David. Then David boasted about the Lord.

The Philistine giant and his shield bearer trudged forward, but what did David do? He didn’t walk. He raced toward his foe; and while he was running, he swung his sling around his head.

What do you think was running through the heads of the the Israeli soldiers as they watched a fifteen year-old kid racing toward the Terminator of that day? Probably something like this: “He’s a nut! He doesn’t have a chance. We are doomed!”

And yet not one of the Israeli soldiers, including King Saul or David’s older brothers, had the courage to take David’s place. So, they stood in their fears and watched from a distance as David won the battle for them.

David’s running toward Goliath is a perfect illustration of how Radical Christians must help to fight Islamic Terrorists.

“What?” you proclaim.

Not too many years ago, a well-known prophet prophesied what he saw was going to happen in California: death and destruction. He advised all Christians to move to safer states. Maybe, Montana, Utah or Idaho. Anywhere, but leave California as quickly as possible.

Sadly, I agree with his prophetic vision about death and destruction in California and on the West Coast. But I disagree with his advice that we Christians should abandon ship and run for safety.

When the bombs begin exploding (and they soon will), we Radical Christians must be set in place to be the Body of Christ, willing to reach out and help hurting people, and then to offer hope to people who will have none.

This could be one of the American church’s finest hours.

(Continued in Part 11)

Click on the following for earlier articles in the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 and Part 11.

A few years ago, Bob Jones told about a Sunday church service he attended where he felt an inner urging to prophesy. He walked over to the microphone and said, “Macaroni and cheese, macaroni and cheese.” Then, he sat down.

The church members sat dumbfounded and shocked. A few laughed and wrinkled their noses at his so-called prophetic words.

For the following week, Jones suffered ridicule and scorn from fellow Christians. He himself slipped into a bout of depression over the matter.

The next Sunday, a woman stood up and defended Jones. “Last week, when I came to this church for the first time, I asked the Lord for something,” she said. “For years, I’ve been praying and fasting for my son and nothing has ever happened. I wanted to quit. So, I asked the Lord to give me a personal sign if He was going to finally do something in my son’s life.” She paused for a few moments.

Then she continued, “So, when Mr. Jones gave his words about macaroni and cheese, I was so excited. You see, my son works at a Kraft plant, making macaroni and cheese.”

Countless numbers of church members repented of their judgmental attitudes after the woman’s testimony.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

Pat Robertson has been a prophetic voice to America for decades. His godly and humble character have been a steadfast beacon of light to the Body of Christ.

But even Robertson himself readily admits, “Sometimes, I’ve missed it.” Yet, irregardless of the outrage his words may bring forth, he continues to faithfully speak.

Now, most of us who prophesy, do not understand the spiritual warfare and fleshly struggles a person such as Robertson goes through to speak a prophetic word to a nation, especially a religious one like America. It’s not the same as giving a prophecy or a word of knowledge to a local church or a person. Not at all!

Higher levels of prophecy means higher levels of warfare. So, to speak forth a national prophetic word involves fighting with national principalities and powers, and trusting that you have heard the voice of the Lord in the midst of spiritual warfare and confusion. It’s not easy!

In fact, it’s much easier to be a sofa Christian critic and throw rocks along with the many skeptics of prophecy. After all, the wolves won’t turn on you when you join the rock throwers, right?

So, here’s my thoughts on Robertson’s remarks about Haiti:

Much like the macaroni and cheese prophecy of Bob Jones, Robertson’s remarks was a prophetic word, not directed toward Haiti, but instead, toward us American Christians. The word was a lamp shining into the dark places of our hearts, revealing our hardened, judgmental attitudes toward Christians who differ from our warm and fuzzy, Christian-lite beliefs.

Instead of imitating the noble Bereans who checked out words before they acted, we took the counsel of the wicked, stood in the path of sinners and sat in the seat of scoffers. This is not pleasing to the Head of the Church.

Somehow, we Christians have to mature into a higher level where we are able to accurately judge prophetic words in love, without passing judgment or slandering the character of the individual. After all, we Christians are to be known for our love of the brethren.

This was a type of practice test for us Christians for what is about to arrive on the scene. For soon, prophetic people will rise up in cities, states, regions and the nation, and their words will be like hammers to smash the hardness on our hearts.

How we handle the soon-coming prophetic people’s words will determine how we will walk through the persecutions awaiting us Christians on the near horizons.

(Conclusion)

A new series begins on Monday.

An Updated Rerun 2009 Series

Click on the following for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7.

How to be a Radical Christian. (iii)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  (Romans 1:16)

Have you ever shuddered or cringed when somebody mentioned the name of Jesus to another person? Maybe at work or at a ballgame. Maybe, you thought to yourself, there are proper places and times to talk about Jesus, but not here, and not now.

Well, have you ever heard the tradition surrounding the Apostle Paul’s last few moments on earth? Talk about bad timings and bad places to mention the name of Jesus.

In 67 AD, Emperor Nero arrested Paul for insurrection and threw him into prison. The apostle’s first stay in prison had resulted in most of the guards and many in Nero’s household converting to Christianity. So this time, Nero made sure Paul had little contact with people or visitors.

On the day of Paul’s execution, Nero allowed just a few spectators and only the most hardened, veteran soldiers to escort the apostle to the execution site, outside Rome on the Tiber River.

Paul was unfazed by his fast approaching martyrdom. He preached the gospel as he walked along. His words touched the hearts of more than one soldier; and they, too, were executed with Paul that day.

Just think, Paul so believed in the life-giving message of the gospel that he was willing to seal the fates of any last-minute converts to the same death which was pronounced over him: beheading.

Now, that is a radical love for the gospel.

And that is what every radical Christian must have. A love for the gospel that can only be extinguished by the death of the believer.

(Continued in Part 9)

An Updated Rerun 2009 Series

Click on the following for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

How to be a Radical Christian (i.)

Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)

Maybe your first thought is, “Yuck! Who wants this Pentecostal/Charismatic phoney-baloney, plastic-banana, spiritual gifts stuff. Not me!”

Relax. Take a deep breath. Now, continue reading, okay?

Let’s say that you and your spouse take your daughter to the shopping mall. She is three years old and dressed up in just the  cutest Bambi t-shirt and jeans outfit. Everyone looks at her and smiles. She’s a doll and you adore her, and would do anything for her.

But because you were in a hurry when you left home, you did not use the restroom, and you need to go – NOW. You tell your spouse, who rolls the eyes, and says, “Oh honey, use the one in Macy’s Department Store. We’ll wait here for you by the kids play area.”

You rush to the restroom, do your duty, wash your hands and leave. As you walk back out of the store, you see a flash and hear an explosion from an Islamic terrorist’s bomb. It knocks you down. Glass particles and debris cover your clothing.

Brushing yourself off, you run to where you spouse and daughter were waiting at the play area. When you get there, you see bodies strewn all over the floor. Somehow, you find your spouse and daughter. Sadly, they’re dead. Their bodies are mangled and shrouded in blood.

Now, what are you going to do?

Are you going to pull out you cell phone and call the police? Or the mayor? Or a doctor? Or your pastor? Or a funeral home? Or are you just going to fall down and weep, bemoaning your fate?

You see, at this disastrous moment, you need the gift of faith, the gift of healing, and the gift of miracles for an attempt to raise your loved ones from the dead. And I guarantee that you would do anything to have these gifts at that precise moment so you could at least give it your best shot, wouldn’t you?

So, what’s stopping you from seeking the spiritual gifts today? Pride. Bad teaching. Laziness. What? Because when bad things happen, it may be too late!

Remember: Radical Christians do not care what others think. They swim upstream against the religious current even if it means going against their own church’s teachings.

(Continued in Part 7)