When speaking about false prophets, Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Mt.7:15-20).

This warning about false prophets suggests than men will come into the church with hidden agendas and, typically, try to draw followers after them for financial gain or to introduce heresies into the church. Jesus suggested that the fruit they bear will indicate whether they are from God or not. These false prophets apparently are intentional about their deception. Their fruit will be a watered down gospel, division in the church, immorality, and an unbiblical view of Jesus and salvation. These men must be recognized, warned, and dealt with by church leadership in order to protect the flock.

Sometimes, however, parts of the body of Christ have been too quick to label someone with whom they disagree as a false prophet who needs to be immediately run out of town. More often, the church has experienced well-meaning people with poor theology which they came by honestly. Lets face it, most of us were introduced to our view of scripture (theology) by those who brought us to Christ and by leaders in the group that became our initial spiritual family. Because we knew very little or no Bible, we received their teaching without any critical evaluation. We also held these preachers and teachers in high esteem because those with whom we had relationships held them in high esteem. If they taught something that we questioned or that seemed to contradict something we had read in scripture, we typically ignored our objections and accepted their theology because “they knew so much more Bible than we did.” That happens in generations of Christians who trust their teachers who trusted their teachers who trusted their teachers, and so on.

What we need to understand is that poor theology can be passed on by well-meaning and good-hearted people and that we can question their theology without questioning the faith or sincerity of those who hold it. I believe that a great deal of poor or inadequate theology has been passed down from generation to generation in the church and that one of the ways we can evaluate theology, like prophets, is by its fruit.

One of the major theologies that concerns me (okay – aggravates me) today has been around for a couple of hundred years but has really gained prominence among evangelicals in the past fifty years. It is the theology that states that the signs of the end times include the worsening of the world and the inevitable weakening and ineffectiveness of the church.   Embedded in this theology is the idea that this weakening and worldwide persecution of the church is God’s plan and is, therefore, inevitable. Since it is inevitable and since we are surely in the end times, we must simply resign ourselves to the decline of the church and the increase of evil until Jesus returns. Those who accept that premise, tend to give up on redeeming nations and cultures for Christ and settle for getting a few more into the kingdom of God before the end while mostly bunkering in and protecting what we have.

The fruit of that theology has been a defeatist attitude, pessimism, and a fatalistic approach to reclaiming our own nation. Many Christians feel helpless and weak in the face of culture and “big moves” of the devil. The only news that is reported about the church is decline and apathy and so many believers are bunkering in and waiting for the end. There is a problem with that view. Just because something is being reported by anti-Christian media outlets does not make it true or the whole story. The church is flourishing worldwide. Secondly, it is not an acceptable attitude for those who are more than conquerors. I was scanning Bill Johnson’s new book, God is Good, and appreciated what he had to say about that mindset. I thought I would share it with you.

“Vision starts with identity and purpose. Through a revolution in our identity, we can think with divine purpose. Such a change begins with a revelation of Him. One of the tragedies of a weakened identity is how it affects our approach to Scripture. Many, if not most, theologians make the mistake of taking all the good stuff contained in the prophets and sweeping it under the mysterious rug called the Millennium…I want to challenge our thinking and deal with our propensity that puts off those things that require courage, faith, and action to another period of time. The mistaken idea is this: if it is good, it can’t be for now. A cornerstone of this theology is that the condition of the church will always be getting worse and worse; therefore, tragedy in the church is just another sign of these being the last days. In a perverted sense, the weakness of the Church confirms to many that they are on the right course. The worsening condition of the world and the Church becomes a sign to them that all is well. I have many problems with that kind of thinking, but only one I will mention now – it requires no faith! We are so entrenched in unbelief that anything contrary to this worldview is thought to be of the devil” (Bill Johnson, God is Good, p.54-55. DestinyImage Publishing).

Can any theology that bears the fruit of futility, hopelessness, and weakness in the Church be good or healthy theology? How can our biblical identity of being sons and daughters of a triumphant King who has all authority in heaven and on earth, walking in power, doing greater things that he did with a co-mission to go out and make disciples of all nations (not just a handful of people within a nation), fit into that defeatist view of our times?

Jesus does not cower and hide away because the world is bleak. He has overcome the world. We are more than conquerors. Proverbs says that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. As the church thinketh in her heart so is she. What a coup for the enemy that he has introduced a theology into a large part of the church that accepts decline and defeat for the church as God’s perfect and irresistible plan. The kingdom of God does not retreat. The Kingdom of God does not shrink. It is not the nature of Christ to cower. Whatever happened to the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church? Much of the church seems to be like Israel who hid in their tents when Goliath would come out to challenge them. In their own eyes they were defeated before the battle even started. What we need is a church full of David’s who envisioned holding the head of the giant in his hands because his God was way bigger than any Philistine strong man.

Isaiah declared of Messiah, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end (emphasis added). He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isa.9:6-7).

I see no parenthesis in the increase of his government. I do not see this occurring only in the Millennium. If that prophecy is confined to the age to come, then Jesus is not yet on the throne of David, not yet Prince of Peace, not yet Wonderful Counselor, and so forth. We can evaluate theology by its fruit and make biblical adjustments without calling those who promote it false prophets. If they are preaching their best current understanding of scripture with sincerity, they are not false prophets. They are simply men and women who need to reconsider their theology apart from the orthodox status it has among their denominational leaders. By the way, most of the churches who hold this pessimistic view of a languishing church in the end times are also cessationist churches that believe that God no longer performs miraculous feats on behalf of his people. Powerlessness, of course, breeds despair.

If you have felt despair and hopelessness in your life and your world because of this theology, you have my permission to reconsider your understanding. Anything that works against faith, hope, optimism, and a conquering spirit but instead produces fear and doubt cannot be of God. If the fruit of that view has produced good fruit in your life and church them hang on to it. If not, do some more study with a different set of eyes.

If we know who we are in Christ – sons and daughters, priests and kings, the temple of the Holy Spirit, seated with Christ in Heavenly realms, more than conquerors, ambassadors of Christ, healers, prophets, those who trample on snakes and scorpions, and those who will do even greater things than he did – then we cannot accept a theology that negates everything we are.

From time to time we need to examine what we really believe and what beliefs or theologies are influencing us. What has the fruit been in your life? If your theology or your church’s theology has been Christ-centered, empowering, encouraging, hopeful, demon-kicking, and transformative then you are in a good place. First of all, those qualities reflect the character and Spirit of Christ and any truth from him should bear that fruit in us. If, however, you are discouraged, fearful, dreading the future, and exhausted…that is not from Christ for we have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Check the fruit not only of prophets but also of theologies. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth and give you a greater understanding of who you are and who He is in these present days. After all, that us part of his job description and no matter what is happening around us, he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. Our Lord has already overcome this world and we already share in that victory… so be encouraged and blessed in Him today.

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7 ( KJV)

Most of us are familiar with the proverb quoted above. In contemporary language, it means that a man typically lives up to his self-image – the view he holds of himself. If he sees himself as small and insignificant, incompetent and failure prone, he will accomplish little in life because he will attempt little. He will never see himself as a leader and, therefore, will not step into that role even if it is offered to him. He will settle for lesser jobs than he is capable of because he doesn’t believe that he is capable and will settle for lesser relationships because he will feel he doesn’t deserve more. It’s not just men who are crippled by a small and insignificant self-image, women fall into that trap as well.

I am the convinced that the church has fallen into that trap as well. The church, typically, has a much smaller view of herself than God does. The enemy has done an outstanding job convincing us that the words of Christ are not really true when he said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church.

Somewhere, Satan planted a distorted interpretation of certain passages in the Bible that has become a prevalent theological view, especially in the past 50 years. The view is that in the last days, evil will abound more and more and that the church as well as goodness will dwindle and become week. The idea is that things will get so bad and the church will be so down trodden that Jesus will simply pull his people out in moment called the rapture. Basically, this view declares that Jesus will have to evacuate his people from a lost cause. Of course, then after the tribulation, he will return with his saints and establish his millennial reign. Scriptures do say that the world will get darker in the last days but light always shines brighter in the darkness. The question is how do we respond to this growing kingdom of darkness. Does the church find herself helpless to push back or do we walk in the authority of the King and take planet earth back in his name?

Many prophecies declare just the opposite of this view that in the last days the church will seemingly have no power against the darkness. Isaiah declares, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (Isa.2:2-4).

This is a picture of the church that has been exalted above earthly governments and the nations are drawn to the wisdom and glory of the church. Isaiah says that this will occur in the last days. In Acts 2, Peter declared that the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost marked the “last days.” Many theologians refer to this period as the church age. We are still in those days and believe it or not, many leaders of nations around the globe are meeting with God’s prophets in private meetings in search of wisdom and problem solving for their nations. They are already coming to the church for answers and finding those answers just as Isaiah prophesied.   Entire nations such, as Honduras, are inviting the church in to preach and share the gospel in schools, universities, and even police stations because they sense we have the answer to something they desperately need.

Habakkuk also prophesied, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab.2:14). Later, Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations because he had been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt.28:18-20). In recent years, the church has decided that Jesus meant for us to make a few disciples in every nation rather than to make disciples of entire nations. We have settled for less.

In the Book of Acts, Peter preached, “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:19-21)

What restoration is Jesus waiting for? Could it be the restoration of the church to its intended glory – the bride of Christ, strong and radiant, and reigning on the earth so that she is a glorious bride waiting for her glorious groom? For centuries, Christians believed that they had a hand in the return of Jesus and that when they had preached the gospel to every creature under heaven he would return. Now, many Christians believe that the trigger point for his return is when the world inevitably gets bad enough and the church inevitably gets weak enough that we must be rescued. With that view, who would even try to redeem culture or nations? Who would even try to cover the earth with the knowledge of God, disciple nations, and draw world leaders to herself? Even if a believer has a desire to do those things, he or she is told that it would be futile because it is not God’s plan. But what if Jesus is waiting until the church restores the glory and leadership of God’s people that he always intended? What if he is waiting for the church to restore glory to the Kingdom so that nations come to us as in the days of Solomon when kings and queens travelled to Jerusalem to seek his wisdom and see his glory?

Much of the church today does not see herself as the glorious bride of Christ triumphing in victory over the enemy and bringing in a harvest of nations for her king so that God’s intent – that his children will rule this planet as his representatives – will be restored and then Jesus will return. We are like the Israelites who saw giants in the land and saw themselves as grasshoppers in comparison. Even though God had promised them that he would give them the land and every place they set their foot, as grasshoppers, they saw no point in even making the effort.

At this point, most of the church is suffering from a poor self-image – the bride of Christ, weak and worn, tarnished and looking desperately to escape this planet rather than winning the war. It is true that Jesus came the first time as the meek and submissive Lamb of God who would not lift a hand to defend himself against the enemy. But he rose as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Rider on the White Horse and the Commander of the Armies of Heaven with all authority in heaven and on earth. It is not his nature to role over and give the earth to Satan after he died to take it back. It is not his nature to retreat when he declared that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church and it must not be the nature of his church or our nature, as followers of the King, to retreat or see ourselves as weak and helpless either.

As the church thinketh in her heart so is she. We need to redefine our view of the church and with that to redefine our view of ourselves as those who make up the church. There are sports teams who have a tradition of winning and confidence that they will continue to win. When they walk on the field or the court they see themselves as the victors before the game even begins and they walk with a certain swagger that intimidates their opponents. Even when things get hard in the game they still believe they will win in the end because, in their hearts, they are champions. We need to believe that we are champions because the leader of our team cannot be defeated and that leader lives within each of us.

The Lord tells us that we are more than conquerors, that we can do all things through Christ, that we have been given power and authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, that we can make disciples of all nations, and that Satan himself will flee when we resist. How does that add up to a desperate church waiting to be evacuated from the planet their King died to redeem?

If I know I am part of a winning team, then I can see myself as a winner. If I know I am on a championship team then I can see myself as a champion. As we define the church, we define her members. We define ourselves. We need to begin to speak and prophesy victory rather than defeat, glory rather than insignificance, and exaltation rather than humiliation. We are the body of Christ in this world and Jesus doesn’t lose. As you go out today, walk and think like a champion because that is who you are in Christ.

I’ve put off commenting on the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage because everyone and their dog have been commenting on it from every direction. For some it was no surprise – just the inevitable end of a long slide toward anti-biblical and anti-Christian values in America. For others it was the last nail in the coffin that will surely bring down the wrath of God on this nation. For still others it was a step in the right direction for tolerance in America moving us toward a “just America” where everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.

I guess I will share my thoughts now to add to your own. First of all, God was not taken by surprise when the edict from the Supreme Court was announced. In fact, very few of us were surprised. We had hoped for another outcome but did not have a great deal of expectation. A large majority of states has already legalized same-sex marriage and the number of homosexual couples in America did not suddenly spike because of the ruling. Those individuals were already living the lifestyle and won’t be anymore displeasing to the Lord today than they were a week ago. In addition, all of the heterosexuals in America who are cohabiting or secretly sleeping with someone else’s spouse or abusing their children won’t be any more displeasing to the Lord than they were a week ago.

I’m not saying the decision doesn’t matter. It does. Leadership matters. The White House or now “the Rainbow House” has not only tolerated the homosexual agenda but has now elevated it to a celebrated lifestyle. This, however, is just one more example of a nation’s leaders labeling those things that are good as being evil and those things that are evil as being good. My biggest concern is that this public declaration by the Supreme Court will convey the idea to our children and teens that homosexuality is now a moral lifestyle because it is protected by law. Remember, however, that at one time, slavery was protected by law. A nation’s law may say something is good or acceptable, but does not make it so.

I am also convinced that since our leaders continue to align themselves with Satan, they have opened the doors to even more demonic activity in America than we have seen before. We will be seeing a spike in the “spiritual warfare meter” over America. The mainstream media will be complicit with this agenda and will celebrate and continue to normalize same-sex marriage so that our children will grow up believing that it has always been part of the fabric of American culture – along with the sexual immorality, violence, and “real housewives” behavior that they see hourly now.

In the midst of this, what is our response? We live for Jesus. Our King is still on his throne and has not compromised. We have dual citizenship as Americans and as citizens of heaven but our citizenship in heaven must always have our greatest loyalty. As the light of the world, His church should shine even brighter in this darkness. Our values do not change even as culture ebbs and flows. Our assignment is still the same – make disciples of all nations beginning now with America. Will there be persecution in America? Probably. Christians who stand on the Word of God will be labeled as intolerant bigots and those who demand tolerance will attempt to crush those who don’t agree with them. But that is already happening.

Undoubtedly we will begin to feel some of the heat that our fellow believers in the rest of the world have felt for decades. Believers in America will have to decide whether they will stand with Jesus or bend to the culture trying to seek acceptance. Is all lost? Not at all. The church survived the brutality of Rome and built churches on the ruins of that nation that tried to stamp out the faith. The church is thriving in China while government bulldozers level church buildings and drag pastors off for interrogation and re-education. House churches are springing to life in Muslim nations where there are severe penalties for being a Christian. The church will prevail. The only question is whether we will be faithful or not.

Is it too late for America? That probably depends on the church. God would have spared Sodom for the sake of ten righteous men. There were many times that Israel seemed doomed to be erased in the dust of history but God would raise up a righteous leader, the people would repent, and Israel would prosper in peace again for a generation or two.

No doubt the Supreme Court decision is another wake up call. Judgment may come on the nation but God’s judgment always has a redemptive purpose and he will be with his people in the midst of that judgment if it comes. The church can roll over and let culture have its way or the church can rise up in prayer, holiness, love, and disciple-making and exalt the name of Jesus in this nation once again. Paul reminded the church at Corinth that many of them had been in bondage to sin as adulterers, drunks, homosexuals, swindlers, and so forth ( 1 Cor.6) but that they had been redeemed and transformed. Our culture is not beyond the reach of God and his power to save.

If you have seen the Apollo 13 movie with Tom Hanks, there is a scene in Mission Control where some are beginning to talk about the disaster that the probable loss of the spacecraft and crew will be for NASA. Everything was against them. A multitude of unknown variables probably did mark the flight for disaster. At the moment everyone else was despairing, however, Gene Krantz, the flight director played by Ed Harris, stands and says, “I believe this is going to be our finest hour.” A few minutes later the Apollo 13 capsule landed softly in the ocean and the crew was retrieved shaken but unscathed. I believe this too can be the church’s finest hour in America if we will stand.

For many years I have felt that a popular “end-times theology” undermines the mission of the church and contradicts a great deal of scripture. I also believe that it can seep into our own personal view of life and undermine our own victorious mindset as well. This particular theology was popularized in the 70’s and really launched into the psyche of the church by Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth. This view depicts the last days as a dismal day for the church and believers everywhere. It promotes a view of a one world order, the anti-Christ, and the downward spiral of all nations and cultures into an abyss that can only be redeemed by the coming of the Lord and the rapture of the saints who have become powerless in the face of all that evil.

The damaging part of this theology in my mind is the inevitability of the outcomes and the powerlessness of the church to stand against it. The power of evil is so overwhelming that the only thing to do is to bunker in and pray for the Lord’s quick return. Too often that is also translated into the lives of individual believers so that they “check out” and give in to the world system rather than working to redeem it and establish a glowing and victorious bride for the Lord to retrieve. That theology can and has instilled a sense of futility and hopelessness in the hearts of many believers.

There is also a dynamic that sociologists and psychologists call a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” Simply stated, it means that we often act in ways that confirm the beliefs we already hold about ourselves or others. For instance, if a child experiences the loss of a parent, he or she may come to believe that they will eventually lose anyone that they come to love or depend on. In response to that belief, this child may grow into an adult who never fully commits to a relationship or who never fully engages emotionally with anyone because they believe that person will eventually leave them or that they will lose them to some tragedy. Because they never commit to a relationship or connect emotionally, their relationships keep ending and those who attempted to connect with them move on. When those relationships end, the individual is all the more convinced that their beliefs are true and inevitable.

When Christians believe that poverty, evil, tyranny, persecution, unbelief, and the demise of Christianity on the earth are inevitable they withdraw from the battle. When they withdraw, evil wins and they believe all the more that the end is near and there is no use trying to save America much less the world. With this mindset, believers who are supposed to be more than conquerors withdraw from the cultural battles, stay out of politics, retreat from championing social justice, and even fail to vote because they think it won’t matter. Believers with this view cease to be salt and light in the world and simply forfeit the battle to the enemy.

Kris Vallotton adds an interesting insight into this same dynamic in his book, How Heaven Invades Earth, (p.204). “But what happened to destiny when our prophetic people were taught that there wasn’t supposed to be a future because the end of the world was near? They stopped prophesying into the future. And what took place in the absence of the Holy Spirit’s prophetic intonation is absolutely frightening; a visionary vortex, or vacuum was suddenly created that sucked every kind of dark, foretelling spirit into it. This has resulted in the worst psychic resurgence since the days of Daniel. We have Wiccans, New Age people, fortune tellers, astrologers, and psychics all sharing their insights in the highest offices of the land.” That used to be the role of God’s prophets but we left the playing field.

When God’s people leave the playing field the enemy regains his swagger. We are promised that if we resist the devil he will flee from us but this particular theology teaches that there is no point in our resistance. There is another centuries-old theology that declares a triumphant church on the earth that welcomes back the groom rather than a church that has scurried off the field because she was helpless against the one Christ has already defeated. Those who know that they are more than conquerors do not surrender to a bully or a tyrant but stand and fight knowing that they will win because their champion is Jesus Christ who has all authority in heaven and on earth. They don’t give in to injustice, false religion, abortion, violence, deceit, divorce, or any other works of the devil. They don’t give in on a personal level nor do they abandon the culture in which God has commanded them to be salt and light. All the gifts, the power, and the authority Christ has delegated to his church are not just for the church to be exercised behind high walls. They have also been given to redeem the culture and finally the world. We have been letting the devil push us around too long. It’s time to push back.

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.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (Jn.1:13-10).

Another section from the first chapter of John’s gospel gives us another insight into Jesus and our response to him. John begins with an amazing thought.  The very creator of the world walked across the face of his creation unrecognized by the very people made in his image.  This is even more amazing when you think of who and what did recognize him.

In a sense, the natural world recognized him because it responded to his commands.  Water, trees, wind, withered hands, and fish darting about in the Sea of Galilee all bowed to his commands.  Even the demons ran to him calling his name and begging for mercy.  Satan himself acknowledged who he was by the very temptations he offered in the wilderness.  And yet man, the one made in the image of God and the one for whom Christ came to give himself as a sacrifice, was blind to his identity. Even “his own”- the Jews who searched the Torah for every fleeting clue about Messiah and who longed for his coming – missed him.  They not only missed him but also eventually killed him.

How could that be? How could they miss the one who taught with authority and performed one undeniable miracle after another? For the most part, I believe they missed him because of their preconceived notions about what he would do and what he would look like. They made the mistake of assuming that God was like them and that Messiah would come as they imagined.

In their world, Messiah would come on a notable day – a feast day or a high Sabbath full of symbolic significance.  Undoubtedly he would be born into a family of high standing with wealth, education and influence. Reputable Rabbi’s probably wondered which of them would have the privilege of schooling the young Messiah in their advanced understanding of the Torah.  Without question he would give honor to the religious elite of Israel, the Sanhedrin, and, perhaps, ask for their seal of approval as he began to reveal himself publically. Of course, he also would be political as they were and beat the Romans at their own game of governmental intrigues and, eventually, military might to overthrow the oppressors.  As this new “reign of David” was established, these honored leaders of Israel would be given influential cabinet posts and governorships. I’m fairly certain they looked for all of those things as signs of the true Messiah in addition to his miracles. They waited for a Messiah made in their image and when he did not fit their mold they were blind to his presence.

Jesus disappointed them.  He came into the world as an unknown, born in a stable rather than a noble house.  Instead of a family of standing he came questionably into the world from the womb of a backwater girl swearing she had never been with a man. He studied at the feet of some nameless Rabbi and never once asked the Sanhedrin for it’s blessing.  He was apolitical and never attempted to raise an army.  He didn’t gather Jewish nobility around him but coarse fisherman and former tax collectors.  He even let women follow him around including one former prostitute.  He didn’t seek wealth or honor the wealthy.  Instead, he warned of the toxic dangers of wealth. When they demanded signs to prove who he was, he shrugged them off.  In the mind of the Sanhedrin, the High Priest, and the Pharisees, Jesus was no Messiah.  He was a scandal.

It is easy to criticize them on this side of the cross and, perhaps, we should.  After all, not all were blind, not all missed him.  Many did believe and became born- again sons and daughters of God.  And yet how often do we miss God because we already have him all figured out?  How often do we miss his answers to our prayers because we are looking for him to respond as we would respond if we had his power?  How often do we ascribe new moves and manifestations of the Spirit to the devil because we have never seen God work that way before?

If we learn anything from John it should be that God can move among his own while his own totally miss what he is doing.  I’m certainly not saying that everything that manifests in the church or that claims to be from God is from God. We must test the spirits.  But I am saying that we should be open to God doing new things, even greater things than we have ever seen him do and not to dismiss these things quickly because they don’t fit out preconceptions.  I’m saying this because in these last days I believe God will do some amazing things not recorded on the pages of the gospels. They won’t be out of character for God, they will just be new.  Prayer, discernment, and the evaluation of the fruit of a thing will be needed. It takes a while to see the fruit.  Sometimes it takes a while to hear from God.  We should not be gullible but neither should we be hasty.

In our own lives we should be open to God’s creativity and fresh ways of showing himself to us. Even God must get tired of routine.  Look at the miracles of Messiah – no formulas there.  A little mud here, some spit there, and a finger in the ear.  Maybe God likes variety as much as we do.  Whenever he comes or however he moves, we don’t want to miss him.  We want to receive everything he has for his people. Be open today and see if you experience the Father in fresh and surprising ways. Then be open again tomorrow.

In his book, The Days of His Presence, Francis Fragipane has a thought provoking section on the nature of times and seasons in the Bible.  This particular section discusses the kind of period that the Greeks referred to as a kairos.  According to Frangipane, this kind of season followed long, flat periods of history where very little changed in the world but suddenly the world was overtaken by incredible shifts and transformations in nations, knowledge, and faith which often included sweeping religious reforms and spiritual activity.

For instance, between Malachi and Matthew, there were approximately three hundred years of silence when little or no revelation occurred in Israel. But suddenly the coming of Messiah that had been foretold since the Days of Adam swept in and the power of God rocked the world of those who witnessed it.  Paul tells us that in the “fullness of time (kairos) God sent forth his Son.”  The idea of a “fullness of time” suggests that God had been storing up events to be released on the earth that would alter the course of nations and individuals.

Kairos seasons do not always happen in days or weeks or even months.  Sometimes they happen over a period of years or decades.   But relative to history, these events seem to catch us off guard and explode onto the scene.  Noah preached for 120 years while God was putting everything in place to release a cataclysmic kairos when in the fullness of time he released the flood.  For those who had not heard God, it seemed to come out of nowhere.  Israel was in Egypt for 450 years while God arranged the chessboard so that in the fullness of time Moses would arise, plagues would be released, and a nation of over a million people would walk into the wilderness.  After that, world empires would arise, seem invulnerable for centuries, and then suddenly fall in a matter of hours or days as God had shown his prophets.

These kairos moments are orchestrated by God for centuries while he puts every piece in place until the fullness of time. When that time comes, the changes are so sweeping and so universal that it seems that the whole world has tipped off its axis. God often speaks of “shaking the world” or “shaking a nation.”  That is the feeling when kairos is released.  To those in the center of the storm, everything feels like chaos, but to the director of the storm everything is being realigned for his purposes. Those who are closest to the Lord in such times can fall asleep in the boat even while water is breaking over the bow.

Frangipane makes the case that we have been in a kairos season for a century. Technology and knowledge has exploded across the globe. Two world wars have come and gone. The nuclear age has been ushered in and great nations have risen and fallen – some seemingly overnight like the USSR.  The Holy Spirit has always given revelation to man and manifested in miracles but now the church is moving in evangelism, healing, miracles, and revelation in ways not seen since the book of Acts.

This is consistent with biblical history.  In each kairos, God revealed himself in new ways and manifested his power through his people. The enemy too rose up in unprecedented ways in response. Of course, God always wins but during these kairos events spiritual activity seems to ramp up exponentially as it did in the gospels.

As you view the activity of God around the globe, we see millions of Chinese coming to faith in an avowed atheist nation.  Million have come to faith in Africa in the past few decades. Korean churches are bursting at the seams. Every mission report or campaign outlines miracles from radical conversions to radical healings (including raising people from the dead), along with miracles of protection and provision, dreams and visions, and thousands coming to Jesus in a day.

Of course, the cynical among us can reject the reports and videos and write it all off as demonic deception or emotionalism.  But the same believers will proclaim that we are certainly in the last days.  If we are finally coming to the end of the last days, then this is certainly a kairos and God is moving in the fullness of time. In those seasons God had always moved in power and done epic things through his people.

I believe today is no different.  I have personally seen the healings, deliverance, radical conversions, and miracles of provision and protection.  I have been told on numerous occasions by trustworthy people who have been eyewitnesses to Jesus appearing to Muslims and entire families renouncing Islam and coming to faith.  I have heard from trustworthy people who have seen with their own eyes the dead being raised in the name of Jesus and entire villages coming to faith as a result.  All of this sounds amazing and almost beyond belief but did it not happen in the book of Acts in the fullness of time?  Why must we doubt that God would use the miraculous power of heaven to bring in a great harvest now at the end of this season?

If you have been taught to reject or doubt the gifts of the Spirit and the power of God, I hope you will not sit cynically on the sideline while God is inviting you to play in the greatest game ever played.  If you can’t bring yourself to trust believers who talk about such things, then honestly ask God to show you his power if he is indeed manifesting in such ways today.  But when you see it, don’t return to the bench. Get in the game with all your heart.

Think about it, in these kairos moments, doctrines and orthodoxy never won the day. They were important and faithfulness and truth were keys to God moving on behalf of his people.  But power won the day. Pharaoh did not surrender to doctrine but to manifest power. The Torah never convinced Nebuchadnezzar, but three men emerging from a fiery furnace and another walking out of a lion’s den convinced him that there was one God. Even Jesus said, “If you don’t believe me, believe the works I do.”  This is a time, a kairos, when we must not be suspicious of the move of God but embrace it because the miracles themselves reveal God to us and to those who need him desperately.  Remember, to reject what God is doing, is, in part, to reject him.