Be That Voice

Anger, frustration, bewilderment, disillusionment, confusion, and dismissal are prowling our nation this morning looking for a voice. Before you respond to the invitation offered by these feelings, guard your response. The Lord has something to say. The message He wants to deliver is not crafted from any of these emotions. He is looking for people who will speak the truth in love – a message crafted in Heaven and delivered into the turmoil of this world. Be that kind of voice.

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).

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.

 

A Consensus of Fear or a Word of Hope

A consensus of fear that gathers a large following is not the result of a word from the Lord.  Fear is the product of an undiscerned lie interpreted through emotion and irrationality. Be careful who or what you allow to form your worldview. While fear will take people to new depths of despair in the coming days, hope will remain and offer to take us to a higher place if we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. He has been the same yesterday, today, and forever through each crisis event of humanity for the last 2,000 years, including the one through which we are currently navigating.

Closed Doors Will Open

I saw someone running their personal race of faith. They were not jogging at a cautious speed. It was an all-out run. As they ran forward, line after line of closed doors stood before them, but the closed doors did not slow them down or break their cadence of faith. They ran with abandon, trusting the Lord to open the right door at the right time. 

Some of the doors that opened were opened at the last possible moment, just as the face of the runner pressed against the door. It looked impossible that the timing could be so precise, but it was, time-after-time without fail. Those watching the person run thought for sure they would crash, but the word of the Lord proved faithful to open what was considered closed and not accessible. 

If you run after the Lord and trust Him, no door set before you will remain closed in the presence of His love and your faith in His ability to perform what He promised. 

"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

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." 

An Approaching Moment of Singularity

I listened to an interview with a scientist describing the concept of Singularity. Singularity is a moment in history when seemingly disconnected events happen at the same time with such rapidity, they seem to the human mind as a single event. It would be like all the scientific and technological advancements made in the last 100 years happening in a single moment. It will be an overwhelming experience to a mind not accustomed to such rapid revelation.

A moment in human history is approaching that will challenge our understanding of life and how the future will unfold. When this time comes, the Lord will be the only safe harbor as these events unfold, seemingly out of control. 

This is not another end-times scenario. It is a moment of transition where the Church will be revived and reformed to engage culture with hope and offer solutions that will solve many of the struggles faced by humanity. The opportunity these events offer will become gateways into Ephesians 3:20 moments in human history where God will accomplish more than we could imagine. These events will lead us to a hope-filled future.

On the world stage, events are beginning to cluster into what will become a moment of singularity. The prophets have spoken of these events many times but as isolated revelations. A moment of singularity is being formed that will bring together the fulfillment of multiple prophecies that seemed wild and questionable at the time of their initial delivery. This single moment of mass fulfillment will create confusion and in some cases, delusion for many whose eyes are not focused on the Lord, even among those whose faith appeared strong in the past.

 

As this moment of singularity appears, there will be only one way to survive emotionally and spiritually. As the psalmist said, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). As the world shakes in a moment of unexpected singularity, we have an opportunity to live with an unshakeable faith in the One who is never shaken by the turmoil and transitions of humanity.

 

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.

Beware of Accusation

Satan is described in the Book of Revelation as an accuser. He makes accusations based on false evidence. He is afoot today in ways that seem credible until you pry back the layers of deception and discover the hidden truth. Be careful before you toss out an accusation against anyone. Only God knows the truth no matter how persuasive the first draft of evidence might seem. A biased and profit-motivated media is not always a reliable source for truth, neither are frustrated and angry people. We may never know the full story upon which accusations or acquittals are sourced. At that point, it will seem counterintuitive to rest and wait for the Lord, but that is the way of spiritual discipline and self-control.

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.

Opinions That Divide

Opinions have been shared that have tested the integrity of longtime relationships, so much that a distance now exists between friends. It would be a sad thing, if, in this season of social intensity, a differing opinion would be given permission to create division, resulting in separation, and eventual isolation. In the end, this division will have a more detrimental effect on the mission of the Church than the social disorder we see playing out on the stage of our culture. Our oneness as believers is not found in our politics or sociology, but in the person of Jesus Christ.

Making a Righteous Sound

Speaking the truth in love requires sound. A silent church that hopes to get back to “normal” without addressing the elephants in the room will have missed an opportunity to express the sound of truth in this time of growing anarchy and censorship. Yes, we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but we are also to be His voice. An honorable protest is part of our rich cultural history. Violent riots are the work of a spirit of anarchy and never lead to righteous outcomes. Civic leaders who have abdicated their assignment to protect a community will have to answer to a higher authority for their compromise and complicity. Evil taking place even within the smallest part of a city is like leaven. A tiny bit of leaven left unchallenged will eventually corrupt the larger host. We need to find our voice as believers, or someday our descendants will ask why we were silent. The fear of man will not be an excuse that will stand the test of integrity.

The Most Dangerous Person in the Room

When I was a young cop, my training officer taught me a lot. I watched how he moved through a hostile crowd of drunks in a bar. He was able to read a crowd. One thing he did was to determine who was the most dangerous person in the room. This is the person who, if not approached with discernment and challenged with wisdom, could do the greatest harm. When that person was finally engaged and disempowered, all of their followers who fed off that person’s bravado seemed to lose steam.

There most dangerous people in our culture are not always found in a dingy, smoke-filled bar. Some of them are within the Church. The danger they present is not bullying, but a lack of gritty realism. This problem developed in the last few decades when well-meaning people mixed Christianity with a misunderstanding of biblical reality. As a result, they created a context that was never present in the real world of the first century. Today, these people call Jesus a socialist when, in fact, he and his father ran a carpenter business and had to turn a profit to stay in business. They were more like compassionate capitalists than socialists.  

Content from the Sermon on the Mount has been plucked out of context to justify pacifism in the face of danger. In that sermon, Jesus said if our hand offends us, cut it off. If our eye views something it should not see, we are to pluck it out, and if someone slaps us, to turn the other cheek. All of these commands were issued in the same discourse. I have noticed there are a lot of two-handed, two-eyed people telling others that defending life and limb is not the Christian way. Perhaps Jesus was simply asking if we would be willing to be radically obedient instead of actually cutting off a body part, plucking out an offending eye or sitting idly by as violence has its way unrestrained.  The most dangerous person in the room is not the barroom thug. They can be believers who have created a form of Christianity disconnected from reality. 

People are becoming increasingly nervous. That unsettled feeling has arisen because of a lack of leadership, not just in the institutions of culture, but in the ranks of believers. This happens when we allow our faith to be diluted with an irrational interpretation of reality. Our world is now at a tipping point, more than most of us realize. Courage is not silence and passivity. It looks a lot like what my training officer did when he was outnumbered and surrounded by a hostile crowd in a late-night bar. Courage and truth can disarm the plans of a thuggish spirit before it creates a hellish environment that makes living a good life seem impossible.

What Happens When a Bully Gets a Bloody Nose

There are times when a punch to the nose of a bully is all that will stop their quest for dominance. As a chubby insecure pre-puberty kid, I remember landing a punch on the nose of our playground bully after repeated calls for him to leave me and others alone. After that confrontation, he lost his place of dominance. Peace, laughter, and child-like joy returned to our playground.

A bully is prowling the playground of our culture. He is using fear to push people around. During this time, when the truth is being turned upside, redefined, and trampled under the hooves of a spirit of anarchy, it seems like the bully is getting his way. As this bullying spirit tries to gain a greater foothold, a group of David-like individuals is emerging. They will enter the fray and bring down the bullying spirit of deception with a single stone of truth. 

God’s mercy, justice, and compassion, all components of truth, will empower these men and women to execute a strategic punch that will stun and disempower the spirit of fear that motivates the bully.  God's truth will be the sword that beheads the false thinking of this bully. The bully of fear has had his way for far too long. It is time for peace and order to return to our playground. 

Pickup Your Memorial Stone

Amid all the noise, clamor, and disruption taking place in our culture, God wants to reveal His love and power. That love and power will be visible to those whose eyes have been trained to see His goodness.

When Joshua was leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, they had to cross the Jordan River, which at the time, was running at flood stage. The Lord stopped the river’s flow allowing the Israelites to cross over on dry ground. When the miraculous passage was complete, two memorials were constructed.

The Lord instructed Joshua to tell the people to choose a leader from each of the twelve tribes who would select a single stone and build a stone memorial where they would camp the first night after the crossing was complete. This would be a forever memorial to future generations of God’s faithfulness to deliver His people. 

The second stone memorial was built by Joshua. His memorial was built on the dry riverbed, in the middle of the Jordan. When all the people finally crossed over, the river began to flow again, and Joshua’s memorial would be submerged.

The crossing of the Jordan is a word picture for each of us.  We are making a crossing from what we once knew to a future yet to be defined.  Today, we have been given an assignment similar to the assignment that Joshua gave the Israelites. Stop and look for your stone of remembrance of God’s love and power displayed in the last few months. This stone is somewhere in your life. Only the eyes of faith can see this stone. Pick it up and carry it with you as you journey forward. It has a place on the other side of this time of transition where your stone will be placed with other stones of remembrance to remind you, your friends, and your family of God’s goodness.

If you are leading a family, a business, a church, or an entire movement of people, you also have a memorial to construct. Your memorial will be like the one Joshua assembled.  Place your stones where you stand today on the dry ground of your passage. When your passage is complete, it will be submerged and out of sight. In future generations, leaders will remember that your memorial to God’s faithfulness is there, somewhere underneath the future floodwaters of transition. It will give future leaders who follow in your footsteps the courage to step into the floodwaters of transition, knowing that God will always be faithful to reveal a way forward.

“Today, you will know that the living God is among you” (Joshua 3:10).

The Alarm Bells Are Still Sounding

On May 3, I wrote an article titled, “The Alarm Bells Are Sounding” and posted it on my social media sites. Like most prophetic insight, what we see is not always complete, nor has the context yet arrived for the prophetic word to be understood.

Yesterday, Jentezen Franklin posted the following on his Twitter feed, “California’s Governor just banned singing/chanting at church. Catholics can't recite mass; Evangelicals can't worship out loud. The very definition of discrimination is to allow thousands to march and scream without masks while telling churches 100 or less that you cannot sing.” Jentezen Franklin is not the only leader hearing the alarm bells. When alarm bells are being heard it takes courage to speak up and call out what is causing the alarm.

I live in the Northwest, where some of our theology has become intermingled with a form of progressive thinking that plays into the very scenario Jentezen Franklin mentioned. But there is something positive taking place. We are beginning to hear the alarm bells, and wonder how we can now respond when it is obvious that something is amiss. Silence is no longer a viable or righteous option. 

Our response to this kind of issue must be above and beyond the exercise of personal rights. If we get caught in that trap, we will fight with the wrong weapons and people will become our enemy.  This is a battle against unseen spiritual forces being played out in our communities and in the halls of our cultural institutions. Loving our neighbor is seeking their highest good. There are times when seeking the highest good requires that we walk against the flow of popular opinion in the culture.

Our Broad Strokes of Judgment

In the noise of the current social clamor, the voice of the Church can become diluted by politics, personal preferences, and undisciplined emotions. In this back and forth defensive environment, we can defend our preferred position to such a degree that we miss the essence of true justice. 

It is too easy to lump someone of an opposing opinion into a single group and, with a broad stroke of our narrow judgment, unjustly label them based on their heritage, profession, or worldview. If you don’t think this is true, ask a person of color, a good cop, or someone who happens to see life through a different lens. This form of judgment will always lead us to make unjust decisions. 

The Lord has something to say about that kind of unjust thinking. “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— both are detestable to the Lord” (Proverbs 17:15). I was struck by the word “both.” The Lord does not play favorites. His righteousness is meant for all, not just those we deem worthy or unworthy.

If, in our attempt to right the wrongs of culture, we only side with one opinion, our credibility as a healing and prophetic voice will be compromised. This will be especially challenging for those who have entered this time of social upheaval and continue to allow their undisciplined emotions to control their speech and actions.  

What We Are Hearing

Perhaps one of the most impactful things that will transpire in this unusual season of history is the realization by the Church and her leaders that we are in a time of reformation.

Realizing our calling to influence all 7 spheres/mountains of culture has long been neglected by many in the Church, thinking somehow our ministry should be limited to church meetings, being a good neighbor, and waiting for the rapture. This way of thinking has caused many to neglect the commission of the Great Commission, the discipling of nations. A nation can only be discipled once people are led to Christ, but then, those new converts are called to become an influence for righteousness in all areas of culture.  Our salvation experience is the platform from which we can begin to make a real Kingdom difference in our particular sphere of influence, and eventually a nation.

Which of the 7 spheres/mountains of culture have you been called to influence - Government, Religion, Education, Economy, Arts and Entertainment, Media or Family? If you are reading this and you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are already involved in the areas of Family by birth and Religion by choice. How is your voice releasing a reforming Great Commission impact in one of the other areas when you go to work on Monday?

Some of the struggles we see taking place in the lives of individuals, Church leaders, and congregations, is the struggle to break free from decades of silence and inactivity.  I know this firsthand. I thought this way for many years. We become comfortable doing Kingdom business the way we have always done it, not realizing we have a much larger calling. 

Before we judge the new sounds of reformation being heard in each sphere of culture, we need to pause long enough to consider the possibility that these voices might actually be the Lord speaking. For millennia, the Lord has spoken through imperfect vessels who will make mistakes as they form the content of their message. The Lord knew this when He called us. We are beginning to see the emergence of these new voices. Their emerging sound is part of a process of reformation where everything will be up for examination and change, hopefully creating a brighter future.