Fire On Your Head

Finally brothers… (Paul is saying to sum up this whole book) whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8

I used to be really introspective.

On the outside I was quite happy and fun but I often used to over analyze people’s reactions to anything I said or did. I thought a lot about anything that was wrong in me because I wanted to be pleasing to God.

I went to a bible school that came out of a revival and it was a place where holiness was so important. God definitely changed my life there, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. But in that culture of repentance and holiness a lot of us became often introspective. Always looking for new sins to repent of, and trying to look around our heart for anything bad to despair over. There were altar calls twice a week. Through all of this I never really felt good about my relationship with God, I felt there was always so much more sin to get over before I could really be close to God. Then one day I read a prayer.

I was reading a book by Bill Johnson, one of my biggest heroes in the world. He was so hungry for revival and always trying to repent and get closer to God. But he kept feeling so down by how far he felt from God. Then one day he prayed a prayer like this

“God you know I don’t do so well when I always focus on my sin. Would you please convict me when there’s something you want me to deal with? Let me just worship you and keep my eyes on you, that’s what I like the most.”

It blew me away, I felt so much freedom and excitement that such a lifestyle was possible. Here was one of the holiest men I knew of who walks in incredible miracles and the presence of God and he just trusted God to convict him whenever God wanted him to deal with an issue. It was so freeing.

On the race it’s really easy to compare, it’s easy to get frustrated because there are so many amazing people, with really strong giftings, or beautiful personalities and it’s easy to feel like we are missing out. I’ve caught myself a few times this year getting introspective and frustrated with how much I still need to grow. But I feel like God is calling us to be sons and daughters again. Children don’t care much for self-analysis, they just love being with their dad and playing with him. They want to help him at work and they don’t mind if they mess up much because they just love being with him and doing what he’s doing. And he loves that!!!

To sum it all up if you are thinking about your sin you are in fact sinning. Because sin isn’t pure, lovely, or admirable. If God convicts you then just repent immediately and quickly move on to abundant life with Him. I can testify that ever since I let God worry about convicting me and shifting my gaze to God and everything that’s good and pure and admirable in the world my life has changed dramatically. It’s amazing. I remember I used to watch movies with my eyes on the look-out for swears, or sex scenes to look away from then after my Christians friends and I could complain about how bad movies are nowadays and say things like “Why did they have to put that scene in there and ruin the whole movie?”. Never did I realize that the whole time we were focusing on what wasn’t pure. It’s often the people who are the hungriest for holiness that have their eyes most fixed on sin (in order to avoid it).

Now whenever I watch a movie I have my eyes fixed whatever is beautiful in the movie, where courage is displayed or genuine love. I ask God to highlight anything he wants to teach me from the movie. I am so focused on just absorbing everything beautiful and good from the movie that I hardly remember any bad parts. (as a disclaimer, I’m still not perfect and I’m growing in this, but it’s an exciting adventure). Paul would read greek and cretan poets and was trained under Gamaliel, one of the most culturally aware and relevant rabbis of his day. Still regarded today as one of the great rabbis of all time.

I think as Christians we need to start absolutely being committed to beauty, to purity, creativity and life. We can’t retreat any longer into our comfy sanctuaries and churchy lingo. The gates of hell can’t stand against a church on the offense. The armor of God has nothing for our backside, our only protection is continual advance and victory. Let’s not fear creativity and truth, no matter from where we find it. Every good and perfect gift is from above.

Editor’s note:

Currently David Hepting is traveling the world doing “The World Race”.  To learn more about it and to read up on regular updates, visit http://davidhepting.theworldrace.org.

‘Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’ -Lev. 10.3

The nations are perishing and the Church is languishing for want of the knowledge of God. This generation of American souls is largely ignorant of the God of the Scriptures, and we have been too preoccupied and distracted by this world to come into that knowledge ourselves. We have preached a hollow message that bears little resemblance to the revelation of God set forth by the apostles and prophets, and the condition of our nation testifies to it.

We have made light of sin, made the faith into a mere subculture, and the cities of America remain mostly unconvinced of the reality of God. We have not demonstrated His love and purity, for we have been functioning along the lines of the world, catering to self and living under the intoxicating influences of a consumeristic society.

This story of Aaron’s sons rattles our presumptuous definitions of God, and while it may seem unsavory or distasteful to consider, it is a vital portion of Scripture that needs to be reflected on. We need to reckon with passages like this until we break into a fuller understanding of who the Lord is, for if we pick and choose passages only of our own liking, we end up forming distorted views of God. Indeed, we all see in part, but to willfully neglect an aspect of who He is according to the Scriptures is to open the gate to deception.

I believe the message of His great love must increase and be shouted from the rooftops, but if He has also shown Himself as holy, and we fail to see Him as He has revealed Himself, what foundation do we have? His attributes are not categories that we can pick based on personal preference, as if the Bible was a menu at a restaurant. His traits are intertwined and tied up with His Person, and every revelation of God given in the Scriptures is a glimpse into His great heart. We cannot discard the portions that seem less appealing. If we do that, we have created our own view instead of receiving His. At best, our revelation of God will be a partial foundation, and that is not sufficient for a life of discipleship, nor will it hold in days of great trial and upheaval. We need to be rooted and grounded in His great love and purity, walking in the joy of communion and the fear of the Lord, for this alone will fit us to glorify Him in the day of His power.

He has revealed both His “kindness” and His “severity” for a reason (Rom. 11.22). It is not merely so that our systematic theology will be accurate. He has revealed Himself in this way because this is who He is, and to know Him and love Him as He is, that alone is eternal life.

Decades ago, A.W. Tozer wrote:

I refer to the loss of the concept of majesty from the popular religious mind. The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has done not deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge, and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.

…. The world is evil, the times are waxing late, and the glory of God has departed from the church as the fiery cloud once lifted from the door of the Temple in the sight of Ezekiel the prophet.

The God of Abraham has withdrawn His conscious Presence from us, and another God whom our fathers knew not is making himself at home among us.

(A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy; Harper & Brothers, 1961; pp. 6, 49)

I am convinced that Tozer’s words are profoundly true of the Church in our times, and one of the chief reasons for this loss of majesty is that we have diminished- perhaps unconsciously- the sense of God’s holiness. We need a recovery of reverence, hatred for sin, and a baptism of fire to purge us of the arrogance and strutting that still marks too many of our lives and ministries.

There are wonderful teachings on the love of God in circulation, and I pray they continue to increase as our hearts enlarge in the experience of His kindness and compassion. But we are radically lacking a sense of His holiness, and since He is both loving beyond comprehension, and holy beyond description, the whole counsel of Scripture is essential for a true knowledge of God. Passages like this from Leviticus 10 provide a crucial vantage point for our understanding of Who God is.

Aaron’s sons, along with the people of Israel, had witnessed the majesty of God at the end of chapter 9. “The glory of the Lord appeared to all the people,” “fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering,” “and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” (9.23-24)

Without a doubt, the scene was exhilarating, and the sense of God’s mercy and holiness was overwhelming for all who were present. Reverence and joy mingled within them, and the people fell prostrate with shouts of praise and awe issuing forth. What happened next is both devastating and sobering.

“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” (10.1-2)

We don’t know exactly what prompted Nadab and Abihu to perform what is recorded in chapter 10. Were they trying to reproduce the elation of the previous event? Were they wanting their names to be recognized before the people, rather than being jealous for the glory of God’s name? We don’t have the answer to every question here, but we do know that the fire they offered was not authorized by the Lord. It was offered in their “respective firepans,” and its source was of men rather than of God. It was “strange” and unholy, something “which He had not commanded them.”

It was so offensive to the Lord that “fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.”

At this point it is easy for our hearts to short-circuit. We lose touch with the raw reality of the Biblical passage. We cannot fathom the thought that the very fire of God Himself actually came out from the holy place and devoured the sons of Aaron. Our view of the Lord is casual and light, and the idea of judgment is foreign to most modern believers. If the idea of God’s wrath is agreed to in a credal way, it often bears a feeling of unreality, and the idea of judgment actually touching men on the earth seems fictitious or mythical.

But that does not discount the truth of the passage, and we need to realize that this is an actual historical event. It is not allegorical or symbolic, but a true piece of our heritage in the faith. It is meant to bring to us what it brought to Moses, Aaron, and the people of God; namely, a sense of His holiness, and an awareness that He does not tolerate sin, nor any activity that is carried out in His name that misrepresents His glory.

Just when we might have blamed the event on some demonic attack, Moses gives clarity to what has occurred.

“Moses then said to Aaron, ‘This is what the LORD spoke of when he said:
‘Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’
Aaron remained silent.” (v. 3)

This event of judgment, which gripped the community of Israel with holy fear, is completely intertwined with the revelation of God in the Scriptures. It is just as much a revelation of His personality as was His washing of the disciples feet, His blessing of little children, and His raising of Lazarus from the dead. It is a revelation of God’s holiness, and it is one that we need desperately to recover. He is holy, and we cannot use Him for our purposes.

This hits home in a concentrated way in this present generation. Perhaps the fouls committed against the sense of His holiness are no more flagrant than in certain segments of the Charismatic Church, where charisma and gifting are often elevated while the Scriptures and the character of Christ are undervalued.

My heart aches in this hour of often flippant faith, when silliness and frivolity are equated with “liberty in the Spirit,” and when anyone with jealousy for truth and reality is accused of having a religious spirit.

When I see men placing a low value on the Scriptures, or labeling anyone with passion for the Word a “pharisee,” I tremble on the inside.

When I see men acting as if they are inhaling the Holy Spirit through imaginary marijuana joints, calling it “Jehovajuana” and claiming that they are “toking the Ghost,” I am mortified at the total loss of reverence for God. There is absolutely nothing holy about such activity! It is a deplorable and scandalous example of strange and unauthorized fire.

When I see men boasting of great power and bragging about the international influence of their ministries while the sense of His holiness is absent, it makes me apprehensive.

When a so-called “revivalist” can shed his wife and marry another woman with no Scriptural grounds, only to re-enter public ministry with the blessing of well-known leaders, I am filled with concern. This has happened many times over the years, and I am wondering where the standard of truth has gone!

I want to be merciful towards all men, but there has to come a point where the gullibility and lack of discernment are spoken against. I don’t think we are far from Tozer’s description, that “another God whom our fathers knew not is making himself at home among us.”

A few of my mentors have even encountered a trend among “worship-leaders,” where they will use profanity, or do other wild and crazy things in services, claiming that by this absurdity they are “shaking the religious spirit off of the crowd.” I cannot give words to how far we have fallen.

You may say that I have a religious spirit myself, but I cannot give my soul over to these expressions of spiritual activity that militate against the revelation of God that I have received over the course of my life in God. He is holy, holy, holy, and the line of revelation from Genesis to Revelation does not alter one bit. He is kinder and more loving than we can describe, but He is pure and just as well, His judgments have already touched the earth, and He is still slated to return as both Savior and Judge.

We do need to desire “earnestly” the gifts of the Spirit and the outpouring of His power. We need to be awakened more and more to the depth of His great love and compassion. And indeed, when the Spirit of God moves in power, things will happen that we cannot explain and that take us by surprise. But what has happened to the fear of the Lord?

I am convinced that our unwillingness to come into the knowledge of God, as the Scriptures have revealed Him, has produced the seedbed for our sub-apostolic Christianity. Before the cities of the earth will be “turned upside down,” we need to regain the majesty of the revelation of God Himself. We need to turn from sin and return to the God of glory, to the Scriptures, to prayer and fasting, to worship and obedience.

We have lost the sense of His holiness, and I fear the consequences are much worse than the immediate judgment of two priestly sons. The Lord has permitted many to veer off into their own ideas of Himself, even while chasing supernatural activity, and their stupor grows heavier the more and more men make light of sin and neglect the Scriptures. A widespread famine of the true knowledge of God is even more tragic than the death of Aaron’s sons. Entire movements are chugging along without a sense of His holiness, quite at home with sin, and so intermingled with the world that there is no “distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean.” (Lev. 10.10)

We cannot rightly value the kindness and mercy of the Lord if we have diminished the bright light of His holiness and the radical nature of His hatred for sin.

We are more like the 1st-century Church at Corinth than we realize, and the word of the apostle Paul is the same to us as it was to them. He did not doubt the validity of their gifts, nor did he consider them unbelievers. But he had serious correction to give as well, for they were veering off in the wrong direction:

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’ Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” -1 Cor. 15.33-34

Oh, for the true knowledge of God! For the joy of communion and the trembling of reverence! The salvation of Israel and the nations, and the raising of our sons and daughters depends entirely upon the measure to which we have come into the knowledge of God, as He truly is. He kindly invites us into the purity and joy of union with Himself, for which reason we have been saved. We need to be enlarged in His love. We need the sense of His holiness. May we hear from God Himself in this hour.

Lord, our lips are unclean, and we live amongst a people of unclean lips. We have failed to see You as You are, but You have been so gracious to give us the Scriptures. You have been so gracious to send Your Son. You are merciful enough to send us Your Spirit and to lead us into all truth. You have been so patient with us. Would you wake us up to the reality of Your holiness? We want to turn from silliness and deception, and to come into the apostolic faith of the Scriptures. Make us a people of humility, holiness, love, and power. Let us come into the sense of Your holiness, that a line of distinction may be drawn in the earth again. Let us know You as you are, and let Your name be honored and glorified above all.

Editor’s note:   Britt Williams is the pastor of Consuming Fire Fellowship, in Woodville Mississippi. The following article is something I came across on Facebook when several of my contacts posted this article on their profiles.  I was challenged and convicted by many of the points, and though we don’t agree with every point or feel that some of the ministry methods the author engages in are of our personal preference or style, we did feel enough in common with this article to share with our readers to be given a challenging perspective on the role of conviction.  Any comments and thoughts are welcome.  And we hope and believe it will be of benefit to you as you read.

In this article, we revisit an often overlooked and forgotten fundamental of gospel preaching; the convicting power of God, an essential component in the experience of conversion. Conviction is that divine power that convinces and draws the sinner to Jesus. Thus, unless men are convicted and convinced of their awful sinfulness before a holy God they will never come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
-John 6:44

Jesus presents us with an absolute, the theological implications thereof, are often overlooked/neglected in this hour of seeker-sensitive, easy-believism. Sadly, the tendency today is to overlook, redefine, or ignore altogether the necessity of conviction in the new birth experience. If we fail to understand the dynamics of the gospel, and conviction in particular, we are ill prepared to be a witness for Jesus. Now, if conviction is absolutely essential in the conversion of souls, then we must desire to see lost sinners come under conviction, yes? This being true, let us consider what the Bible tells us about true Holy Ghost conviction.

I. FIRST, HOW MIGHT WE DEFINE CONVICTION?

John 6:44a No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…

Now, we’ve heard this term “conviction” many times before, but what does it actually mean? According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, “conviction” can be described as…

The act of compelling one to admit the truth of a charge; the act of convincing of sinfulness; the state of being convinced; the state of being sensible or aware of guilt. By conviction, a sinner is brought to repentance.

Thus, conviction is the experience of the sinner being awakened to the sinfulness, the penalty, and the only remedy of his sin. There is perhaps nothing in the human experience more disturbing, unsettling, and gut wrenching than Holy Ghost conviction. If it were not for its glorious end, it would be accurate to call conviction awful and terrible torment of the mind and soul. And remember, we, above all, must desire/have this happen to those we hope to win to Jesus.

II. AS I MENTIONED, CONVICTION IS AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY FOR CONVERSION.

John 6:44a No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…

Our text irrefutably teaches the absolute: no man will come to Jesus apart from God’s convicting power. Now, contrary to popular thought, fallen humanity has no innate interest in God, but rather, is predisposed to evade and hate Him. And thus, there has never been even one man who sought God of his own accord: not because we can’t, but we won’t.

Psalm 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

I heard a preacher say, “the increased popularity of the occult proves men are spiritually hungry, searching for a God they don’t know.” Such a statement presupposes three unscriptural and illogical concepts:

a. Sinners can seek God apart from God.

Romans 3:11 …there is none that seeketh after God.

b. Sinners can sincerely seek God and not find Him.

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

c. Sinners are completely oblivious to God, His nature, and His law.

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…

Such unscriptural notions reveal how little we understand about the gospel and the new birth. No, men infatuated with the devil may mean many things, but certainly not that they are hungry for God. The Bible teaches that sinners, by their sins, are utterly alienated from God. This separation is not merely a difference of opinion, or a philosophical misunderstanding. No, the sinner has willfully set himself against God: his ultimate enemy. The sinner is a rebel against God, His authority, His law, His gospel, and His Son. Sinners are willfully separated from God and have chosen to remain in a hostile position of opposition toward Him.

Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

We no longer believe this, the sinner is somehow, unconsciously seen as some kind of victim. And this one truth alone necessitates the utter need for the prevenient grace of conviction: they will never come, except the Father draw. Thus, as our text teaches, without conviction, no sinner will ever seek God.

III. THERE ARE THREE ESSENTIALS IN HOLY GHOST CONVICTION.

John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove (convict) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…

There can be no Holy Ghost conviction apart from the reproof regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment. And perhaps there are no three topics more rejected in the professing church, and more hated in the world. Should we wonder why there is so little Holy Ghost conviction? Yes, the gospel preacher’s message, if anointed and led by the Spirit of God, will emphasize reproof. And his rebuke will concentrate on the sinner’s sin, his lack of righteousness, and the judgment he will soon face. Now, the world and religious hypocrites hate such preaching, accusing it to be, “judgmental/offensive/counterproductive.” Over the years, the professing church, carnal, backslid, and seeking the approval of man, has been seduced by such reasoning. Above all, they seek to avoid the preachy image, bending over backwards to be non-offensive and make the sinner feel comfortable. There is an obvious denial of Biblical conviction. That leads me to our next point…

IV. THE CATALYSTS FOR CONVICTION.

Romans 10:14 …how shall they hear without a preacher?

Without a true Gospel preacher there can be no Holy Ghost conviction to draw the sinner. Gospel preaching is God’s ordained means to communicate the gospel. And as we pointed out, his message, for the most part, will be a message of reproof: declaring the law to expose sin, lifting up Jesus to define righteousness, and boldly warning of the great and terrible day of God’s judgment. If we don’t get back to preaching the fundamental gospel message, men will never truly be drawn to Jesus. There can never be Holy Ghost conviction without Holy Ghost preaching (not Holy Ghost singing, not even Holy Ghost living alone). No, the human vessel, consecrated wholly to God, filled with God’s Spirit, declaring God’s Word is essential to God’s method of drawing.

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Yet, the modern church, Biblically illiterate and carnally motivated, has thought to promote the gospel like a bargain rummage sale. They say, “if we are prosperous, joyful, blessed, folks will come to get what we have.” Indeed, they may, but this is not the right motivation (see John 6). Or, they reason, “if they see miracles, they will believe the gospel.” They apparently forget that Jesus, in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, renounced such thinking…

Luke 16:31 …if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Others say, “If they just see Jesus in us they’ll come knocking at our door.” But the Bible says…

Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

In light of the absolute stated in Isaiah 53 how can this be? No, as the Bible teaches, we must first GO, before they will ever be under conviction and then COME.

VI. THE NATURE OF THE CONVICTION EXPERIENCE.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…

As we’ve mentioned, conviction is synonymous with reproof for sin, which produces a crisis. Holy confrontation always draws a line, gives an ultimatum, and forces a moral choice.

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous…

Conviction literally compels lost sinners to do what they would never do themselves. To consider what they would never consider otherwise: look at the Greek word translated draw in John 6:44…

Draw: {Greek} hel-koo’-o, Literally or figuratively to drag.

It is a crisis, not a circus: serious, grave, and sober. A man diagnosed with cancer has some hard decisions to make, nevertheless, they are necessary. Likewise, the man under the eternal sentence of divine conviction realizes his latter end. It is no laughing matter. Conviction is, above all, loving, compassionate, and merciful beyond human comprehension: but to the unregenerate it seems tormenting. It is an affront to the sensibilities, a slap in the face of fallen human pride, and an offensive and brutal attack on sinful self-worth. And it will only lift when the sinner either repents or resists to the point of grieving God’s Spirit.

VI. FINALLY, THE DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO CONVICTION.

John 7:12, 41, 43 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people…Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? So there was a division among the people because of him.

Conviction brings men face to face with the Biblical Jesus, and then they must make a gut-wrenching choice. They must either believe the gospel and therefore forfeit their own life to gain Christ, or reject Christ, so as to justify their sin. There is no middle ground, conviction either breaks a man or hardens him. For those who resist conviction reactions can run from insanity to violent persecution, but react, all men do.

May God help us to get out of the way and allow God’s Spirit to drag sinners to Jesus.

“I have made a covenant with my eyes;
How then could I gaze at a virgin?
…. for that would be a fire that consumes….
and it would burn to the root all my increase.” -Job 31.1, 12

I understand that many would brand my faith antique and my convictions archaic for approaching this subject, but that is a minuscule risk for me to take. God is too glorious, His Gospel too precious, and the fate of our sons and daughters too much at stake for me to worry about the consequences that these themes bring. I am convinced that we have woefully underestimated the damage that is done to the world and to the Church, particularly with regard to the issue of so-called entertainment.

The Church is largely bored with the Scriptures, unwilling to sacrifice for eternal things, unacquainted with the Spirit of prayer, and is harboring such distorted views of God that it is often difficult to tell if the One she is proclaiming is the same Lord that the apostles and prophets set forth. There may be a litany of reasons for this decrease of majesty, but I believe that one of the greatest of these is that Hollywood has a stranglehold on the hearts and imaginations of God’s children.

The pornography epidemic could be driven home here, and to sound the trumpet against that demonic system will require the emergence of a true prophetic voice indeed. Almost 40% of American pastors admit to a current struggle with internet porn, and the numbers are even greater amongst “non-clergy.” This is beyond tragic, and we are in need of a massive overhaul of repentance and mercy. Now more than ever are we in need of awakening, and if you are in this category there is deliverance and freedom from this deathtrap. The Gospel of Jesus sets us free “from all sin,” and He will give you grace to slam the door once and for all on this terribly besetting sin, when you repent and turn to Him with a whole heart, clinging to the Son of God.

Yet as horrific as the pornography phenomenon is, that is not the primary burden of my heart in this writing.

I am convinced that the Church of America, as a majority, has been removed from, or has never known, the kind of trepidation and tenderness of heart that Job was expressing when he declared, “I have made a covenant with my eyes….”

It was part and parcel with the faith of all the saints of old, that what they allowed to pass through the eye-gate, and what they permitted willingly to go into their ears, would taint their souls at best, and find residence in their lives at the worst. I am suspicious of modern “prophetic” men who commonly site movies and shows that contain illicit sex, profane lingo and themes, glorified violence, immoral innuendo, and other defiling examples as points in their messages. The only reason these points hit home with so many church members is that they themselves are given over to the same powers and influences.

Our hearts are too taken up with this world, saints, and there has never been a generation wherein the spirit of this age strikes the soul with such color, such special effects, and such mesmerizing influence as the one we find ourselves in. Yet we are called to an ultimate holiness nonetheless, and it may be said that one of the distinguishing factors between those who will bear the testimony of Jesus at the end of the age and those who will take the mark of beast during tribulational times will be this radical consecration of the eyes to God Himself.

In Eph. 5, Paul declares that there should not even be a “hint of immorality” in the lives of God’s people. Dear believer, I ask you pointedly, what constitutes a hint? How many of Hollywood’s characters, themes and plots can we drink in without receiving a “hint” of darkness?

There is something sleazy about many of our lives, charismatic or not, and while it might not be overt, I believe there is a residue of immorality resting upon those who have freely given themselves to morally compromised entertainment. There is something flimsy about our religion, and the bright burning of holiness that marked John the Baptist, the prophets of old, and Jesus Himself is conspicuously absent in the sanctuary, where His name is declared “holy” in verbal exercise, but the sense of His holiness has become foreign.

“…. it would burn to the root of all my increase.”

While we have boasted in “liberty,” and spoken poetically of our spiritual interpretations of Hollywood flicks (interpretations that Hollywood would largely reject and ridicule), we have too often condoned the spiritual pollution of our hearts.

Would the porn epidemic be so far-reaching and deeply-rooted if the Church hadn’t dropped the ball in areas of more subtle compromise? We have become arrogant in our boasting. And we wonder why our kids are prayerless and numb to eternal reality, buying into agnosticism and atheism when they graduate high-school and make it to their respective Universities. We wonder why thousands of “evangelical” teens are converting to Islam or diving headlong into the “party” life when they get out from under the wing of a youth group, and into the reality of college life. This may not be the only issue, but it is much more prevalent than we know. It’s a battle of ideologies, and hell has no greater method than to slowly dull our hearts to the God of righteousness through cute and subtle, entertaining displays of hellish ideas. As a friend of mine so rightly wrote:

We have so saturated our minds and imaginations with man-created images that we are bound to those images and therefore subject to the agenda of the men creating them.

It has burned to the root of our “increase” in Christ. We have lost the hunger and thirst for righteousness that Jesus encouraged, for we have given our hearts, minds, and pocketbooks to the broken cisterns of carnal entertainment.

It’s staggering to me that when the subject is raised to most believers, the tag of legalism is immediately raised. While there are legalistic souls who lack an understanding of mercy, and who often place heavy yokes upon others, the vehemence and rage of those who dish out accusations that men like myself are “legalistic” is far more widespread, at least in my own experience. I’ve never heard more warnings against “the religious spirit” of “legalism” than I have in the last few years.

In the area of entertainment they say, “Paul said we had liberty in Christ.” Yet these modern warnings are usually employed in a context that is far different from the situation with the Judaizers in the churches of Galatia. The apostles, quite contrary to the liberal ideas of today, addressed issues of righteousness with remarkable frequency and intensity in the New Testament, and I believe they would weep over the Church in our day, that we would be delivered from the murky waters that have tainted and dulled our spirits in the realm of entertainment. Our liberty is not license, but freedom from the death grip of this dying age. It is a liberty to come into the wonderful reality of communion with the Living God, and to taste of the “powers of the age to come.”

This is not about judging our movies based on their ratings. A thousand “PG” movies could be just as detrimental as one “R” movie. Addictions to CNN and social networking must be challenged if they burn up our time and keep us from the place of prayer and worship, diminish our passion for the Scriptures, and blur our awareness of the lostness of humanity. This is about a total consecration of our eyes and hearts unto Him, that we might gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, tremble before His majesty, remain in the loving counsel of His voice, and set Him forth in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

Our eyes have been too opened to the lying glimmers of this age. The time is here for an ultimate consecration of the eyes to the Lord, that we would see the increase of Christ Himself in our lives. We haven’t got room even for a “hint,” friends.

Let us return to Him with weeping and mourning, that so many of us have preferred the fading lights of this age to the glorious light of God Himself. We need not buy into the lie any longer. He longs to pour out mercy upon us, to purify us down to the marrow of our bones, to make us a tender-hearted people, enjoying deep communion with Him, and walking in meekness and holiness unto the day of His return.

Oh God, cleanse and purify our hearts with the fire of Your holiness and love. Catch us up in the Spirit of prayer and the glory of worship, quicken our souls to love the Scriptures, awaken us from fantasy and bring us into eternal reality. For Jesus’ sake.

“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.” -Ps. 51.1

The man who comes to the truest consciousness of his own depravity will be the one to cry out from the deepest place for a total cleansing from God. David the King and psalmist of Judah, after a massive moral collapse, was faced with the word of the prophet Nathan, and the depth of conviction was such that it resulted in a cry for mercy that brought down a speedy answer from heaven. Isn’t the grit of David remarkable? Isn’t it noteworthy how he responds and returns so wholeheartedly?

We tend to fall into one of two traps when our faults are pointed out. On the one hand, we are overcome with embarrassment and shame, and go through extended cycles of remorse and condemnation, wondering how sorry we must feel before the Lord will actually extend mercy to us. On the other hand, we stick our chests out in denial or defense, accusing the bringer of the word of some fault of his own in hopes of shirking our own responsibility before God.

David had a remarkable gift. He had a positive audacity, a repentant grit, and I’m convinced that it had to do with his own deep-seated consciousness that as a man, he could produce nothing without heavenly aid.

Spurgeon writes of David in this event:

My revolts, my excesses, are all recorded against me; but, Lord erase the lines. Draw thy pen through the register. Obliterate the record, though now it seems engraven in the rock for ever; many strokes of thy mercy may be needed, to cut out the deep inscription, but then thou hast a multitude of mercies, and therefore, I beseech thee, erase my sins.

…. The hypocrite is content if his garments be washed; but the true suppliant cries, “wash me.” The careless soul is content with a nominal cleansing, but the truly-awakened conscience desires a real and practical washing, and that of a most complete and efficient kind. “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity.”

(Charles Spurgeon, A Treasury of David; on Ch. 51, p. 450; Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1881)

David was deceived and in grave error in the committing of particular sins, and there was a haze over his heart. The prophet came and seared the veil with a burning sword, declaring “You are the man!” (2 Sam. 12)

David heard the convicting word about his sins, but he heard something further and deeper than that. We could say that in his inner-ear he heard the prophet declare, “You are man.” In other words, not only are you the one who has committed offenses against God, but you are dust, your life is a vapor, and unless you cry out from that place, you may have your reputation restored among men, but you will not know the joy of My salvation.

Rather than tucking tail and running in light of this revelation, he faced the One he had sinned against. “Against You and You only have I sinned…” Rather than looking for prosperity in his political career or hoping for a restored reputation, he cried out for a cleansing of the deepest kind.

The guilt is intolerable; it must not only be softened and diminished but must be eliminated completely: blotted out, washed away, made to disappear from the sight of God. The petitioner knows “that the removal of this intolerable thing cannot be his own work but only God’s: a divine blotting out, cleansing, and washing away…” (K. Barth, CD 4/1, 579)

(PSALMS 1-59: A Continental Commentary, Hans Joachim-Kraus; Fortress Press, p. 502)

David was not content with a surface brushing. He cried out for a new heart, his spirit had been broken, and he knew that from that place of true contrition, God would not despise Him.

David experienced the Gospel before the apostles ever declared it. David experienced the cross before it had been preached. His was not a desire to have embarrassment removed or his name held high, it was a gut-cry for redemption, and he knew that he would be met with mercy in that cry, for the God to whom he turned is the One who desires ultimate restoration.

One of my friends once said, “If you haven’t cried out about being a man, you’ve yet to cry out.”

May we come into this Davidic grit, this grace to turn quickly to the God of mercy, to lean entirely into His heart, and to be transformed and made true “in the innermost parts.”

By Jerry Bolton

Recently on Facebook, I posted a video of Dr. John Piper responding to the question “How should Christian friends respond to a friend who has entered a homosexual relationship and moved to a church that accepts it?”. During the discussion that followed, I realized there’s something much deeper at stake, namely, “How should Christian friends respond to a friend who claims to know and follow Christ but has made a truce with their sin?“. Ultimately, “Holy Ostracism” isn’t about homosexuality in particular, it’s about any mode of sin that we might make habit and be unrepentant of.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 ESV
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people– not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler–not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

The answer? It depends on the person, and what they claim. In both cases, we love them.

If they don’t claim to be a Christian – to know and follow Jesus – we love them. In this case, loving them means that we (among other things) seek to propose (not impose) the Gospel; that God became Man, lived a perfect life, and was crucified by his enemies to save and deliver and redeem them… and arose again 3 days later to prove all of the above.

If they claim to be a Christian – to know and follow Jesus – we love them. In this case, loving them means that we do many things (worship together, “do life” together, bear each other’s burdens, serve Christ together, etc). It also means that, rather than sharing the Gospel with them, we hold them accountable to their claim OF it.

What does this accountability look like? Well, obviously, it’s rooted in relationship. If someone claims Christ and avoids his body (the Church), that’s a separate problem (equally grievous, but separate). So, assuming they’re in relationship with other believers – in this case, you – what does holding them accountable look like?

Simply, it looks like loving them enough to challenge them, question them, confront them, and rebuke them for their sin. Always gently, always in love, always with Truth (ie. the Word of God), always patiently and helpfully. It also looks like committing what Piper calls “holy ostracism” eventually.

Titus 3:10-11 ESV
As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Holy ostracism is something that, prayerfully, we do when someone refuses to deal with their sin (or acknowledge it as such despite the clear teaching of Scripture). It’s not something that happens overnight, it happens in response to a pattern of stubborn and selfish love for sin – a love for sin that eclipses love for Saviour and His Name & Glory. It looks like a severance of relationship because it is – it sounds like this: “We can’t be friends anymore until you either stop claiming to be a Christian, or repent and begin the process of making war with the sin you prize.”

Quite frankly, I have some friends who – because of the way they live – need to stop claiming they know and follow Jesus. They are hypocrites to the n’th degree and, much more than that, their “peace” and “truce” with their sin declares to the world that the Saviour doesn’t save. For this reason and others, “ostracism” is what scripture prescribes for that kind of circumstance.

Of course, I also have many other friends who claim to know and follow Jesus and their lives show it. Not in perfection, but in constantly moving forward and dealing with their sinfulness.

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 ESV
If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

If someone habitually and stubbornly refuses to deal with – for example – their pride (aka self-idolatry), they need to be held accountable and consider how, and IF, that is acceptable for a follower of Jesus. We present them with loving rebuke and correction – as brothers, not enemies – and if they consistently refuse to see the problem or to move forward against it, we break fellowship (and lovingly give them the ultimatum above). The rebuke is always loving, always geared toward restoration and reconciliation with God.

To refuse to help others in this way (I believe) weakens churches, weakens believers, and gives plenty of weight to outsiders’ charges of meaningful hypocrisy amongst Christians. There is nothing to be gained by refusing to break fellowship with the unrepentant, and much to be gained from “handing them over to Satan”.

1 Timothy 1:18-20 ESV
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Obviously, one must be in a place in this person’s life to know about their habits and their patterns of living – this of course means that to be in a position to do ‘holy ostracism’, you must be in a place from which to ostracize. Of course, this is complicated by the way that things like Facebook and Twitter make friends who, in past ages, would have been more “stranger” and “acquaintance” than “friend” something much more. From the wonders of social networking, people’s lives are on display, and their attitudes and sinfulness with it. We don’t have to look far anymore to see “friends” who are pregnant (or have impregnated) outside of wedlock, or living with someone they’re not married to, or carrying on with a lifestyle of drunkenness and debauchery… all while claiming to be “Christian”. The trick with this is that although we might have the data, we don’t have the relationship and thus, holy ostracism’s goal (restoration to God) is unattainable in such loose contexts – not to mention we aren’t close enough to them to know if they’re dealing with their sin, repentant and putting themselves under spiritual discipline. It is this which leads me to believe that holy ostracism is something reserved for honest-to-goodness real life contexts where not only will it actually have meaning, but where its purpose can actually be worked out through the division of relationship. This hints at something at the heart – holy ostracism isn’t something done entirely for the sake of the person being ostracized. Why? Simply because holy ostracism isn’t always helpful for the person being ostracized. If it were, we could say that was the reason behind it. Really though, doing ‘holy ostracism’ is about God – it is always helpful for the name of Christ and for the collective integrity of those who claim His Name.

Matthew 18:15-17 ESV
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

We don’t cut off lightly, but we must do it when someone claims to follow Jesus but lives habitually in a “backslidden” state of habitually not battling the flesh, not battling pride, not battling selfishness, not battling their natural, sinful impulses. Believers are marked by war – against sin, against self, against the flesh, against pride, against lust, against everything that arrays itself against our God and Saviour. Those who claim to believe but live in contradiction need to be confronted with the witness their life gives and called to repentance – and if they refuse to agree with God and turn from their wicked ways – they need to either stop claiming to believe, or they need to be subjected to holy ostracism.

Jerry Bolton’s personal blog Resonance of Reforming can be found at http://www.jerrybolton.com

We have heard it said that in the last days the good will be called bad and the bad will be called good. During creation, each day God saw everything that He had created was good. Satan wants to flip over everything upside down. He wants people to call good things “bad” and bad things “good.” Therefore, those without a relationship with God will in general or naturally, do the opposite of God.

“There is a way which seems right to a man but its end is the way of death.” “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weights the hearts.” Proverbs 16:25; 21:2

Restoration and Rebellion

God is good. The ways of men-which are inspired by the rebellion of Satan- are evil. This is why we need a Savior.  Jesus undid that which Adam allowed to control the whole human race; the influence, control, and manipulation of Satan.

In God, who is good, there is always restoration. In Satan, who is bad, there is always rebellion. So, who says what is evil, bad and rebellious? God! Not man. Remember, each man will go his own way, thus dissolving any moral standards. With God, the plumb-line of truth is drawn. This is not to keep us from being free, but to liberate us from the desire to do as we please. This desire, when unmasked, is demonic inspiration. Living for God keeps us free from falling into the self-liberating traps of the enemy.

The Order of Creation

The enemy wants to flip the order of creation upside-down so it will worship him instead of God. We think we are free when we pursue self, but in reality we are obeying Satan. If we get out eyes off God and on ourselves we have been deceived. This is the reason why Peter was rebuked so harshly by Jesus. Jesus revealed that He must suffer and die, and then be raised up. This did not sit well with Peter so he actually rebuked Jesus for it. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and did what seemed right to him. What Peter did not realize is that he was actually being led by Satan.

“But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interest, but man’s.’ ” Matthew 16:23

Can you believe that Peter rebuked Jesus? How many times have we done the something for the sake of reasoning or “wisdom?”

In Romans 1 Paul mentions the order of creation. The creation is supposed to worship the Creator. The thing which will turn our hearts is creation looking at itself rather than God. This is the very thing Satan did when he fell.

“But you said in your heart ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God…’ ”

“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:13a: 14 (emphasis mine).

Now he is trying to reproduce this death in us. He is death and his aim is to reproduce death wherever he goes (Job 1:7). Just as Satan wants to reproduce himself in us; it is only because God was doing it first. Jesus did the opposite. He did not look at Himself, He looked at God (Phil 2:4-11). Jesus is life and He produces life wherever He goes. Death cannot stand in His presence. Now He is reproducing His life in us who believe.

The Reversal

The devil looked to himself instead of God. This is not the order of creation. In worship we are to look to the Highest One, the Father. The first fall is to look to ourselves, next we fall further by worshiping animals, and finally we even start to worship the things that crawl on the ground. This is out of order to say the least. When this happens a reversal takes place in our hearts, the good becomes bad, and the bad becomes good. We were looking up to God-the highest place: And now we are looking at bugs-the lowest place. This is unnatural, for we are created to be supernatural. This happens by seeking God and not our own ways.

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” Romans 1:21-23

The gaze of men went from looking above themselves to looking at themselves, and then to birds, then animals, then reptiles (ironic that the devil is a serpent). The order is reversed. The fruit of this is chaos and death. It’s unnatural in every way.

Producing Good Fruit

“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, no, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.” Luke 16:23

Bad trees cannot produce good fruit. There is no reproduction of creation, that which God created and called good (Genesis 1). This reproductive reversal causes men to have relations with other men, and women with other women. Nothing can be reproduced because the order of creation has been flipped in their hearts by believing the devil’s lie.

“Therefore God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also men abandoned that natural function of women and burned in their desire for one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” Romans 1:26-27

In creation there is natural reproduction. In Homeosexuality there is no reproduction, also it  does not produce good fruit. It is a result of looking to ourselves and not to God. It just doesn’t happen naturally, nor does it practically work. To be homosexual, man has to try and change in some way the natural flow and parts God created for us to enjoy sex and reproduce. This is like removing the ancient boundries (Prov 22:28); altering the way of creation so man can fulfill his own pleasures (read all of Romans 1 for context).

Drawn to God

The book of Romans is about the obedience of the faith (verses 1:5; 16:26). There is a draw in every man’s heart to do good because we were created in the image of God, Who is good. The trick of the enemy is to try to draw that good from ourselves rather than drawing it from God. This results in an unfulfilled life because life comes from God. We did not create ourselves, so we must not look to ourselves by going our own ways, but we must look to God, our Creator.

God is not a puppet master. He came to cut the strings the enemy has placed in our lives that pull us this way and that. The enemy has tried to conceal this by reversing the idea of good and bad in our hearts. God is good and He has a good life for you. To know Him is so much better than anything we can accomplish in ourselves. He will use us to do things that are so awesome that we are not even able to imagine them. He loves us and longs to set us free, and that is what this message is all about.

Lord may this word slice through the enemy’s lines of lies that he has set in your children’s hearts. Take away from it me and add to it You, so they may know how much You love them. Amen.

A common topic in the church in recent years is the statement which is quoted from 2 Kings 2:14: “Where is the Lord the God of Elijah?” Elijah had just ascended into heaven via a whirlwind. Elisha had received his mantle which represents the anointing, the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. He took the mantle and tapped the water, made the statement, the water parted, and he crossed over.

As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out,”My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah which fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over. 2 Kings 2:11-14

Elisha was Elijah’s disciple. Elijah was a very powerful prophet who raised the dead, and called rain and fire down from heaven. Something else that he did was amazing too: he had a School of the Young Prophets (as referred thereto by Bob Gladstone). He surrounded himself with those willing to learn the ways of God. In essence, he was a father to a whole company of prophets who would carry his vision from God into the coming generations. (ref 1 & 2 Kings)

Here was a man who was absolutely possessed by the Spirit of God, to the degree that he would not even face death but be taken up to heaven, while he was still alive! God did call him to raise up another in his place. The revelation did not leave with him, it grew into further revelation through his disciples, especially Elisha. The power and the move of God did not leave with him, it was magnified through those he trained up to walk in his footsteps.

Generational Transfiguration

Elijah knew after Elijah was gone, now was the time for him to walk in the prophetic call of God. Now was the time for him to be the prophet to his generation. This is the reason for the statement; “Where is the Lord the God of Elijah?” He already knew God, but now he was stepping into his call, replacing Elijah as a prophetic light and voice to Israel.

Now was the time, the commissioning and birth of his ministry, through the waters of the Jordan river. This was a birth that had to be supernatural, so he called upon the God of his father to lead him in power, just as the Lord had done beforehand in Elijah. Elijah may have left, but his call and his vision-his mantle, did not. Elisha received the mantle that the Lord placed on Elijah. And now he would relate to God in a whole new way. Walking with the Lord the way Elijah did required an understanding of that relationship, producing the exclamation Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah.

Elisha’s call to fulfill Elijah’s call was part of him accomplishing his own call. This is the essence of the hearts of the fathers turning to the children and the children to the fathers. A “generational transfer” as we so often hear it explained. I, however, would call it a generational transfiguration. Each generation has more revelation than the previous generation in light of the understanding of the knowledge of God for the unfolding of the times. Therefore, when this revelation is passed from generation to generation, there is a multiplying of powers, not just addition. The more clear it gets and the more it unfolds, the more of God’s plan for the ages will be revealed to us.

When you have the previous generation’s revelation and the new generation’s revelation together, a larger part of the picture is seen than ever before, bringing the church closer to the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:11-13). Thus it is right to make the statement ourselves Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? in this context. The Lord has not changed, He is still there, still present. He has given us all the power we need in each and every situation to accomplish His will. Consequently I believe that the Lord and the earth would say this:

Where are the Elijahs of God?

Behold I am going to sent you Elijah the prophet before the coming great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. Malachi 4:5-6

Now we know according to the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus declared John the Baptist as Elijah who was to come (v 11:14). Also Elijah is still to come: “Elijah does first come and will restore all things” (Mark 9:12; 11 ref). So we see here two fulfillments of one prophecy. Many believe Elijah will himself return as one of the two witnesses mentioned in the book of Revelation. That may be true. I believe there is a generational fulfillment in that as well. We need mentors and fathers to take their knowledge of God and pour the substance of that wisdom into the young ones around them. And, the young ones need to embrace need to embrace and learn from them without trying to do it all on their own. The generations must come together for the world to see a true picture of who our God really is. The love of a Father…

Models?

Elijah was a father in the faith. He walked in the power of God. We need those who are full and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, those who actually know God to the degree that Elijah did. Where are those who can heal the sick and raise the dead, in Jesus’ name?

And it shall come about in the last days, God says; “That I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men will dream dreams: Even on my bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth My Spirit, and they shall prophesy. Acts 2:17-18

This was Peter’s explanation for the drunk-like state of those who had been baptized in the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The verse before this he says; “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel…” This the fulfillment of that prophesy, for there to be a people in the last days-which can also be translated new Jesus age-that live in this state of prophetic application. This is the demarcation that we are children of God in the end times: We are full of the Spirit and walking in the power of the Spirit. We need models to look up to who walk in the Spirit like this, and we need to become models for those in our midst. Where are the Elijahs of God?

Provoked?

Now when Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. (Acts 17:16, read through 34 for context).

His spirit was being provoked from within him. Is your spirit provoked within you when you see evil, or are you entertained by it as I often am? What is it going to take for us to hate sin and quit making excuses for it?  For us to quit putting Christian labels on it just so we can do it? I used to be provoked constantly, then I became soft. Live life in freedom, but by all means be provoked. Be provoked by sickness and heal it! Be provoked by death and raise it! Be provoked by sin and preach against it! Be provoked by hate and love it!

Paul’s spirit was provoked–a synonym could be taunted. The idols were taunting him or egging him on. Likewise, Goliath taunted the armies of the living God (1 Sam 17). When David heard him, he could not hide from Goliath behind the rocks with the other men. By default, because of the residency of the Spirit, he was forced to take a stand! Forced to silence the voice of the enemy! Forced to protect his people! Forced to display to an entire nation that his God would deliver him!

Are you an Elijah?

This will be a revolution of the Spirit (Gladstone). Quit turning the other cheek to sin, sickness, and death. Be provoked and stand like Elijah and Elisha, like Paul and David; act, overcome. Victorize  yourself and those around you! Where are the Elijahs of God? Are you an Elijah, declaring the way of the Lord?

After Elijah was taken up, the prophets asked Elisha if they could go search for Elijah. Elijah was gone but his call was resting on Elisha. There is a searching in the earth today for an Elijah generation. I declare: let that be you and I.

Final Thought

This is a revision of a post I did in October of 2006. Recently I realized that I needed to get more on fire for Jesus. I was not reading the Word and praying nearly as much as I used to. Right after a struggle with sin I asked the Lord what was going on. The answer was sharp and immediate; “You are not provoked!” was the response He placed in my spirit. I got this post out and read it right away and knew that God was setting my back on the path to freedom. Preaching against sin is not a religious spirit, that is a top tactic to those who are experiencing a new freedom of expression in God. Sin will turn your freedom into slavery with you even realizing it, for the sake of being non-religious. Be free, and, be free from sin. Its like duct tape on the skin, it hurts to pull it off but it feels great once its gone.

To listen to this message click here and scroll down to the sermon player, click on Where are the Elijahs?

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:6-9, ESV)

This post is very similar to one I wrote over a year ago called Mixing the Counterfeit in with the Genuine.  We’ll be dealing with the same passage of Scripture I used as the starting point in that article, only today I’ll be taking a different approach and making a different emphasis,  writing from more of a personal level and not so much a corporate level for the whole Body of Christ as that post.

Recently in one of our meetings at El Central De Fuego (The Fire Center) here in Lima, Peru, Ron Smith shared a message on this subject that I felt unlocked some pieces of the puzzle of what the Lord has been showing me in the past 15 months, so I decided to pen this article, which is very similar to a series I did on parables out of Matthew 13.  Clicking on that tag below to read the rest of them is highly encouraged for understanding the framework I’m working with.  I’ll try not to be repetitive, but some assumptions I’m making today are hashed out in more detail in those posts.

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said,’No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” Matthew 13: 24-30, ESV

The devil always comes that he may steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).  It’s harder to steal a tree than it is to steal the seed of that tree in its early form.   One of satan’s most effective strategies, is to scatter lies and deception in seed form early on in the harvesting stage.  When you take two different seeds in the palm of your hand, you typically will not know what they will bear until you’ve planted them and seen what fruit is produced.  Obviously skilled and experienced gardeners and farmers would have a keener eye than the average person on what specific seeds are and what they will yield.  But for all intents and purposes, the end result or outcome is not obvious just by looking at the seed in the early stages.

In our parable out of Matthew 13, we’re told that the farmer sowed good seed, but it was an enemy who came in and ALSO sowed bad seed.  The strategy behind this is that the same water, the same nutrients from the soil, would feed both the good and the bad, and attempting to rid the soil of the bad weeds would be detrimental to the health of the good crop, and the two in this parable are allowed to grow until the same specified period, upon which time one is harvested and the other is destroyed. When you have the two different seeds absorbing the same nutrients, and dividing where the soil’s resources will be used, the good crop suffers in terms of how much of it could have produced.  If you had a whole field with only good seed, you’d yield more usable crop.  But when you take that whole field, half of it (the weeds) will be destroyed at harvest time, you’re going to suffer loss in terms of what good harvest you could have produced with the whole field.

Too many Christians live their lives that way: letting both seeds take root in their lives and then later having destruction come  to destroy works of the flesh, whether it be from sowing and reaping, judgment, or just plain suffering consequences of actions resulting in those seeds going unchecked and coming to fruition in other forms. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:15)

You can’t feed both natures without suffering loss to one or the other.  Scripture says you can’t serve two masters, for you will wind up hating one.

Romans 8:5-11 says

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

When it comes to struggling with the flesh, and trying to live holy, I’ve heard it likened to having two dogs at war.  One representing your sinful nature, and the other your new born again nature.  If you throw a piece of meat on the ground and let both dogs go after it, one would get it, eat it, and become stronger.  If you did the same thing the next day, the one who got it the day before has an advantage in that he’s got more strength and vitality after having eaten the meat it had previously obtained, and most likely will win the piece of meat this time as well.  Eventually the stronger dog will always overpower the weaker one and keep on getting the meat and feeding itself, continuing to get significantly stronger, while the weaker dog keeps on getting weaker and eventually dies.   Such, although not a perfect analogy by any means, is similar to the struggle we each are waging with our sinful nature, crucified and washed by the blood, but many of us have mindsets that haven’t changed and need constant renewal (Romans 12:1-2).

When a person becomes born again, they are not changed over night.  The old nature has been crucified, and God has transformed the believer.  But something interesting is stated here in 1 John 3:9–that God’s SEED abides in us.  The interesting thing about a seed, is that it in and of itself is clearly not the finished work of whatever that seed is going to produce and grow into.  There is a lot that we could discuss and meditate on in just thinking about this concept of the kingdom of God, and the articles I’ve already written and posted probably just barely scratch the surface of some other thoughts about this.  But one thing worth repeating or bearing in mind is that a seed basically contains the image, or the DNA of what its yield will contain.  But many of the passages I’m referencing–and other Scripture references we could look at–all have a common thread in that we are in charge of how much we ‘water our seed’, or cultivate our new nature in the Spirit.

Forgive my assumption that all readers of this are mature, but when a man gives his seed to his wife in the marriage act and a child is conceived, all that has transpired is a seed has been shared.  An actual full size adult human being is not implanted into the woman, but the image of what that human being will become is all contained in that seed.  Hair color, eye color, physical traits, but those things will be nourished and developed in the womb and eventually outside of the mother’s body when the child has been born.  Everything the child will become is not obvious just by looking at a pregnant woman who is expecting, or even from looking at the baby in its crib as an infant.  The same way that the groom gives his seed physically in the natural example of the marriage act, Christ, the Bridegroom has given us the seed of righteousness to the Church, His Bride.  For lack of a better way of describing it, He has implanted His nature into the born again believer upon salvation and regeneration.  But it’s not obvious right away.  It takes cultivation.

This moment is then the devil’s greatest opportunity to corrupt that seed–early on in the development stage.  That’s why, for example, tobacco advertizers aim their ads at youth and young adolescents.  This is why many corruping images are sent our way through television and media.  It’s a spiritual and even natural fact that we are most impressionable when we are young, therefore it’s the habits we develop early in life that lay a foundation and form us for the rest of our lives.  The same is true spiritually.  The young formative seasons of a believer’s walk with Christ are important for growth as this is the most easy time for the devil to scatter other seeds in the soil.

Consider other things Scripture tells us about sowing and seeds:

First Corinthians 15: 36-37 states that “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.”  This is consistent with the death to self that we are to be constantly engaged in in order that our spiritual nature matures and strengthens.

Sowing, whatever the seed may be, always results in reaping.  We usually hear this used in order to coax people into giving money in offerings when we hear passages like 2 Cor 9:6 which say whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Whatever seed you’re sowing bountifully, you’ll reap bountifully (the context of this passage is giving financially).

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:6-8)  Make no mistake about it, the negative sinful stuff we sow to the flesh will grow, build, and culminate, and if we’re not careful, dominate our lives.  It’s a spiritual principle that all too often I only hear about money (sow money and you’ll reap money), but if left unchecked, bad habits in our lives will grow to severe levels.  It’s better to deal with these issues in seed form early than to let them fester and germinate.

Even when the hoardes of darkness sow seeds of deception into the church or into your mind, it’s usually always mixed in with the truth.  We see this in the Garden of Eden when the serpent asked Eve questions about what God said, and helped confuse her as to what the truth of the matter regarding eating of it really was.  He even appealed to her desire to be good, to deceive her into disobeying what she was told.

Deception is usually always rooted in some form of truth, corrupting it.

In conclusion, the best way to deal with these issues of sowing to the flesh, is to sow the opposite–to the Spirit.  If anybody reading this has gone so far done a path that you are trying to overcome a sin that has snared you, even though you love God and want to overcome but can’t seem to, my best advice is to follow the same pattern that led you in that direction, but with spiritual seeds.  It’s true the power of the blood of Christ is enough to set you free instantly from any sin that entangles us, but for the most part the problem lies in our unrenewed mind.

Begin the same process with the Word of God and seeds of righteousness in your thinking that you led in an unregenerate way to get where you may find yourself now.  I remember Neil T. Anderson, author of The Bondage Breaker and other books about spiritual freedom, used an analogy that fits:  if your mind is dark and polluted from all sorts of sin and unregenerated thinking, imagine it like a coffee pot.  The pot is full of dark liquid, and you are taking the word of God and placing the equivalent of one pure ice cube into that pot every day.  A little bit of dark coffee will spill out, and the ice cube will melt and dilute into the coffee.  Change won’t be obvious right away, but doing this daily, eventually the coffee pot will get purer and clearer, until eventually no more traces of coffee are left, and eventually the whole pot is pure.  This is my opinion of what kind of things happen as we renew our mind with the Word of God (Romans 12:2), and it’s also necessary to get rid of and cut out of you life the things that caused that coffee pot to get so dark in the first place or else you’ll have these two different natures remaining at war with one another, rather than your spiritual nature dominating and ruling over your flesh.  If you need to avoid certain people who influence you, do so.  If you need to get rid of objects you have access to–such as internet or television, do so.  Cut the weeds out, they are not harmless.  In order to let in more light, you have get rid of the darkness.

Remember dear reader, you are an overcomer in Christ.  It is positional truth.  It’s just the battle is in your mind and takes some sowing to the Spirit.

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For other stuff to chew on, meditate on, and teachings to listen to:

F.Y.O.H. Podcast Episode 37: Is it Possible to Live a Holy Life?
Download mp3 (right click and save)

Dave Roberson Teachings – these have helped me a lot and made a tremendous impact on my mind renewing and holy living:

The Prison Is the Mind (4 part series)

Sin Shall Not Have Dominion (3 part series)

“Blessed are those who mourn…” -Matt. 5.4a

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most staggering portions of Scripture.

Oswald Chambers noted that it was calculated to throw our humanity and self-sufficient religiosity into despair, for there is no soul- however impressive their spirituality may seem- who can meet its requirements without an infusion of supernatural grace.

Indeed, when we peer into this sermon we are stricken by the wisdom of a heavenly milieu; a resurrectional mode of being. Are we living in the reality of this awesome message?

The remarkable thing is that Jesus had a no-holds barred, intensely deliberate motive when He sat down on the hill and opened His mouth to speak. He was jealous for His followers to come into the quality and depth of life that He was introducing, and He believed that His own obedience to the Father would provide the way for us to do just that. I wonder how much less intentional we’ve been in the hearing of the Sermon than He was in the giving of it.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones believed that one of the greatest schemes of the devil was to convince believers that the Sermon on the Mount was not to be literally applied to their lives. He believed that the low quality of moral living, the lack of the fear of the Lord in much of the Church, the absence of joy in the life of the believer, the prayerlessness that still prevails in most places, and the general superficiality that most of our ministries are marked by could all be linked on some level with the Church’s inadequate consideration of what Jesus gave us in this awesome Sermon.

Over sixty years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer unintentionally tripped over the truth and landed face down on foundational ground. The simple revelation that struck his heart was this: the Sermon on the Mount was actually meant to be lived out by those who are following Jesus.

For decades the scholars had been mystifying its statements, critically examining its origins and relishing in heady, intellectual conclusions on the Sermon. To many of them, it had lost its fire and been robbed of its cogency. They examined it technically and symbolically, and though they were neck-deep in studious labors, many of them were far from touching its true vitality. Dietrich’s heart was awakened to its freshness, and the radicalness of its demands and promises. Consequently, he gave us his masterful work, The Cost of Discipleship.

Leonard Ravenhill called Matthew 5-7 “the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest Man who ever lived.” Have we held it in the same esteem, or has it become mere flourish to us? Have we read it with trembling hands and rejoicing hearts, or do we fly through it as we would fly through the newspaper ads or some other fleeting subject?

These are eternal verities, weighty and buoyant, and it will require an entire surrender of heart to hear them rightly.

T. Austin Sparks tells us that:

Truth received and not responded to brings spiritual declension and loss of capacity.

In what manner are you hearing His words? If we think we’ve got it all together, or that we need not heed a word given because we’ve heard it before and it has become familiar to us, we have made ourselves eligible for a despicable numbness of heart that is capable of taking us downhill fast. The words of Jesus are Spirit and the are Life, and if they cease to bring our hearts to a place of awe, the chances are that we are not hearing Him rightly.

“…take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.” (Lk. 8.18)

THE MOURNING ONES

Within the majesty of the Sermon on the Mount there are statements that have been heralded more loudly and frequently, and there are more subtle statements that are not considered as often. This statement, “Blessed are those who mourn”, falls into the latter category. Most of the time it is quoted and expounded in times when we are seeking to console and comfort the grieving. We hear this verse at funerals and memorial services, and it has been of great spiritual help during such times. Still, I am convinced that while this manner of mourning is valid and even Godly (e.g., Acts 8.2), there is a call to mourning that Jesus is issuing here, and it is something much deeper than most of us have been willing to engage.

Without a doubt, the word “mourn” is used most often in the OT in reference to the death of a loved one. But there is a mourning in spirit that Jesus was encouraging here, and throughout history, whenever God’s servants have been chronicled, this mourning can be found in their lives without fail. I am concerned that the frivolity and lightness of our pleasure-seeking, entertainment-centered culture has all but snuffed out this reality in the Church in our day, and we need to cry out to the Lord until we see its restoration.

This mourning is something more than the natural human response to personal tragedy. It is more than the pain we feel when we lose someone or something that we love. The mourning that Jesus was commending in this beatitude has everything to do with allowing our hearts to be consumed with the passions of God Himself.

A.W. Tozer once said that “America is laughing her way to hell.” Our culture, which is tragically man-centered and largely oblivious to the heart of God, thrives on that which brings immediate entertainment, amusement, and gratification. Tens of millions of souls fill the bars and show-houses of our cities every weekend, drinking and amusing themselves into a stupor. Their hearts have a gaping hole that can only be filled by God, and they have seen very little reality in the Church to convince them that there is a heavenly alternative.

While the powers of darkness continue to rock this generation with lies, much of the Church casually jogs along, drinking in the spirit of this age, running headlong into many the same compromised pursuits. As a corporate witness, we are mostly chasing after the wind- fat, happy, and indifferent to reality as God Himself sees it.

Yet, as John “Praying” Hyde, missionary & intercessor to India once declared, “Our Lord still agonizes for souls.” Are we agonizing in spirit? Friends, what has become of the mourning ones?

I am not opposed to the enjoyment of life. I love to watch my children carry on hilarious conversations. I love to play games with them, to hear them sing and to watch them dance. I delight in going on dates with my wife, laughing together, talking about life and enjoying one another. I am thankful for friends. Life is full of God-given things to taste, watch, hear and feel, and the “Father of Lights” has given us wonderful gifts that fall upon both the righteous and the unrighteous.

But what can be said of a Church that is mostly frivolous, indifferent to eternity, and virtually never mourns in spirit? If we have been made into a company of souls who are stewards of the heavenly mysteries, yet so very little of what Christ died for has been realized in the earth, how can we glide through life on this earth so smoothly? How can we not mourn until His Kingdom comes in full?

AN INADEQUATE VIEW OF SIN

As soon as the church adopts a benign or common view of sin, she opens to the gate to all kinds of deceptions. Authentic, God-breathed joy is replaced by a hokey, hollow, performance-based joviality. Once we tolerate sin in our own lives, we are forced to maintain a plastic happiness, for this is what we believe a Christian looks like. He is smiley, happy, and a good old boy who everyone likes to be around.

Our pastors, worship leaders and door greeters are pressured to put on a kind of external performance that doesn’t line up with the true condition of their lives. They are cornered into a way of living that is much more professional than it is an expression of the life of God working within the heart.

Leaders and believers alike often find themselves harboring secret moral failings, and they are maintaining a feigned happiness at public gatherings and ministry events. They have grown loose in their view of sin, the fear of the Lord has departed from them, and the blessedness of mourning in the way that Jesus encouraged has become a foreign concept. Sin is still in the camp, and if we do not align our hearts with the Lord and mourn over it, we become subject to a performance based ministry and life, and worse still, we cut ourselves off from the blessing of an intimate union with the Lord.

Our churches are in a critical need of this kind of mourning, for as long as the presence of sin is tolerated and swept under the rug, the powers of darkness will remain in our midst, unchallenged and unchecked. The greatest faith-healers may come through town, but a measure of sickness and death will always effect the people of God when sin is condoned, however subtle that condonation may seem. A compromised, dry-eyed Church will never express the fullness of Jesus Christ. Saints, let us mourn until the light and holiness of God Himself breaks in!

I’m not encouraging some kind of a grumpy disposition, or saying that if you purse your lips and your brows are straining downward you have come into this reality. You can gripe about the church and self-righteously challenge other believers. That does not make you a part of this company of mourning ones that Jesus calls “blessed”. There is nothing as far from true Spiritual mourning as a self-righteous, smug believer who walks around with a grouchy disposition and calls it spiritual sobriety. That is a sign that you are functioning out of human emotion and thought, and that you are not walking in the abiding life of Christ.

Nothing that the Lord has expressed in the Beatitudes can be established through natural means. Mourning in spirit, like all of the other qualities He spoke of in the Sermon, is not an affectation or something that we work up. This is a resurrectional mode of being, and it takes the dying of our own self-consciousness for us to receive life from the Father.

The mourning ones are those who mourn in the Spirit. Their hearts have been enveloped by God Himself, and they can do no other. They mourn because they have aligned their souls with the God who still weeps. He weeps over Israel. He weeps over the nations. He weeps over a church that has yet to come into the fullness of His Son. He is not depressed or sadistic. His mourning is a holy mourning, and as we align our hearts with His, it produces life in us and in those to whom we are called to bear witness. When was the last time you mourned, dear saint?

Some of you have allowed sin to creep back into your lives and you are no longer grieved by it. There is no mourning in your heart. You have such a guard up against condemnation that you’ve opened the gate to sin, and godly mourning has left you. The clear air of vibrant communion with the Lord has been polluted. The flame of His holiness that once burned in your heart has dwindled. It’s time to mourn!

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psm. 51.1-2)

Perhaps your heart used to burn for the salvation of unbelievers and the transformation of sin-ridden cities. You’ve grown weary in well doing, and you no longer know what it is to weep for the lost in prayer. Mourning with the Lord on their behalf seems foreign and distant. Friend, it’s time to mourn again!

“O that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jer. 9.1)

Moses was a mourning one, for in all things he “cried out to the Lord.”

Samuel was a mourning one. “Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.” (1 Sam. 15.11)

David was a mourning one. “My tears have been my food day and night…” (Ps. 42.3)

Daniel, finding himself in Babylon during a time of judgment “wept bitterly”, fasting for three weeks. Though we know of no consistent sin in his life, he mercifully cried out on behalf of his nation, “Lord, we have sinned”!

Jeremiah mourned and cried out to a people who were teeter-tottering on the edge of the cliff of Divine justice. All of the prophets were mourning ones.

Paul was a mourning one, weeping for the salvation of his Jewish kinsmen and groaning as a mother in childbirth, “until Christ be formed” in the churches that he had planted and nurtured. Every true missionary, revivalist and reformer throughout history has been a mourning one.

They were joyful men, but their hearts burned with the passions of Jesus, and they did not treat life like a fleeting game. They wept over lost souls, and grieved over the condition of the Church. They cried out for a greater measure of the power of God, and they mourned over shortcomings in their own lives. They mourned until grace came down afresh. They mourned until the Spirit was poured out. They mourn yet today on our behalf. O friends, we cannot afford to remove ourselves from this continuum.

One day soon, their mourning will cease. When the government of God has its cosmos-wide influence at the end of the age the mourning will be once and for all turned into dancing and holy jubilee. God will rejoice over Israel with singing (imagine the majestic reverberations when God sings for joy!), and He will quiet them in His love (Zeph. 3.16-17). Sin, sickness, death and demonic influence will be permanently uprooted and cast into the lake of fire. The Lamb of God will be worshiped and exalted in the earth like never before. My heart burns for this day, friends!

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted…”

If you are comforted in a way that is not the result of God-inspired mourning, you are likely living in some form of deception. The spirit of this age is driven by the pursuit of comfort, happiness and pleasure in the midst of a staunch denial of all that God is. It is a sham. There is no true comfort apart from a holy alignment with the King of the ages. To come out of our own depravity, out from underneath all that is in this world that manipulates and jerks us, we must mourn.

Isaiah, a seasoned prophet, saw the Lord and mourned over the uncleanness of his own lips. This is not an issue of “works”. We are not talking about justification only, as glorious of a reality as that is. We are asking what it means to be a Sermon on the Mount people, an apostolic Body through which the Lord delivers His own heart to Israel and the nations.

The Spirit of mourning upon the people of God is a catalyst for salvation and deliverance in the societies of the earth. No wonder the apostles were mourning men. They penetrated society because they were taken up with the heart of the Lord, and their ministries were “blessed” by God Himself. The Lord desires to put the same blessing upon an entire Body in these last days, and it will rest upon those who are poor in spirit, mourning in hope until the fullness of Christ is manifested in the earth.

Mourning in spirit is the gateway to the kind of comfort that only God can grant. The mourning ones will bring true comfort to the earth. Their witness and fellowship will produce life in the Church and in society. They will enjoy life, they will rejoice with those who rejoice, but they will not be mindless jokers. They will mourn in prayer and fasting until the Lord sees “the travail of His soul and is satisfied.” (Is. 53)

“Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.’” (Matt. 9.15)

Have you become satisfied with the things of this world? Is there a cry for the fullness of God in your spirit? Have you sought to circumvent or avoid the kind of mourning that still burns in the heart of the Son of God? Saints, we have not the time for playing games with our lives. We have one life to live. There is sin to be mourned over. There is a harvest to be reaped by laborers who go into the fields, weeping in faith and anticipation. There is a fullness to cry out for. There is an Israel to intercede for. There is a Living God to pant after!

I want to be in that company of mourners, weeping in spirit until the glory of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. What about you?

Father, we ask you to align our hearts with Yours. However Your heart still mourns, we want to be enjoined with Your cry. Make us a house of mourning, that in our day souls may be comforted by the reality of Your salvation. Make us mourners along with the great host of heaven, that the Day of Your return may be hastened. We want to weep between the porch and the altar for the salvation of Israel, the transformation of the nations, and the release of Your judgments and mercies. Forgive us our self-satisfaction and empty religious performances. We lay our souls in the dust, O God. Abide with us, great Apostle and High Priest. Let us weep with You now, until we are able to rejoice with You in full, when Your Kingdom is permanently and indestructibly established in Jerusalem. Have for Yourself a people who mourn in spirit. Mark us with blessing, the high privilege of having hearts that are united with You. Amen.