A Winnowed Church

Perhaps one of the most significant things to come out of this pandemic and stressful election cycle is the revelation that a wide variety of interpretations exist within the Church of what is actually taking place in the spiritual realm. This is not the first time in history that the Church has gone through a season of winnowing within its ranks. Until the dust settles and we are finally able to discern what God has been doing, we need to guard our hearts. That is the only way to guarantee safe passage through these turbulent waters. 

 

Divine Placements are Taking Place

This is a time when God will intervene in the affairs of our nation. Historically, He has raised up the likes of Esther, Daniel, and Joseph to accomplish His will in similar times. These are people whom God chooses and uses to influence the decisions made in the highest positions of an earthly kingdom and its institutions. 

As passionate as I am to see cultural reformation take place, to create a flourishing future for all, I realize this reformation will not come by the best of our efforts alone. God must intervene so that in the end, the glory that comes from such change is not attached to our best efforts, but to Him alone.  Only by the direction of God’s hand and by His divine placement of chosen individuals in the highest positions of influence within a society will a culture undergo the dramatic and needed institutional change it requires to ensure the inheritance of civil righteousness and justice for future generations. 

 

While the Kingdom of God is very different from the governments and institutions of the world, we are still called to be agents of change for the better whenever possible, whether that change takes place one-on-one in the marketplace or while influencing change at the highest office in the land. In the days ahead, pray and believe that God is at work in our nation. His intervention is taking place.

Reading Our Bias Into Another Person's Life

It never ceases to amaze me (and I admit, at times, it can frustrate me) how easily some people can read into something I wrote or said and allow their bias to be the interpreter of my intent. Our bias is a powerful filter that can cause us to interpret the purpose of others in a way the person being accused or challenged never intended.

 

We live in a world where our ability to offer quick and unfiltered responses to others is readily available.  It can happen on social media or when hearing a passing comment made during a casual conversation. We do this without pausing and asking ourselves if our corrective confrontation is valid based on what the other party meant to say, or is it just our bias talking. 

 

We live in strange times made even more bizarre when people read into our content and attempt to reinterpret our words through the filter of their emotionally-driven bias. It makes me chuckle at times, causing me to respond, “Come on, really?”. It’s like predicting who will win an election. You have a 50/50 chance to be a “prophet.” These situations can be amusing at times, and on other occasions, they can be distressing. 

I would suggest taking a humorous posture when these things transpire.  It will keep you emotionally, and spiritually sane as the levels of social insanity continue to ramp up, and our biases are given free rein to run ahead of our integrity. 

 

  

Redefining God

Over the last several decades in western culture, some have attempted to redefine God. The isolated halls of academia and a culture living insulated from much of the sorrow that afflicts the rest of the world has been a seedbed for this process of progressive redefinition. At the end of this process, an idol will stand before us, an idol forged by a misguided view of God formed apart from His word.

Some of these redefinitions sound appealing until they begin to stumble over Scripture. One example floating around and gaining some traction is the idea that when Jesus rose from the dead, all humanity was saved. We are told we no longer have to worry about the response of people to the Gospel since everyone will eventually end up in Heaven. After all, they say, the God we created would not have it otherwise. This version of God has no consequences attached to human action or inaction. Again, it sounds good until the Scripture gets in the way.

 

In the issue of personal salvation, words like “believe,” “receive,” and “accept” cause these redefiniions to stumble. John 1:12 is one example, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” All relationships require an invitation and a commitment. For those of us who have married, an invitation of matrimony was offered and accepted before we could enter into the life-long commitment of marriage. Love requires the exercise of our will.

 

When Jesus walked the earth, there were no altar calls or sinner’s prayers, but there was a point in each person’s life when they yielded themselves to the invitation of Jesus to receive the life He offered. There is a lot of freedom of expression offered in the exercise of our faith. But that freedom never lessens the importance of the exercise of our will when it comes to the offer of eternal life. 

 

In the days to come, those who actually take the time to read the Bible to understand its meaning and context, and remain teachable in the process, will be the ones who stay clear of the idols created by pop theology and the deceptions they produce. Even when we think we have it all figured out more revelation will come to challenge what we confidently thought was the truth, but sadly, was only an idol we created in the image of our limited understanding. 

Moving at the Speed of Change

We currently have at our disposal the fastest vehicle of migration ever known to humanity: the Internet. We are moving at warp speed through time and space, exposed to differing worldviews and ideas previously isolated within a specific culture and not easily accessible on a global scale. 

Our current technology has migrated past the first generation (1G) of wireless technology, through the terrain of 2G, 3G, 4G, and now into 5G. 

Collective learning has even formed what is called the “global brain,” the collective intelligence of humanity. The global brain is collecting, storing, and retrieving data at blinding rates of speed. God is going to use this global brain to shift every sphere of culture—not by force but by a Spirit-directed process of influence that will lead to renewed ways of thinking across the world. 

Futurist David Houle wrote a book called The Shift Age. Houle said that in the twenty-year period of 2017 to 2037, we will experience more change than in any fifty-year period in human history. We are currently experiencing that shift—and it will accelerate the rate of our migration. 

With that kind of rapidity, we will need to continually redefine and streamline our message and mission. We need to be able to move alongside the increasing tempo of culture in order to remain relevant. That relevancy is not the result of compromising our ideals, ethics, or truth, but to better communicate our message. 

(Excerpt from “BEYOND: Exploring the Frontier of God’s Expanding Revelation” https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Exploring-Frontier-Expanding-Revelation/dp/0578634317/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1RVIWS0E0OO9S&dchild=1&keywords=garris+elkins&qid=1599478738&s=books&sprefix=Garris+Elkins%2Caps%2C227&sr=1-7

Unleashed

Yesterday, Sunday, August 30, a significant event took place in the spiritual realm. I cannot fully describe what transpired, but like any result of corporate prayer, what sets off a chain reaction of answered prayer may not be fully understood until more history unfolds to provide a context for our understanding. 

On Sunday, I felt s heavy burden without definition or an identified source.  An accompanying depth of frustration, and at times anger, was also present regarding what is taking place in our nation. It was like I was being pulled in the wrong direction by an invisible leash. I felt like I had lost my peace. Then as evening approached, something began to lift, and this morning when I arose, it was gone.

 

Unleashed is defined as “set free from restraints.” For the last few months, we have been leashed emotionally to issues like a pandemic, protests, violence, and division by puppet masters determined to jerk us here and there at the end of their controlling strings. Yesterday, the leash was cut in the Spirit, and today many will wake up to a new perspective because they have been set free.

 

Be careful that you do not define this unleashing as hordes of people running to your preferred opinion. It is not about affirming a human opinion – any human opinion. This is an unleashing that will enable all who are willing to run toward God’s opinion and His heart for our families, cities, and nation. 

 

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1).

Discerning the Plan of God

Many think they have rightly discerned the times. But some of that discernment lacks a depth of understanding. It only sees lawlessness and pending disorder and constructs its response to this life based solely on that evidence. 

The Lord has always worked outside the line of sight of human discernment. His intercessors have seen rightly, and their prayers are turning the course of history. Through those prayers, the Lord is preparing to demonstrate the power of His justice, mercy, and reconciliation in ways many of us have not known. Those who do not see what the Lord has done will respond to His revelation with disappointment and disillusionment because the foundation of their trust was misplaced. 

Just as the prophet Micah said to Israel when the nation was confronted by an overwhelming force set against destroying them, “But they do not know the Lord’s thoughts. These nations don’t know that He is gathering them together to be beaten and trampled like sheaves of grain on a threshing floor” (Micah 4:12). 

 

Do not place your hope in the promise or outcome of any human system no matter how right or unique that system might be in the world. The coming days will prove that it was not wise to have relied on a promise that does not come directly from the heart of God. The things sent to destroy your life and dismember your joy will be what is eventually beaten and trampled like sheaves of grain under the weight of God’s revelation.  

Take heart. The battle belongs to the Lord. He has yet to reveal the fullness of what He has planned. Until that fulness arrives, trust in His faithfulness.

The United States of Nineveh

Like Jonah, we can miss the real reason for our assignment to speak the truth in love to a culture in turmoil. Our undisciplined emotion can cause us to mirror Jonah's response to the call of God and run in the opposite direction. 

God’s message, no matter how challenging it may sound, will always reveal a deeper level of reconciliation and redemption than our angry and undiscerning eyes can see. When Jonah got mad at God for redeeming the city of Nineveh, the Lord said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” and “Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” 

 

God sees the potential of greatness for a city, even when it is manifesting a lack of greatness. The Lord wants to open our eyes to see the greater potential of the cities within our nation, especially those currently experiencing violence, racism, and destruction. We are assigned by God to call out the greatness of a city and invite its people into the destiny God has planned for its citizens. Unrighteous anger, like the anger of Jonah, is an emotional response that will never produce the outcomes of greatness God has planned for a city or a nation. 

It's Sad

On Facebook, I have a combined list of friends and followers that number in the thousands. I only mention the number issue for the context of what I want to say. From time to time, in a sea of "friends," someone will become a friend who disagrees with me. They stand out because of the unpleasant nature of their disagreement. I had a person like that who just unfollowed me. Over the years, each time this person confronted me through a negative comment, my first response was, “Did they actually read what I wrote.”  Today, I realized they had enough of me and unfollowed my Facebook page.

Here is the strange thing, I actually felt a bit sad when they left. I was sad that expressing a personal opinion would lead to a dismissal. The person is a follower of Jesus. I always thought the body of Christ could express opposing opinions and still be able to find the way forward, working together to understand each other's viewpoints and grow in the process.

 

What are our relationships going to look like on Wednesday, November 4, the day after the 2020 Presidential election? How about the day after a verdict is issued for a heated trial? Or what about the aftermath of another police shooting when the full video is released, not just a cropped version used to create a false narrative and stir dissent? 

We could make a long list of relationship breakers some people might think are reasons to say goodbye to a person of an opposing opinion. For me, it’s a sad thing because it can announce to the world that people of faith do not have the emotional or spiritual bandwidth to process challenging issues and still remain in a relationship.  It is also sad because if we remove opposing opinions and the challenges they bring to our thinking process, we will create an echo chamber where the only input we receive is the sound of our own voice.

 

The Amos Prophets are Speaking - Listen!

The prophet Amos did not fit the traditional role of a prophet. He was a shepherd and fig farmer. He was not an educated priest. In his prophetic book, Amos wrote, “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). The words “does nothing” are critical to understanding the intent of this verse.

The way forward in this unusual time is being prophesied, in part, by those who do not fit a traditional prophetic role or display the image of what we would consider a modern-day prophet. This is a radical time in human history. Many of us are wondering how we will move forward.  Into this developing history, the Lord is raising up voices not considered credible to ears attuned to a message of consensus and fear. 

 

The Lord is releasing an Amos company of prophets. Do not dismiss the message these prophets bring because it does not fit into a preferred mold or sound credible based on your preferences. 

 

We will look back on this time and realize God used what appeared to be an unpolished modern-day version of a shepherd and fig farmer to speak prophetically in His name. God will use the prophecies issued by these Amos-like prophets to lead His Church forward into the future. 

 

 

 

Differing Perspectives

The body of Christ is not designed to walk and talk in lockstep over every issue in society and all aspects of theology. Our oneness is in the person of Jesus Christ, not our limited interpretation of Him or the events of culture. Paul said we are all unique and have a different place within His body, each with a different function, purpose, and location. We need to give each other a bit more room in our social discourse, especially when we see the same event or process the same information but interpret that input from a different perspective.  A growing number of people are becoming fatigued by the political spirit they see at work in our government. We owe them an image of Jesus Christ and His Church that does not empower its message by that same spirit.

 

The Sound of Your Voice

We will miss what God wants to say and do through us in this season if we interpret the lockdown and social isolation as an inactive time. This is one of the most spiritually active times I have experienced in the last 40 years. 

God is resetting the priorities of His people. He is helping silent and fearful saints shake off the fear of what other people think. They will reclaim their voice. Some will actually discover a voice they never knew they possessed. Those who are able to understand rightly interpret the purpose of this resetting and reclaiming will be positioned by the Lord to speak to individuals and audiences not thought possible before the resetting and reclaiming took place.

Just as I finished writing this word, the Lord spoke something I believe is all of us. "I will use your voice to awaken slumbering and silent saints. When the sound of your empowered voice is heard, the fog of deception and resulting silence will clear away from the minds of those with ears to hear My voice.  I will reposition your message within My body to be used according to My will. Reset and reclaim what I have given to you." 

A Time of Defining and Refining

One thing that will emerge from this time of social isolation and cultural shutdown will be a clarification between the Gospel of Salvation and the Gospel of the Kingdom. 

Those who follow the Gospel of the Salvation believe that Jesus came to Earth solely to lead people to Himself.  While that is true, and thankfully so,  it is not the only reason He came. When Jesus spoke the Great Commission, the Lord instructed us to go and make disciples of all nations. The assumption is He must first bring people to Himself before they can begin to reach the nations. The Gospel of the Kingdom casts a much wider net. 

While the Gospel message includes the salvation and discipling of individuals, it does so with a mission in mind to disciple nations. A Kingdom-focused gospel will call people to Christ and then send them out to speak the truth in love to those institutions of a culture where the dominant sound may not reflect the heart of God. All of this must be done while keeping our eyes on Jesus, or it will become selfish, partisan, and self-centered.

 

Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and Loren Cunningham of YWAM met in 1975 and spoke of the seven spheres of cultural influence where the Church needs to be involved if a nation is to be discipled. Much of their ministry focus that followed reflected that shared understanding. The areas of culture Bright and Cunningham discussed, where the Church is called to be a transforming presence, are Government, Religion, Education, Economy, Arts & Entertainment, Media, and Family. The current 7 Mountain understanding of the Great Commission mission flows from that meeting 45 years ago.

 

Each believer is already an influencing presence in the area of Family and Religion. Some who believe in a salvation only Gospel are not comfortable with believers involving themselves in areas like politics. Those same critics celebrate a recording artist becoming a believer and staying in the sphere of media as a witness for Christ or an educator who contends with a local school board that wants to introduce an unrighteous curriculum. It’s okay for a believing economist to attempt to direct tax funds toward an inner-city project by changing a funding policy. Still, somehow a believer “getting political” is out of bounds. It makes no sense when viewed through the lens of the Great Commission.

 

The Lord is currently defining and refining His Church. None of us will go through this process without stumbling, many times, offending each other. In this unusual time, our most challenging task will be to monitor the condition of our hearts and the character of our response to those with whom we disagree.

 

Jesus came to seek and save the lost so that once transformed, we could go into all the world and declare the heart of God under the influence and power of the Spirit. Hopefully, our efforts will lead to the transformation of the institutions within each nation to more accurately reflect the heart of God. As a result, each citizen will have an opportunity to flourish and prosper. If that freedom is ever taken from us, it will not stop the Gospel from being released.  The Church in China and Iran are current examples of that truth. While we have such freedom, we should use it. 

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

 

Politics and the Kingdom of God

Recently, someone asked me for advice on how, as a follower of Jesus Christ, they could wisely navigate the emotional terrain of the upcoming presidential election cycle. The person asking was sick and tired of the games both sides were playing as displayed on the various news outlets, 24/7.

I said, “Look at the platform of each party and align your vote with the issues of the platform that most accurately reflects your values. Don’t focus on the antics of any candidate who stands on a particular political platform. Antics are a diversion.” I went on to say, “Once you make your choice, don’t put your hope in the outcome of any election. The Lord will still be sitting securely on His throne after the election no matter who wins, and He will remain there for the remainder of human history and beyond. The Lord is able to exercise His will no matter how dire or disappointing the outcome of an election might appear.”

 

I ended our conversation by telling the person the only thing they had control over was their response to the issues of life. I said the mark of maturity for a follower of Jesus Christ is the ability to speak and live the truth in love. Once they have said and done all they could do, they had one more choice to make - to rest in the faithfulness of God. 

 

I remember many years ago a word spoken by Jack Hayford to worried congregants assembled the Sunday after the November election. Someone was elected to the office of President that most evangelical believers did not support. Jack said from the pulpit, “God didn’t lose the election. He wasn’t even running.” That message will still preach.

Alone for a Reason

Some of you find yourself standing in a lonely place. You are in that place because you heard a word from the Lord and walked into its revelation.  That act of obedience has moved you in a new direction, not of your choosing. 

 

Previously, you followed the developing events of life, as many still do. It was easier then because you moved with a group where you experienced support and consensus. Now you seem to stand alone. You see the movement of culture and the transitions taking place in the Church from a prophesied future. It seems odd and frankly, a bit uncomfortable.  

 

The events that will take place to confirm what the Lord has revealed will bring clarity and answer some of your "why" questions. God is at work in the lives of those making their way to the revelation you carry. Give this process time to develop. The Lord is working on the hearts of people and adjusting their worldview.

 

You have been called to this lonely place to make announcements of hope as the culture and the Church move into a new and yet to be explored future. Hope will be the only safe pathway to lead people to that future where they will arrive, having experienced transformation and reformation. 

Words polluted by fear, angst, and despair will not lead people into the future God has planned. He has entrusted you with a message of hope that people will need to hear as they move through the unfamiliar terrain of change and transition. 

You were never alone. The Lord has been standing with you and speaking through you. Take heart. Your lonely place will soon be populated.

In Those Days and In These Days

“In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6).

 

The spirit of rebellion manifesting in our nation has arrived and displayed its presence because many have become their own lords, believer, and non-believer alike. Just as Micah did in Judges 17, we can lose our way to such a degree that we create shrines and idols to honor our rebellion and begin to worship a false image of freedom. This indictment is for all from masked anarchists wanting to tear it all down to someone sitting in a church pew wringing their hands in disgust at what is happening in the streets and placing their hope in the outcome of the next election.

 

We don’t do well when we become our own lords and rulers. Only God can be Lord, and only He can rule righteously. This is why His Kingdom is not of this world but invades this world, displacing shrines of deception that rob us of real hope. 

 

A great apostasy is afoot, and the apostate spirit revealing itself is a practiced deceiver. Be careful where you hitch the wagon of your commitment. At some point, that commitment will require your worship. 

 

 

 

Cities Surrounded by Angels

Evil, like water, will find seek the course of least resistance. In my state of residence, Oregon, evil manifestations of a spirit of rebellion, have found that place of least resistance in some of our cities. Evil will continue to manifest if not challenged. It has now moved its activities from civic structures in the heart of our cities to suburban neighborhoods and has even threatened to destroy a cross that sits in the midst of a Christian college.

 

What I just described are the obvious realities of how evil works. Anyone can see and understand what is happening on a natural and visible level. A rational person knows evil must be confronted with all resources available, both spiritual and natural. What we can miss, as our fear and corresponding anger rises, is what God is doing out of sight as an answer to our prayers. If our faith is too practical and earthbound, we will not consider that angels are being commissioned and assigned by the Lord to stand between us and the forces of darkness. These are not nice or polite angels. They are powerful warriors who will aggressively slice through the works of darkness at the command of the Lord.

There are more angelic forces present in Oregon at this moment than we could imagine. Their numbers would boggle our minds. I have friends who will be prayer-walking today in the streets of Portland and Eugene. For every believer who walks in prayer and worship in opposition to these demonic forces, 10,000 angels will be at your side fighting an unseen battle. The evidence of that victory of that battle will be seen in the transformation of hearts and lives.

The reason why these evil spirits are appearing more volatile and demonstrative is that they can see what many of us have failed to see in the realm of the Spirit. They know their time is short and Heaven’s resistance to their activities will be swift and overwhelming.

The Smoke is Clearing Away

The cultural shift some foretold was coming has already taken place. What we see playing out in the streets, courts, and politics of our nation are manifestations of that change. The smoke of conflict is beginning to drift away, revealing what actually happened when our culture made its most recent move. Many of us are now standing in new and unique places. As a result of that change, our faith and worldview have experienced a new focus and clarity. 

Self-control will be seen historically as one of the most significant choices we could have made in this heated social environment. Self-control is not silence, the abdication of responsibility, or relinquishing our duty to live as responsible citizens of our nation and of Heaven. Our dual citizenship creates a unique tension. As citizens of Heaven, our first responsibility is to God and His agenda. Even in our most patriotic moments, we allow the Lord to set the timing and content of our response to what is transpiring in the earthly realm, not our emotions, or the heated relational discord our choices might produce. 

There is so much to say at this time in our developing national history. We must wait for God’s timing to speak, or we will enter the floodwaters of disgust and offense where the impact of our voice will be drowned out because we were the ones who chose the content and timing of what was spoken, not God.  This is the spiritual tension created by our dual citizenship. 

Crossing the Point of No Return

We will not magically emerge from what is taking place in our culture and return to what we once knew.  We have stepped into a new season. Before we rebuke all that is happening in a knee-jerk response, we need to make sure we aren’t rebuking an adjustment God is bringing to His Church. We are on the other side of a significant cultural marker event - a point of no return. This time in our history will deliver more impact than what took place after 9/11 or the Great Recession.

Language, social gestures, and ways of living out our faith will have changed dramatically in this transition. Listen to those speaking new perspectives from an unfamiliar lexicon. Watch the people who are expressing their faith in ways that may be in conflict with what was familiar to us in the past. 

This transition time is not about a return to what we once knew. It is about advancing into a more impactful expression of our mission to bring God's Kingdom to Earth as it is in Heaven. Do not judge anything before its time. Wait, watch, listen, and discern. God is speaking.

A Stream of Distractions

A moment of distraction has been created by a virus and social issues, both of which are important to address, but they are not on the front line of a developing global confrontation. Where our eyes are focused will determine our place in the coming conflict.

At this critical moment in history, God is looking for people who are like the warriors in Gideon’s army who were about to engage the Midianites in battle. God winnowed down 22,000 warriors to only 300 by using a simple test. He told Gideon to watch how his troops drank water as the conflict was developing. The Lord instructed Gideon to select only those warriors who did not submerge their faces in the stream to drink but cupped the water in their hands and brought it to their faces while watching for enemy movement. As it was for the army of Gideon, so it is for us. This is a time to keep our eyes on Heaven, not bury our understanding in a stream of distractions no matter how painful they seem. 

This morning, I wrote to several pastors in Portland, Oregon, a city under assault by dark forces. I shared with the pastors that God is about to release a heavenly invasion in their city that will overcome the works of darkness. The Church carries the destiny of cities, not elected officials or the pawns being used to institute unrighteous agendas.

God will always have the last word and the last, game-changing move no matter how hopeless a situation might appear. Any thinking that does not include that understanding is flawed. Do not allow your thirst for an outcome, no matter how convinced you are that you have the right perspective, to submerge your spiritual discernment in a stream of distractions. Those distractions will keep you from seeing the greater battle about to be waged. 

Stay vigilant and spiritually aware at this hour, even when your thirst for results seems overwhelming. In the coming months, we will see world powers begin to flex their threatening muscles leading some to believe a global confrontation is imminent. While that may take place, what God has planned will dwarf the most fearful predictions, even when truth seems outnumbered.