Tag Archives: Christianity

Pastor Rick’s words hit me like a Yosemite lightning bolt, bursting out of a cloudless sky. Though he had one meaning in mind when he uttered the words, the exact opposite could not have been truer. As his words thundered through the corridors of my brain, I realized our whole church system was an absolute failure.

Let me stop here for a moment. This is not a statement I reveled in: I realized our whole church system was an absolute failure. It makes me sound like a desperate pilgrim searching for hidden truths on that Easter morning, but that was not the case. I was just an average, forty-three year old business man sitting next to his wife on a padded pew, listening to Pastor Rick.

At the time, everything about my life seemed picture-postcard perfect, or so I thought.  Most people would have described me as a rock-solid, Bible-believing, tithe-giving, non-alcohol drinking, conservative-voting, evangelical-Christian. Yet in the days which followed, gossipers whispered new words about me, such as rebel, heretic, and back-slider.

(Excerpt from Deceived Dead And Delivered by Larry Nevenhoven, soon to be released e-book)

What is the #1 concern for American churches?

Abortions? Gay marriages? Helping the poor? Elections? Euthanasia? Divorces? Sex trafficking? Racism? Missionary work? No, none of these.

The #1 concern for American churches is getting new members who have money in their billfolds so the churches’ bills can be paid each month. This is a never-ending concern for almost all of the 350,000 churches in our nation.

Can I back up my statement?

A few years ago, the Barna Group estimated that almost 70% of all church offerings went towards mortgages, rents, maintenance, and salaries of staff. In today’s economy, the  percentage is probably much higher.

Do I have a radical answer for this concern?

Four or five years ago, I was involved in an online discussion with a progressive church pastor. He had definite ideas on various issues and so did I. He backed his ideas up with Thoreau, Gandhi, Immanuel Kant, Dalai Lama, and a smattering of quotes by Jesus. I used only scriptures to back up my views.

Finally, he wrote: “You fundamentalists may know your scriptures, but you never care about the poor.”

“I do care about the poor,” I replied. “In fact, I’m much more radical about this issue than you are.”

He listed all the efforts done by his church to help the poor in his area. To which I replied: “That’s not radical. It’s what every Christian organization should do.”

“Okay, what would you do?” he wrote.

“If I were you, I’d sell your church and its property, and give the money to the poor and needy. Then, I’d get a job so the church members would not have to pay me a pastor’s salary. In this way, 95% of your church’s offerings could go to help the poor and needy,” I wrote back.

He, of course, replied: “We could never do that. It’s too radical!”

So, how radical of a Christian are you?

(Continued in Part 2)

If callings were chosen by popular elections, Saul of Tarsus would have garnered the same number of votes as King Herod or Caiaphas for the calling of apostle: zero.

After all, Saul hunted believers down, murdered them, tossed them into prisons, and tried to force them to blaspheme. He was the main reason Jerusalem Christians opted to go on permanent missionary trips to other cities.

Historians described Saul as a skinny, 4’6″ lightweight who was not much of a speaker. These physical  attributes were not exactly a winning formula for the Gentiles, who admired polished orators with a strong physical presence.

Yet Jesus said, “Saul is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel…”

The Lord’s reasoning behind His choice: “…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

So what did God see in Saul’s heart?

He saw Paul the apostle to whom God could reveal His mystery of Christ, that the Gentiles and the Jews would be joined together in the Bride of Christ, His church. He also saw a man who would willingly suffer afflictions for Christ and His body.

Today, there are some who want to downgrade Paul and his teachings and just go with the red letter words of Jesus in the four Gospels. They don’t like Paul’s teachings on sexual immorality and other subjects. But if this were actually followed, where would the guidelines and revelations about the Church come from?

Furthermore, if Paul had not appeared on the scene, Peter and James would have most likely caved into the Jewish influence on the early church. And today our churches would be little more than a revamped Temple 2.0 System, complete with circumcision, priesthood, and sacrifices.

Thank God for the Apostle Paul, right?

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9: 37-38 Amplified Translation)

Likewise, the Lord has looked down on San Francisco, especially the Castro District, and has seen men and women who have hearts much like Saul of Tarsus. He is not concerned that these people are now actively engaged in lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender life styles because He remembers Saul the murderer. He knows how the life changing power of His heavenly light and just one divine  experience from Him will cause each to ask, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then, He will answer each one, “…I am Jesus …”

The Lord doesn’t want to lose any of these precious callings as each has been specifically chosen to be a leader in His Church for the dark days lying ahead in America. So important are these callings that the Lord has assigned teams of fully prepared  fishermen and hunters who will search through the alleys, streets, and haunts of San Francisco for these prized callings.

The teams of fishermen and hunters will suffer bloodshed, pain, and jail cells. Who will persecute these teams? The chosen Sauls. Yet, the chosen Sauls will have the gospel preached to them by how the fishermen and hunters handle the persecutions: with humility and love.

In the end, the chosen Sauls will come out of San Francisco as Pauls who will help lead the Church into victory after victory. What Jesus said about the woman who wiped His feet with her tears and hair will be true of these chosen Pauls:

For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little. (Luke 7:47)

CONCLUSION

In early 1994, one of my closest high school friends died after a long battle with cancer. His death really bugged me because I had prayed and fasted over a long period of time for him.

Was I mad at the Lord about my friend’s death? Yes.

Doesn’t scripture state that “all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you?” I prayed for my friend to live, but he died. How could I ever really trust that particular verse again?

On the three hour trip back to the small Illinois town of my youth, I poured my heart out to the Lord. Although I felt comforted, I had no answers. As I walked up to the church, some high school friends delayed me. We chatted about old times for a few minutes.

This delay caused my parents to walk on without me. When I finally stepped into the sanctuary, there was quite a line ahead of me. Standing there, I asked, “Lord, did my friend make it into heaven?”

Now, this is not a question I recommend believers should ever ask the Lord because what if you don’t like His answer, then what? Yet, I was so upset about my friend’s death, I asked anyway. You see, not only was I asking for his healing, but I was also asking the Lord to save him.

The procession slowly crept toward the closed casket sitting at the front of the church. Just as I arrived at the casket, the Lord spoke to my heart, “He’s not in this casket. He’s in heaven with Me.”

I could have danced and shouted for joy. It was one of my happiest moments ever.

Then, I turned the corner and faced my friend’s wife and family. They were standing on the left side of the altar, receiving funeral attendees. As I inched toward them I began crying, not a few tears but buckets of them. I wailed and was almost out of control. People turned to look, but I could not stop.

My friend’s wife, his two children and his parents comforted me, instead of the other way around. I was such a mess. Finally, I sat down next to my parents in the middle of the church. Somehow, my crying ceased.

What was that all about? I thought.

Piano music announced the beginning of the service. As the pianist played, the Lord spoke to my heart. “Your friend was called to be a prophet and he didn’t make it into his calling. The misery you felt was just a fraction of what I feel when a person doesn’t make it into his calling.”

The Lord’s words caused me to break down and weep. My parents, on the left side of me, and my sister, on the other side, tried to comfort me, but what could they do? My heart was shattered by the grief of the Lord.

Eventually, the misery passed.

After some songs and family testimonies, the pastor began the eulogy. I listened to her, but once again, the Lord spoke to me.

“My church is mostly a bunch of losers. They pray for the sick, but when the person dies anyway, they aren’t upset or mad. They just think they did their duty and at least made an effort, and that’s good enough for them,” said the Lord to my heart.

My jaw dropped, wondering what was coming next.

“Major League players all want to win, but after a while, players on losing teams don’t mind losing. After all, they still receive their large paychecks. So, it’s no big deal to them. But players on winning teams hate to lose, absolutely hate it. They will do anything to win and whatever sacrifice is needed, they willingly do it for victories.

“I want My church to hate losing,” He said.

His words, “I want My church to hate losing,” exploded within me. Its echoes bounced off every corridor and passageway of my mind. Once again, I wept.

This happened seventeen years ago and it still resonates within me.

What does this experience have to do with San Francisco?

**This series is a rerun from July-August, 20111.**

(Continued in Part 6)

Sins are never committed in a veiled vacuum, out of eyesight. God sees everything, but even more than that, the sins are committed openly in the spiritual atmosphere which envelopes the earth. This is the realm where  the prince of the power of the atmosphere reigns and influences.

Our sins do more than cause a separation between God and us. They empower the prince of the power of the atmosphere (or Satan) to gain a greater foothold on earth. I believe this empowerment works according to the same spiritual principle stated in Matthew 18:19-20, because our sins agree with the father of lies. Then, if the sins are committed with the consent of a second person or more, the sins invite more of the presence of the kingdom of darkness into a city, a region, a state, or a nation (territory).

So, when people say, “Our sins don’t affect anyone but us,” they are not quite accurate. At the least, the sins lessen the amount of righteousness in that territory on earth, which then affects everyone who lives there.

Spiritual warfare may be defined as the constant, never-ending war between the forces of God and the forces of Satan to displace wickedness with righteousness, or vice versa, here on earth, territory by territory.

If righteousness displaces a measure of wickedness in a territory on earth, that area will then have a higher level of godliness. But if wickedness displaces a portion of righteousness in an area, then that territory will have a higher level of depravity.

Unlike physical warfare, spiritual battles are not fought with swords or guns, but rather with our acts (of love or sin) and our words.

The acts should be self-explanatory, but if you have any doubts, check Galatians 5:16 – 26 to study the acts of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell… But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. (James 3: 6, 8-9)

Our spoken words have the power of life and death in them.

If our words are spoken in love, backed by faith, and filled with the truth of God’s words, then we will impart life and advance righteousness in a territory. These God-filled words may be spoken in prayers or through other communications.

Sadly, the opposite is also true.

If our spoken words agree with the iniquities committed in a territory and do not agree with God’s words, then our words bestow death and advance wickedness in that territory.

Now, even though God has set up the world to be in subjection to angels, He is still the CEO of the universe. If the cry of wickedness in a territory becomes too great and the iniquity too severe, God will act. He may even remove that city, region, state, or nation (territory) from His sight. That is exactly what He did with Sodom and Gomorrah in 2067 BC and Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Remember: God has not changed so we need to pay attention to His voice before it’s too late.

So, why California? Why San Francisco? Why now?

The answer I believe can be summed up in one word: children.

As many realize, God is patient with mankind because He wants everyone to repent and none to perish in an eternal Hell.  This is the Father’s heart filled with love for His creation.

Yet, when the ruling principality over San Francisco, the spirit of depravity, gained enough power to compel politicians  in the state capitol in Sacramento, California, to vote in laws requiring innocent children (K-12) to be exposed and lied to about iniquity, God must act.

The three branches of government, which are supposed to protect innocent children, have been totally deceived by the spirit of depravity. Since these three branches refuse to act for the children’s sake, the Lord God of Hosts will rise up and act.

Because of the many saints who have labored in fasts and prayers over the years for San Francisco and California, God will first act in mercy. The calamities, which will soon hit California, will look anything but merciful because of the damage and death toll involved. But yet, like Elijah’s prophetic warning about a forty-two month drought, it is the mercy of God, calling people to repentance.  (See prophetic words on earthquakes here.)

Yet, if California ignores the earthquake calamities and continues to follow and bow before the spirit of depravity, God will bring such heavy calamities on California that the whole world will mourn and weep over its demise. (See prophetic words about terrorists’ attacks here.

California, choose for yourself this day whom you will serve.

(Conclusion)

In 863 BC, a stranger showed up at the gates of Samaria. He mentioned that he was from Tisbeh, a city forty miles east of Israel’s capital and on the opposite side of the Jordan River.

Somehow, the stranger wangled an audience with King Ahab. The stranger’s dress, coarse camel’s haircloth with a rough leather belt, showed him to be a nomad of the desert, not a man suitable for the king’s court. But still, he approached the king.

King Ahab most likely wondered what the country bumpkin wanted when he saw him. He probably gave an impatient sigh and uttered, “So, Elijah, what do you have for me?”

Elijah spoke one of the shortest and most powerful messages in the Bible, just twenty-four words:

“As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” (1 Kings 17:1)

The Bible does not give us an inkling of Ahab’s immediate reaction to Elijah’s short message.  But, most likely, it caused a big enough ruckus so that Elijah was able to slip away without being stopped or followed.

Okay, was the drought which Elijah warned King Ahab and Israel about an example of God’s love toward the Jews?

You have to remember the drought lasted forty-two months. No rain meant no crops, which in turn meant starvation for animals and people. Babies and the elderly would have been the hardest hit, but also prophets of God were slain.

As a guess, let’s say 1/2% of the population died. That would translate into 20-25,000 deaths resulting from the drought.

Now, what’s your thoughts on whether or not the drought was an example of God’s love?

Eventually, Elijah showed up and challenged four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal to a fire contest on Mount Carmel. Why fire? Because Baal was the god of fire. Why Mt. Carmel? That was where the pagan prophets sacrificed to Baal.

“Eureka!” The prophets of Baal probably thought to themselves. “Elijah has stepped in it this time. He’ll be toast!”

But in the end, the Lord God of Israel sent fire and consumed the sacrifice on the altar made by Elijah. Then, Elijah slaughtered the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal in front of Israel and prayed for rain to fall on the nation.

Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:39)

Once again, what’s your thoughts on whether or not the drought was an example of God’s love? Tough question, right? Although the people repented, thousands of people died or were slaughtered.

For myself, I have no doubt it is God love:

First,  God is love. His character  never changes and there are no variations in His perfect love at any time. And even when He judges a nation in His godly anger, He is 100% love. It is who He is. Period.

while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the LORD had struck down among them. The LORD had also executed judgments on their gods. (Numbers 33:4)

Secondly, God knows how to set people free who are imprisoned by their second nature sins, also known as iniquities. He is willing to take on the gods of the people’s iniquities, or ruling principalities, in a face to face battle, not on neutral ground, but in the ruling principalities’ strongholds.

You see, God is not afraid of a fight. He is not a bit fearful of how entrenched or how fortified the enemy is in its own stronghold. He just needs a man who is willing to be His vessel, like Moses was in Egypt, Elijah at Mt. Carmel, or Jesus on earth. The man just has to believe:

No man [champion, servant, or whosoever] will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. (Joshua 1:5)

Yes, there may be collateral damage in setting the people free and deaths may occur. But the deaths are due to our rebellion and sin and not to a lack of love on His part. We must trust that God knows what He is doing.

So, why California? Why San Francisco? Why now?

(Continued in Part 10)