Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. (Ex.33:8-11).

This section of scripture from the book of Exodus gives us some insight into God’s heart for his people and their hesitancy to respond to the very blessing God offered. Most of us assume that only Moses or the priests of Israel could come near the presence of God in the Tent of Meeting or in the tabernacle. That was true of the Tabernacle and the Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant rested but previous to the construction of the tabernacle it appears that there was an invitation for any Hebrew to come to the Tent of Meeting and “inquire of the Lord.”

Every Hebrew was invited to come before the Lord and speak to him and to hear his voice. It was an open invitation from Jehovah to enter an intimate relationship with the Creator and yet the people kept their distance – except for Moses and his aide Joshua. In this text we have a picture of God’s people standing back while Moses spoke to the Lord on their behalf. Undoubtedly, the people stayed away from fear more than reverence. When Moses brought Israel to the foot of Sinai, God descended in fire and smoke with the trumpet blasts of a king coming to his people. Moses was drawn to the presence of God because he perceived his goodness while the rest of Israel fell back in terror. Although Joshua was probably a man of courage by nature, he must have also had his view of Jehovah shaped by Moses who had initially met with God on the Mountain.  There he had seen the immensity of his goodness as God passed by while protecting Moses from being overwhelmed by his presence. Although Joshua had a great reverence for the Lord, he was not terrified of him and accepted the invitation to be in his presence even though he was not of the priestly tribe of Levi. The people would stand and worship as Moses entered the tent, but they would not go themselves.

That reminds me of God’s people today in many respects. They will stand and worship once a week but will let the preacher be the one who draws close to God on their behalf. Is it fear, a sense of unworthiness that keeps us away, or is it a sense that if we got close enough to hear the voice of God he might ask us to do things we are unwilling to do? Maybe it’s all three. Perhaps, the Church’s resistance to the Spirit of God moving in our midst comes from the same mindset of God being dangerous. In his book, Holy Fire, R.T. Kendall reminds us of the line from C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia where someone asks if Aslan, the Lion King, is safe? The response was that Aslan is not safe but he is good. Kendall makes the point that the same is true of the Holy Spirit – he is not always safe but he is always good.

If you think about it, God has made the same offer to us that he made to Israel. He invites each of us to come into his presence, to inquire of him, and to hear his voice. He has made each of us priests, made us holy by the blood of His Son, and opened the door to his presence and his voice by the Holy Spirit. And yet many continue to keep their distance while the invitation stands.

There are those who still see God as distant and unapproachable and one who only speaks through his written word. But Israel already had his written word in the Law and his Commandments when Moses erected the tent and issued the invitation for anyone to come and inquire of the Lord – not to know the Law but to know the Father. The issue is that the heart of God still longs to meet with his people and to dialogue with them personally. Because the Holy Spirit lives within us and bears witness with our Spirit, each of us have the potential of being a tent of meeting because we are the temple of God.

God still desires to speak personally with each of us – through his Word, through his Spirit with the “still small voice” of Elijah’s cave, and through his prophetic people as we speak the things of God one to another. My prayer is that we, like Joshua, never want to leave the presence of the Father and hunger to hear his voice. May we pursue him, his voice, and his gifts with the passion of treasure hunters for these are all treasures purchased for us by the blood of the Lamb.

To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (Rev. 2:12-16).

We are continuing to look at the letters to the seven churches of Asia in the beginning chapters of the book of Revelation as an opportunity to check our alignment with the Father so that nothing hinders the flow of the Spirit in our lives. Frequent course corrections are usually needed for all of us if we are to stay aligned with our “true north.” These letters remind us that we can be on track spiritually in parts of our lives while being seriously out-of-step in other parts.

In his admonition to the church in Pergamum, Jesus acknowledged the things they had done that prompted praise from heaven. They had not renounced the name of Jesus or rejected the faith even in the face of brutal persecution. Within the city was a huge altar that was built for sacrifices to Zeus or Athena or both. Some believe this is the throne of Satan referenced in the letter. The city was a center for pagan worship. The bible is clear that demons rather than gods are the power behind any idol so that Satan had a stronghold within this city that warred against the church. The church had held its own when hell had broken out against them and even when Antipas was martyred for the faith. Jesus affirmed them for their faith that had been sustained in a demonic stronghold.

However, their faith wasn’t all that it could be. The real issue among the “faithful” of Pergamum was tolerance. Apparently they tolerated men and women in the church who still participated in idolatry and immorality and who were enticing other believers to join them. In a city with so much demonic influence and immorality it may have seemed that what these individuals promoted was “not so bad” compared to the culture around them and yet Jesus taught that a little leaven will eventually affect the entire loaf. In essence, the culture was impacting the church rather than the church impacting the culture. A little tolerance and a little political correctness may seem to buy the church a little acceptance by the culture but it is offensive to the Spirit. True alignment always seeks the praise of the Father over the praise of men.

Compromise with the culture misaligns us with the Father and his heart. That is true for churches but just as true in our personal lives as well. When we are surrounded by a demonic and debase culture it is easy to compromise with the flesh and the culture by engaging in things that seem “more moral” than what the culture at large is practicing.  After a while, the “more moral than the culture” may become a standard in our lives rather than biblical standards of righteousness. My guess is that this compromise shows up most in movies, television, books, magazines, and web sites that believers frequent.

For instance, many believers feel no hesitation to go to a PG-13 movie because our culture considers the content to be fairly tame. However, what is seen in PG-13 movies now would have been R-rated or even X-rated 50 years ago. The standard for each of us should not be not what the culture considers harmless but what the Spirit finds unoffensive.

Many of us watch television shows that promote homosexuality, adultery, premarital sex, or greed as an acceptable lifestyle with no thought of those things being sin and being highly offensive to the Spirit of God. Compromise with the culture, even in what we watch or read, dulls our spiritual sensitivity to the things that are unholy. They also dull our sensitivity to the things that are holy.

Undoubtedly, when we are committed to live by biblical standards of righteousness we will seem fanatical or prudish to most of the people around us – even to other believers. And yet tolerance and compromise are the very things about which Jesus warned the church at Pergamum. The more aligned we are with the Father’s heart, the more of his Spirit we will experience. Alignment is about saying yes to the things of God and no to the things of the world. May we choose well today so that the power of heaven can flow easily in our lives and may we ask for a spiritual sensitivity to the things that please the Spirit or that grieve him.

At then end of Luke 11, Jesus pronounces two more “woes” on the religious leaders of Israel. He rebukes them for building tombs or shrines for the prophets that their fathers had killed and then for taking away the key of knowledge so that others were hindered from entering in to the kingdom of God.

The first rebuke is repeated in other places in the gospels and carries the idea once again of blatant hypocrisy on the part of the Pharisees and scribes.  Their fathers had consistently rejected the prophets that God had sent to Israel and eventually murdered many of them to silence their calls to repentance.  In the generation of Jesus, the religious leaders were building shrines over the tombs of those slain prophets.  The implied message was that the Pharisees and scribes approved of God’s prophets and would not have done what their fathers did if they had been in their place.   However, Jesus knew their hearts. These same men had already rejected the teachings of John the Baptist and were rejecting the teachings of Jesus. In a short while they would have Jesus put to death just as their fathers had done to the other prophets God had sent.

The second rebuke accused them of distorting the meaning of scripture so much that they could not recognize the Messiah when he stood in front of them and by their teaching had prevented many others from seeing the truth and understanding God’s word as well. Because they had distorted God’s word, many whom they had taught would not enter the kingdom because they would not see Jesus for who he was.  These two remaining “woes” seem like distant warnings that have no application to us today but there are warnings imbedded in these last woes for us as well.

The question has always been why did the leaders of Israel reject the prophets when they came and why did they come to hate them so much that they had most of them killed to silence their rebukes?  I believe most of the reason rests in the human traits of pride and materialism.  Pride refuses to acknowledge error and wrongdoing.  When the prophets came to Israel they were always coming to call the nation to repentance because they had rejected the word of God and fallen into all kinds of sin including idolatry. When a nation is in error it is because it’s leaders have set the tone and led the way.  To receive the prophets rebuke would have meant acknowledging sin and error on their parts and they were not willing to admit their failures.  Rather than repenting, they claimed that God’s prophets were liars and heretics and eventually silenced many,

Materialism went hand in hand with pride because the leaders were living the good life.  They lived off the taxes of the people and spent their days circulating with the rich and powerful. When you reach a place of privilege you become invested in the status quo. You like the way things are and turn a deaf ear to those calling for reform.  Not only that but many religious individuals in places of privilege see their power and affluence as God’s seal of approval on their lives.  When prophets show up declaring that their spirituality is a sham, that they need to repent, and that judgment is in the pipeline….it’s not a message that is welcomed by the religious or political establishment.  Additionally, we can all fall into the trap of interpreting scripture in a way that justifies our own views and lifestyles and that condemns those who do not agree with us.

Eventually, those leaders who postured as those who loved and honored the prophets and who faithfully opened up God’s word to his people killed Jesus and persecuted the church.  They were so certain of themselves that even the miracles of Jesus and those who followed him would not open their eyes.  Pride refuses to ask, “Have I been wrong?”  The love of money and the praise of men refuse to consider their error and to repent because it might require walking away from the good life or losing their membership card to the upper rungs of society. These leaders truly chose riches in this world over riches in the next world.  They chose the pleasure of power and the praise of men over the applause of heaven.  The scary thing is that they did not seem to recognize what they were doing.

What then are the lessons for us? First of all we must always be aware that it is possible to be wrong and possible to be deceived by the flesh and the enemy.  Because of that we should constantly be asking the Spirit of God to lead us into all truth and to continue to give us hearts that will receive correction and be quick to repent.  We should sincerely ask for accountability in our lives and seek out faithful Christians who will tell us the truth.  We should even listen to our spouse who knows us better than anyone and to our enemies who may say some things we need to hear. When we are placed in positions of power and privilege we must monitor our hearts more than ever and invite accountability from spiritual people who have the character to offer course corrections when needed.

Ultimately, loving God, setting our mind on eternal things, and maintaining a heart of humility are the  great safeguards. If we want God to speak to us and work though us in powerful ways, we must always be open to the leading of the Spirit and the course corrections he brings to us each day.  Making small corrections each day is much easier than having to turn the ship 180 degrees and making up for lost time and opportunities. As I said yesterday, there is a little Pharisee in each of us so we must always guard against a tendency to ward pride and self-justification. But in doing so, we will be blessed!

I had a good friend in the Lord text me this morning about having met with a young believer recently who passionately insisted that God no longer speaks to his people apart from the Bible.  I was schooled in that theology for many years and know the warnings attached to it about the devil deceiving us if we receive any direction other than from the Word of God. The expression I always heard was that the Holy Spirit only speaks through scripture in this day and age.  Since we have the completed text of the Bible we need nothing else.

The idea is imbedded in the whole Cessationist view that God no longer works miracles as he did in the Bible and the Holy Spirit no longer bestows the power gifts of healing, prophecy, tongues, miracles, etc. as he did for the New Testament church.  The idea is that God only operated in those ways to confirm that Jesus was his Son and that those who wrote the Bible were indeed inspired. Once the New Testament was completed there was no further need for the miraculous since the record of such miracles should be sufficient. God speaking to men apart from his written word seems to land in that category of the miraculous so he must not act in those ways any longer.

Those who follow this view divide biblical history up into dispensations or eras in which God operated differently – especially the dispensations of the Old Covenant and the New. One was a covenant of Law, an earthly priesthood, the temple, animal sacrifices, and so forth.  The New Covenant is the era of grace, the gospel, the Holy Spirit, Jesus and the church without an earthly priesthood and animal sacrifices.  A mindset that divides the Bible into neat modules of time then leads one to ask how God will act differently in this age than he did before and so this theology ascribes miracles to times past but not today including God speaking to people apart for his written word.

Here is the problem I have with that view.  The attributes or the nature of God does not change in any dispensation.  Some attributes and some activities span all of history because they reflect who God is.   God expects righteousness in every generation and dispensation.  His call for sacrifice began just this side of the Garden of Eden and extends through all time by the eternal blood of the lamb and our lives (living sacrifices) and worship.  He has always operated as a covenant God and has always pursued a chosen people.  When we see God’s attributes in every dispensation recorded in scripture them we must believe that he displays those same attributes today unless there is a clear commandment to the contrary.

We can argue about many things but God has always spoken to his people apart from the written Word.  Of course, Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob preceded the written Law handed down on Sinai. But, since Elohim is relational and relationships have always been formed through personal, two-way communication, he spoke to the patriarchs and their sons.  Once the Law was given we could argue that Moses and Israel had the written record that was all they needed to live for God and keep his commandments.  But in addition, God gave Israel the Tent of Meeting where he could be sought out for personal communication. Even though Israel had the written word, he spoke apart form the written word to Moses, Joshua, all the judges, the prophets, and often priests.  He spoke to simple carpenters, virgins, and elderly widows who spent their time in the temple courts.  He spoke by his Spirit, by angels, by fleeces, by prophets, and so forth apart form the written word – the Torah.

In the New Testament we see the same pattern. God speaking to people through angels, dreams, visions, prophets, and his Spirit and these people were not all apostles or writers of the New Testament.  They were people who needed a specific word beyond what could be found in the scriptures.  In Acts 1, Peter declared that they must appoint an apostle to take the place of Judas.  Jesus had given them all the qualifications for an apostle but when the moment came they had a problem.  The word Jesus had already given them was not sufficient because they had two men qualified to be apostles but only one position. So…they asked God to speak to them apart from the Word that had already been given because only God knew the hearts of the men who were apparently both qualified.  They cast lots and Mathias was chosen.

We have the same dilemma time after time in our own lives. We love the Word, study the Word, and derive principals for godly living form that Word.  But on occasion we need more than principals – we need a clear word of direction or “leading” from the Lord. To say that we sensed God’s leading from circumstances is to admit that God gives us direction apart form his word in miraculous ways Even Cessationists pray for leading and direction in marriage, selection of pastors, missions, and so forth. Why not just look in the book?

It’s because we need a specific word for a specific circumstance and the written word cannot tell us whether to turn left or right.  If God leads apart form the Word through circumstances, or dreams, provision, or open and closed doors then he communicates apart from his Word.  Hearing his voice is not different. And we should not be surprised because God has spoken to his people in that way on nearly every page of the Bible as an example of his hunger for relationship with his children. To say he spoke from Genesis to Revelation apart from a written word but became silent as soon as the last apostle died is to deny the very nature and the patterns of God across the ages.  Even those who don’t believe God speaks hear him.  They simply don’t know that what they are hearing is from the Father. They miss so much and miss so much of the relationship.  My hope is that you hear from him today – through his written word and in many other ways.  Listen…. God is speaking.   Be blessed.

The gospels are the story of Jesus but they are also the stories of people touched by Jesus.  They are stories of ordinary people suffering in all the ways the world afflicts its citizens.  These people suffered from bondage to sin, physical disabilities, physiological conditions, psychological conditions, isolation, rejection, bitterness, loss, discrimination, hunger, spiritual thirst, and demonic affliction of all kinds. Some even suffered from death which is a fairly serious condition.  Jesus had an answer for each of those things.

Many Christians scan the gospels and accept the miracles of deliverance, healing, raising the dead, and transforming lives as true but attribute those events to the deity of Jesus.  “Of course he could do those things because he was God. But, we can’t expect to do those things because we are not God.” Certainly, he was God, but he didn’t come as God.  His primary identification was the Son of Man.

Jesus has the position of God but came in the condition of man.  He chose to face the devil and life on this planet as a man rather than as God in a man suit.  If he walked among us as God then he didn’t suffer temptation as we did. He never truly felt hunger or fear or rejection. But the writer of Hebrews says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Heb.4:15).  Jesus wasn’t Jesus before he put on flesh.  He was the Word of God and Adoni sitting on a heavenly throne in Isaiah 6. Before he put on flesh he was God and manifested as God in all things. But when he put on flesh, he checked his God and creator- of- the-universe abilities at the door.

At the point of conception in a human body he became Jesus, Son of Man.  Paul declared, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim.2:5). Paul did not say the god Christ Jesus but the man Christ Jesus. I do believe God had given Jesus the right to pick up his divine capacities at any time if he chose to do so.  Jesus said, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (Jn.10:17-18).  In another place Jesus said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels” (Mt.26:53)?   It seems to me that the Word and the Father had a deal.  “Okay, you go as a man, live as a man, suffer as a man, and face temptation like a man but if at any moment you think these people aren’t worth it, you exercise your deity and get out of there.” The miracle to me is that Jesus chose to stick it out as a man even unto death in the face of man’s worst scorn and brutality.

Jesus came to show us how a man could live on the earth when he walked in close fellowship with the Father.  He didn’t come to show us how God could live on the earth in close fellowship with the Father.  That example would have done us no good.  In addition, Jesus sent out numbers of ordinary men who performed the same miracles he did and said that those who believe on him would not only do what he did, but would do even greater things (See Jn. 14:12).   As Jesus walked the earth he touched lives that were radically changed by his love and power.  My point is that he expects us to do the same thing. Jesus expects his church to carry on his mission of preaching good news, binding up the broken hearted, setting captives free, giving sight to the blind, and facilitating radical change in the lives of men and women.

Our church offers a ministry entitled Free Indeed and it is the source of the material in my book Born to Be Free. For the past six years we have watched God dramatically change hundreds of lives in a few weeks rather than in decades. We just finished our most recent installment of Free Indeed and watched eighty people discover the love of the God and the power of the kingdom over a period of two months and a weekend.  Most were changed forever and set free by his touch and his power. People are amazed at what Jesus does in those few weeks but the truth is that we simply teach the basics of scripture – what Jesus did for us at the cross, who we are in Christ, the expectation of radical transformation in the kingdom, how to hear God and receive from him, how to walk in authority, and the basics of spiritual warfare.

We teach these basics over a period of eight weeks and then engage everyone in a weekend of experiencing Jesus through inner healing and deliverance and Jesus always does amazing things.  He does those with the basics of our faith and a lot of very imperfect vessels that serve as leaders – including myself.  People discover who they are.  They experience deep emotional and spiritual healing as well as physical healing.  They are set free from their past, the lies of Satan, and demonic affliction that has hindered their walk with the Lord for years.   In other words, we simply do what Jesus did every day.

My question is, “If we see that much power and transformation from simply learning and doing the basics of our faith, how much greater could our impact be on the world if we plunged into the deeper things of the Spirit and the kingdom?  How much greater impact could we have if we just did the basics in everyone’s church rather than in a few?”  When we take Jesus at his word that we are to do the things he did, faith becomes exciting. When we risk being disappointed because a certain person might not be healed or delivered we find that we are not disappointed because being willing to risk something for Jesus is its own reward.  Not only that, but many, many are healed, delivered, and transformed in the name of Jesus.  How fun is that!

So today, let me encourage you to just trust Jesus in the basics. Believe that whatever he did, he did as a man and as a man or woman of faith, he will do it through you again.   In doing so, he will bless many and you will feel the joy of partnering with your Lord and Savior in radically changing lives and destinies.  Go for it and be blessed!

Elijah was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament.  I say that because, Jesus declared that John the Baptist had come in the spirit of Elijah and was the one given the honor to announce the coming of Messiah.  When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John it was Moses and Elijah who met with Jesus on that mountain (see Matt. 17:3).

Elijah simply appears in the pages of scripture in 1 Kings 17.  We know nothing of his parents, his tribe or his upbringing.  He simply appears in the days of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel who promoted idol worship in Israel and who ruled as tyrants.  Elijah seems to be the forerunner of John the Baptist in many ways.  He confronted Ahab about his sins as John confronted Herod. He seemed to live mostly in the desert and wore a garment of hair with a leather belt around his waist (2 Kings 1:8) which sounds very much like John the Baptist.  Elijah differs, however, in that he performed miracles and was provided for miraculously while we have no record of John the Baptist ever performing a miracle.

It was Elijah who declared that there would be no dew or rain in Israel for three and a half years except at hos own word. It was also Elijah who confronted 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah on the top of Mount Carmel.  He stood against then and King Ahab until Jehovah was proven to be the true God and the prophets of Baal destroyed.  He was then instructed to go pray for rain and after doing so God sent rain after the three and a half year drought in Israel.  By the way, if Ahab had ever killed Elijah before he prayed for rain it is possible that it would have never rained again in Israel because the drought was to be broken only by Elijah’s words.

As you read the 17^th and 18^th chapters of 1 Kings, Elijah appears to be the fearless, unshakeable man of God that we all want to be.  But something out of character occurs in chapter 19.  After the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Ahab told Jezebel what had happened to her “pet priests.” After hearing about their destruction, Jezebel sent word to Elijah that she had taken a vow to kill him within the next 24 hours.

The text then reads,  “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep” (1 Kings 19:3-5).

What we see in Elijah is a spiritual reality that we all need to be aware of.  Often, after great spiritual victories, we become susceptible to fatigue and fear.  Think about it.  Elijah had just completed an amazing day of spiritual victory – confronting Ahab, calling down fire from heaven, destroying the prophets of Baal, and then ran a marathon (see 1 Kings 18:45) to Jezreel.  He did all of this in the power of the Spirit.  However, when the infinite Spirit of God works through the finite body and soul of a man, spiritual and physical fatigue often sets in.  Even Jesus experienced that in his body so that at times he would separate himself from the crowds to seek a quiet place, rest, and time with the Father.

To put it bluntly, put a fork in Elijah because he is done. Elijah is drained at the end of the day and when the threat from Jezebel is delivered, he just doesn’t have the energy or faith to go another round. We like Elijah need to know that we are often vulnerable to the enemy after great spiritual victories or even spiritual highs.  We especially experience that desire to flee when we thought the battle was over and another assault from the enemy suddenly appears.

We have an event called Freedom Weekend where our team will minister in prayer and deliverance to 60 to 70 people over a period of 4 or 5 hours.  At the end of the day, there is always a sense of thankfulness for what God has done and a sense of victory over the enemy.  But there always comes a moment when our team is “done” and no one wants to hear that someone needs a little more deliverance. Our team goes home fulfilled, excited, and tired. All they want is a warm meal and a warm bed.  We have also noticed that for the next week or two there is often a since of spiritual fatigue and almost a spiritual apathy that sets in.  We call this the “Elijah syndrome.” This is a time that we need to rest but also to be very wary of the enemy who wants to exploit that spiritual vulnerability.

Elijah ran away from more battles at the time but God cared for him along the way and was waiting for him when he arrived at Horeb and hid in a cave. Ultimately, Elijah needed a break from the battle; he needed sleep, food, rest, and some time alone.  He needed to hear the small, still voice of God to renew him.  If we try to analyze Elijah’s thoughts we sense that after his great victory of faith, he thought that Ahab and the world around him would change for the better.  Jezebel’s threat left him feeling as if his efforts for God had made no difference.  The enemy was still bold and enthroned and now he was in the crosshairs of, perhaps, the most wicked woman of her time or any time. However, Elijah has set in motion a sequence that would soon take both Ahab and Jezebel off the throne and out of this world.  He discovered that he was not alone in his love for God and righteousness, and he had won the praise of God which is the ultimate prize indeed.

In my last blog I spoke about being aware of the devil’s schemes and so I wanted to make you aware or to remind you of this natural spiritual let down that often occurs right after a mountaintop experience with God. When you have labored hard for a victory and have won the battle, be prepared to experience what Elijah experienced.  Elijah was disappointed in himself for his spiritual letdown but God cared for him and encouraged him until his spiritual energy was restored.  The letdown doesn’t always occur but it occurs often, so find a way to get some rest, spend a little time alone but get some people around you to pray and talk about the victory and to celebrate the win. Ask them to pray for you to be rejuvenated and spend quiet time listening to God. The enemy would love for you to get down on yourself because you suddenly don’t feel like the great man or woman of faith that you seemed to be 24 hours earlier.  He would love to accuse and condemn but just know that it is a natural cycle that even the greatest of prophets experienced and know that your passion and faith will return soon.

Be blessed today in God’s care.

In these last days, God will be pouring out more of his Spirit to match (actually overmatch) the counterfeit wonders and miracles of the enemy that are coming.  Within the church, we will see a continuing growth in gifts of healings, tongues, miracles and prophecy. That is a good thing and yet there will be growing pains as men and women will attempt to operate in these gifts without the benefit of being mentored by those who are mature in the use of these gifts. Many will begin to experience these gifts in fellowships where the miraculous gifts have been denied or simply ignored.  They will not have ready access to spiritual mentors in those areas.

If you are one of these individuals who hunger after these gifts or who is beginning to experience the activation of these gifts in your life, I encourage you to ask the Spirit to direct you to spiritual mentors in the community who are mature, godly, and experienced in the operation of these gifts.  Let me warn you that strong “giftings” do not necessarily indicate mature spirituality. There are some men and women who move powerfully in gifts of healing or deliverance or even prophecy whose gifts run ahead of their spiritual maturity.  We often see that phenomenon in the natural realm with athletes, musicians, and even politicians. There giftedness brings them riches, fame, and acclaim long before their character can handle those things.  It can happen in the spiritual realm as well.  Because of that, as you seek mentors look for longevity and character in the exercise of the spiritual gifts you are seeking or experiencing more that the flamboyant fruit of someone who is “wowing” everyone with their gifts.  The mature may also amaze people with their gifts but they will carry with them the mantle of humility as well.

As we move into this time frame of an increase in the miraculous gifts of the church we will also need to be cautious and gracious with those who are very gifted but not so experienced. This may be especially true in gifts of prophecy.  Mature prophets know that the gift is given for the comfort, encouragement, and strengthening of the person receiving the word.  They know that not everything they are shown by God is to be shared with the receiver.  Some knowledge they receive is simply to set the context for the rest of the message and is not to be shared – especially in a public setting.  For instance, a prophet may be shown a sin or a traumatic event in the life of a person to set the context for what God wants spoken over them to set them free from the sin or heal the trauma. However, the sin or the trauma is not to be revealed publically and maybe not even privately.

God is not in the business of shaming or re-traumatizing the people he loves. Those who are operating in the gift without maturity or mentoring may not realize that and some people may be hurt or embarrassed by the immature exercise of these gifts.  If so, we should not dismiss the gift and we will have to have grace toward the prophet.  We will all make mistakes as we grow and cannot grow without exercising the gifts.

Some prophetic words will be right on target and some may miss the target because we “know in part and we prophesy in part.”  We will need to test the prophecy and retain what the Spirit confirms with our spirit and hold the remainder loosely.  In this season of empowering, we will need to affirm the gifts and the gifted without requiring perfection or we will quench the Spirit in our churches or in our own hearts. We will certainly need to test the spirits and the prophecies but we must do so with grace and love rather than distrust and cynicism.

For those who are desiring the miraculous gifts or beginning to experience them, as I said before, I encourage you to seek mentors in your fellowship or in another part of the body of Christ in your community – balanced, gifted, humble and mature Christians operating in these gifts.  In addition to or in place of those mentors, God is also providing this mentoring through anointed books and teachings.  The prophet Isaiah spoke of the time when the knowledge of God would cover the earth.  The spread of that knowledge is being done, in part, right now by the writing of books, teachings on DVD’s, etc.  These can also be great mentoring tools.

Of course, the question becomes which of those can be reliable mentors?  I can’t give you a list, but let me say that you should look for or listen for several indicators of spiritual maturity in the writer or teacher.

• Does the author or teacher reflect the Spirit and character of Christ – love,  joy, peace, gentleness, patience, etc?
• Does the author or teacher point you to Jesus more than the gifts?
• Does the author or teacher quote scripture responsibly or does he/she misuse the Word to validate their own ministries and personal theology?
• Is there humility in their writing or teaching rather than pride and arrogance?
• Is there a critical spirit toward others or do they love the entire body of Christ?
• After asking the Holy Spirit to lead you into truth, does the writing or teaching resonate with your spirit or trouble you?
• Do other mature Christians who accept the full ministry of the Holy Spirit recommend the book?

In the coming months and years, God will continue to pour out more and more power on his church if his church is willing to receive it and become a faithful steward of the gifts. I encourage you to be in that part of his church that does so.  These gifts will not just be healing, prophecy or miracles but amazing gifts of mercy, generosity, teaching, administration, music, wisdom, and so forth. They will be required to face the last great assaults of the enemy on planet earth. Each of us will be on a growth curve in learning how to operate in our respective gifts. Be wise but also give yourself and others grace as we growth.

Sometime before Thanksgiving I will post the recommended books you have commented on.  I would still like to continue to hear from you about the most transformative books in your life so that others can drink from the same pool.  Be blessed.

I have heard it said that “Jesus is imprisoned within many believers and desperately wants out. “ It’s not that he wants to separate himself from any of us.  It’s just that Jesus decided to take up residence within us by his Spirit so that he could continue to have a physical presence on the earth through us.

Paul put it this way, “ I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me” (Gal.2:20).  The implication of that statement is that Paul lived constantly by the leading of the Spirit so that in any given moment he would do what Jesus would have done and say what Jesus would have said.  In that way,  Christ was incarnated once again in Paul.

We all remember the WWJD bracelets that were popular a few years ago.  The idea seemed to be that when confronted with an issue, a challenge, or a dilemma, we should ask, “What would Jesus do if he were in my shoes?”  It’s a great question, but I think most of us want to consult with Jesus or meditate on his life when we get to a fork in the road and we are uncertain of our path, when crisis rolls in and we are uncertain how to pray, or when temptation is pulling at us and we are thinking about giving in.

But Paul’s statement seems to encompass every moment of every day rather than moments of crisis or indecision.  Have you ever wondered…

• What would Jesus do if he were just wandering around Wal-Mart?
• What would he do in the midst of screaming parents at a little league game?
• What would he do when no one was looking?
• What would he do in the face of tragedy as he sat with a family who just got a diagnosis of stage-four cancer in the mother of two small children?
• What would he do with the homeless man on the corner hustling money?
• What would he do with a thirteen year old girl who just came home and announced she was pregnant or gay?
• What would Jesus do at the scene of an accident where a six year old boy who was hit by a car just died on the side of the road?
• What would he do as he sat at board meeting for a Fortune 500 business?
• What would he do while he was on the job checking people out at an all night convenience store?

My point is that Jesus wants to live through us in every circumstance of life – not just when we are stuck or in a moral dilemma.  To let Jesus out, we need to sense through his Spirit what he would do or say in any of those settings. What would he talk about with the people paying for gas at midnight?  Would he immediately pray for supernatural healing for the cancer victim or pray for life to reenter the six year old body of an accident victim? Would he take the homeless man for a meal and talk about his life?   If he would, then we should.

If we are to let Jesus out of his prison, we must do whatever he would do. Sometimes I believe he would just tell someone that God loves them.  Sometimes he would just carry a heavy grocery bag for an arthritic grandmother. Sometimes he would get the in the face of a religious tyrant and at other times he would heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, and talk to someone about the kingdom of God – even at Starbucks.   He might even mow his neighbor’s yard just for fun.

So…just for fun, let’s all be Jesus today in every setting in which we find ourselves.  Let’s ask the Spirit to prompt us to absolutely be Jesus not only in the extraordinary moments of our day but also in the most ordinary moments of our day as well. For today, let’s let Jesus out and then do it again tomorrow.

Now that you have some framework for hearing God and testing the voice, I want to offer some guidelines for developing a life in which hearing God is the norm.

Guidelines for Hearing God

Sometimes God bursts into our lives with a thundering word as He did with Saul on his way to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9).   But most often, His is the “still, quiet voice” of Elijah’s cave (1 Kings 19:11-12).  Our part is to become effective receivers.  The voice of God fills the air like radio waves.  But if we are to hear His voice we must be tuned to the right frequency.  The following guidelines help us “tune in” to God.

1.  Expect to hear from God.  (See Jn. 16:12-15)

Jesus promised that He would send His Spirit to teach us, remind us, lead us, take from Him and speak those things to us, bear witness with our spirit, etc.  Expect what Jesus promised.

2. Be willing to hear from God about every area of your life.  (See 2 Cor. 10: 5)

Taking every thought captive to Christ means submitting every part of our life and soul to him.  If we want to limit God’s involvement in our life and declare certain areas “off limits, ” we will not hear from him often.  Those will be the areas about which he wants to speak most, since those areas will be the strongholds in our lives that keep us from being free in Christ.

3.  Invite Him to speak. (See 1 Sam. 3: 8-9)

Ask Jesus to speak and invite Him to say whatever He wants to say to you.

4. Be still and know….  (See Ps. 46: 10)

Stop your busyness.  Learn to sit and listen quietly.  Be willing to wait for his voice.

5. Be patient.  (See Ps. 130:5)

Often, we will need to wait on the Lord, sitting quietly for a while.  God may also choose not to say anything that day but keep asking and listening.

6.  Enter His presence with worship, the Word, thanksgiving, and prayer.  (See Ps. 100: 4)

The psalmist tells us that praise brings us into God’s presence.  In addition, seeking God through his word and through your prayer language prepares you to hear him more clearly.

7.  Write down what you hear, see or feel.  (See Hab. 2:1-2)

God’s word is precious. Journaling is an effective way to remember what God has spoken to you personally and to see his hand on your life as you review your journal from time to time.

8.  Act on those things that you believe you have heard from God.  (See Jn. 14:21)
Sometimes God will speak things that are just to be received rather than acted upon.  But when he tells us to do something, we should act.  Obedience brings greater revelation. Disobedience quenches the Spirit and hinders our hearing from God. Again, if he is asking you to take life-altering actions, test the spirit and seek confirmation.

9. Be open to seeing Jesus through the eyes of your heart as he reveals himself to you. (See    Eph. 1:17-19)

You may ask him to show himself to you in scenes from his word, from a place of safety where you have encountered him before, or a place that he shows you. Fix your eyes on Jesus. (Heb. 12:2)

10. Exercise authority over the enemy if you sense that the he is interfering with your ability to hear God.

Declare something like the following:

“In the name of Jesus, I declare that I have the mind of Christ and I renounce all the works of Satan along with the thoughts of the flesh and the enemy.  I now submit my intellect, my emotions, my will, and my imagination to Jesus and ask him to capture every thought and make it His.  I submit my mind to the Lordship of Jesus and in his name and by his blood I bind Satan and any demonic spirit from speaking to me. I command you in the name of Jesus to be silent and not to interfere in any way while the Lord Jesus speaks to me.  Amen

Hindrances to Hearing God in the next post.

When we believe that we may have heard from God, we are to test what we have heard or sensed.

     Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. (1 Jn. 4:1)

The first test for determining whose voice we have heard is always the Word of God.

We must determine whether or not the thought is consistent with God’s truth as revealed in His written word.  If not, disregard what you have heard. Of course, that also places a burden on us to know the Word of God well enough to test what we have heard against scripture.  We must always be aware that God will never contradict his word but He may contradict our understanding of His word.  Be open to the Holy Spirit giving you a new understanding of familiar scriptures as well as scriptures that catch your eye for the first time. If you are unsure whether a thought, a word, or an image lines up with scripture, share it with a spiritual mentor who has a strong biblical foundation.

There are four other good tests in addition to the Word of God.

1.  Does the “voice” or message seem consistent with the character of God or Jesus?

The character of God is revealed in the fruit of the Spirit passage of Galatians. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. “ (Gal. 5:22)

John tells us that “God is love” (1 Jn.4:8) and Paul gives us a working definition of love.  He says, “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:4-8).

The message and the “spirit” or “quality” of the message, then, will reflect those characteristics if it is from God. If the “voice” you hear is accusing, condemning, rude, boastful, mean, angry, or demeaning, it is not from God. If the voice asks you to do something contrary to scripture or if it violates his righteousness, it is not from God.

2.   Does the message produce peace in your heart?

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you.  My peace I now give and bequeath to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid”  (Jn. 14:27). Paul also spoke about peace.  He said, “But the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, both now and forever” (Rom. 8:6). The fruit of the Spirit includes peace.

Sometimes God speaks things we don’t fully understand.  Sometimes He may send conviction about sin in our life.  Sometimes we may receive a word of discipline or a message about changes or even hardships we will be facing. But when God has finished speaking, there is always a sense of peace that surrounds His word.  God does not have plans to hurt us, but to bless us and, in our spirits, His word leaves that assurance.

3.    Do spiritual mentors sense that what you have heard is from God?

It is always valuable to have one or two spiritual mentors who have learned to hear God’s voice themselves and to share with them what you are hearing. They will often have a sense about the quality and content of what you are hearing that will help you develop your discernment.

4.  Confirmations

God is not offended when we ask him to confirm the word we believe we have received from him. In cases where we believe God is calling us to drastic action or significant changes in our lives, it is wise to pray for confirmation. Gideon asked for confirmation through the exercise of a ram’s fleece (see Judges 6:35-40) before he led Israel in battle. Jonathan sought confirmation through the verbal response of his enemies (see 1 Samuel 14:6-14) before he and his armor bearer attacked a Philistine garrison alone.  When we believe God has called on us to act in some life altering way, we may want to seek confirmation that we have heard him correctly.

Remember, we are not doubting God. We are simply making sure that we clearly heard from him and understood his intent. Confirmation can come in a variety of ways. Perhaps, circumstances line up in extraordinary ways or provision comes to us in miraculous ways. Individuals may come to us and tell us that God spoke to them about what we have been considering. We simply put our own “fleece” forward and ask for that confirmation just as Gideon and Jonathan did.  God honored their requests and we can expect him to honor ours. There will come a time when we will know God’s voice so well that confirmation will not be necessary, but as we are growing in this spiritual realm we may well want to seek his confirmation before acting.

More on Discerning God’s Voice in the next segment of this series.