“For nothing shall be impossible with God.” LK 1:37

Our God is the God of the impossible. Did you ever notice how sometimes He will take you to a complete end of yourself, and then answer your prayer? Have you noticed that He loves to work through weakness, and difficulties, or against the odds? As we enter the Christmas season, these words to soon-to-be mother Mary are a powerful reminder to us that He who overshadowed her to do the impossible then is also ready and waiting to overshadow you and me to do the miraculous today.

We have to admit that it is easier to believe that God can do the miraculous for someone else than it is for Him to do it for me. We can even sound quite spiritual in our unbelief.

•  “Well, the reason God works in such a powerful way in Africa is because the people there are so poor.”
• “Of course he is seeing these awesome displays of God’s power, he is a last days Apostle!”
• “That was then, this is now. God is moving in a new and different way these days.”
• “The Holy Spirit was doing some mighty works in China during those years because they did not have any Bibles! Now they have the word and don’t need the miraculous any more.”
• “Those people are being persecuted; that’s why God is showing them His power in these supernatural ways.”

POSTURE

Do you suppose Mary might have been able to come up with some really good reasons why God could not do the impossible for her? Wasn’t that the period known as the “silent years” when no prophet had been sent to Israel for hundreds of years? She was, afterall, a woman, no, a girl, in a world dominated by men as spiritual leaders. She wasn’t from a famous family; she did not have a special pedigree. Say nothing of the content of the message that was being shared with her! A virgin…having a baby…without any relations with a man…but by and through God Himself?!
Instead, she answered exactly the way anyone who wishes to see the supernatural should: “Let it be to me according to your word” (LK 1:38). If we want to witness God do the impossible, it is best to get out of the way as much as possible! Our hearts should be ready to say “Let it be…” just like Mary did. This is the kind of heart through whom God moves in supernatural ways. We must be fully yielded.

PURSUIT

Notice too that God raised up a witness of the supernatural to make it easier for Mary to believe:

“Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month” (v. 1:36).

This clearly was not a coincidence. Of all the people that could have been the mother of John the Baptist, God saw to it that it was Mary’s close relative. When Mary was a little girl, she certainly would have know that Elizabeth was barren. Was she cursed? Why would God have cast Elizabeth aside? Did she and Uncle Zechariah have some hidden sin? This Elizabeth, pregnant?! She’s older than my mother! This is nothing short of a miracle!!!

That is exactly the point. In order to give Mary confidence that God would do as Gabriel had said, He first raised up a clear, undeniable, supernatural example in Elizabeth. He was making it easier for her to believe. Now isn’t that cool?! That God would care so much about my unbelief that He would make it easier for me to believe?! At this point Mary made a very wise decision. She thought: “If Elizabeth has experienced such a miracle, I am going to get around Elizabeth!” If there was anyone who was going to appreciate the cost of being shamed, Elizabeth with her scarlet letter of barrenness could. “So, Aunt Liz, what has it been like for you to have the God of the universe do the impossible on your otherwise ‘dead’ body?”

She did not have to wait long for the answers she was looking for. Mary had only just walked into the door of Elizabeth’s home and amazing things began to happen. The baby suddenly leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to prophesy over Mary about the baby that was in her womb. What? Elizabeth even called the babe “my Lord”.

CONCLUSION

I believe God wants to release the miraculous in our day like never before. As it was in the days before Jesus came the first time, so shall it be and more so in the days before He returns.

“And it shall come to pass, in the last days says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men will dream dreams” Acts 2:17.

Let’s learn from the mother of our Lord to know how we can see the God of the impossible do far exceedingly more than we could ask or think. Simply, there are two things which we can learn from her. Let’s adjust our hearts to just receive without question, and without trying to figure it all out. I call this POSTURE. And then let’s go and find the Elizabeths that God has raised up as our forerunners. People are experiencing the God of power. If I need to get warm, I get close to the fire. Mary “hurried to a town in the mountains” (LK 1:39) to find her once barren relative who had experienced the God of impossible for herself. I call this PURSUIT.

“Those whom I love I rebuke and chasten;
therefore, be zealous and repent.” Rev 3:19

It is not fashionable to repent anymore. It’s too messy, undignified. It’s old school. It’s ashes, and sackcloth. Books about repentance don’t make the best-seller lists. They don’t even get past the first reading at the publisher! Let’s face it, leaders consider that messages about repentance are not going to bring people out to church. They reason that the sheep need something practical, something to make them feel good about themselves, something to assuage all the wounds they get in this cruel world throughout the week. Not bad reasoning…for a psychologist! While it may be popular to talk about WWJD, it certainly is worth considering that the very first words out of His mouth when He began to preach were “Repent!” (Matt 3:2)

Hebrews 6:1 speaks of repentance as an elemental teaching, a part of the foundation of the church’s teachings. And yet, many would remove the foundation altogether! There is a whole stream within the church (call it “hypergrace”) which has abandoned teachings about repentance altogether. According to this popular “grace” message, Jesus already paid it all. Our sins have been completely forgiven. There is nothing left for us to do but to receive. Trust me, there is a part of me that loves the idea of being able to keep right on sinning and not ever have to worry about it! Unfortunately, it is a lie, and if perpetuated, it will lead to death and eternal consequences.

What compels me to write about this subject? First, I want you to be alert, vigilant, and not hoodwinked by this false teaching. It is a growing cancer in the Body of Christ. Second, I want you to take this message and apply it personally. I am asking this question of myself too: have I truly repented of any and every thing which is an offense to my Lord? Was it heartfelt, and thorough, or did I just say a casual “I’m sorry” prayer and move on. Sorry scratches the surface. We say sorry to gain some relief, in hopes that our actions will not be held against us. Through repentance the axe of God is laid to the root, resulting in not a simple covering over but a legal and experiential break from the power of sin. Sorry is volitional, but repentance is transactional. Jesus did not command us to be sorry; he commanded us to repent.

When Jesus confronts the church in Laodicea about their apathy, he says “be zealous and repent”. Zealous (Gr) implies heat, passion, and zest. That is the spirit and mindset which brings about true repentance. If I have zeal, I have the right “stuff” from which repentance is birthed. Without zeal, I only bring words to the altar. Though forgiveness is offered to me on the basis of “my confession”, I have discovered that it is only a matter of time before I have to rebuild this altar, and rework these words, since the power which causes me to sin never moved out and gotten a new address. It just went into the basement to wait for the opportune time to come out and wreak havoc all over again.

Among the marvelous Sermon on the Mount topics is a seldom talked about or understood verse, “Blessed are those who mourn” (MT 5:4). Mourning is one of the deepest and complex emotions we as humans experience. Without going into too much detail, may I suggest that we probably have not really found the key to true, lasting repentance without it. I must feel more than bad; I must feel grief. Like the one who mourns, he may be doing other things for days and weeks following the death of a loved one. But his thoughts will have been invaded by another, deeper reality where memories of the loved one cannot be discarded. For that season, we wear mourning like a cloak. Even when we are laughing, some part of us is still wiping away tears.

Jesus precludes his “harsh words” about repentance to the Laodiceans with the phrase “those whom I love.” The one who will repent with sincerity and conviction first hears these words of welcome and warmth. Since repentance is painful, it is critical to know that it is not the unreasonable demand of a cold taskmaster. It is longed for out of love, out of the anticipation and joy of reconciliation.

Make no mistake about it, for those who find the grace to repent, the benefits are dramatic and immediate. Jesus says of the truly penitent, “I will come and eat with him, and he with me.” I may close the door and cry out in agony and brokenness; but my weeping only lasts for a night. Joy comes in the morning. I rise from the way of divine exchange which a “sinner’s” hall of fame has trod, only to find a door has been opened for me, and a table set, filled with every item my hungry soul has ever longed for. As though this was not enough, I get to have Jesus…richly, personally, and intimately.

I named this article “Change” because few would have read it if I wrote “Repent”. But beloved, let’s be clear. You and I are never really going to change, until we learn to repent. It’s time to proclaim that there are no shortcuts—no painless, feel-good formulas.

So if you will please excuse me, it is time for me to stop writing about it. It’s time to pray.

Love is a Choice

“Moses…refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer” Heb 11:24-25

Love involves choices. Hard choices. It involves forgiving when you know someone doesn’t deserve it. It involves giving, even when it hurts. It involves huge commitments of time, resources, and energy. It involves laying aside your security; at times, it requires us to lay down our reputations. Love speaks the hard and unpopular things: bringing correction, issuing warnings, even rebuking. Jesus said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten” (Rev 3:19).

Moses’ choice to identify with and help his people cost him everything. All of history is deeply indebted to Moses not just because he performed great and miraculous deeds, but because he did them from a pure, unadulterated motivation of love.

In the last days, Jesus warned us that our ability to love would be severely tested. Matthew 24:12 says that this happens as a result of an increase of wickedness in the earth that, if we do not guard our hearts diligently, makes us numb to evil. The heart of man is being pushed to the edge. It will either become hard and cold, or it will, by grace, stay hot and soft.

An incident took place in China in 2011 which highlights the depths of apathy to which man has succumbed in our day. A two-year old girl named “Little Yue Yue” wandered out of a store where her mother was shopping and was subsequently run over by two vehicles. As she lay dying on the street, CCV cameras recorded no less that 18 people over the next 7-8 minutes who skirted around her body, ignoring her as she lay there bleeding to death. The rise of ISIS in recent times, with their public beheadings, even burning people alive in cages, has made the barbarous commonplace. We have become desensitized…or have we?

Many have, and more will. But it need not be our destiny. As the time of His appearing nears, we will all be tested in our love. Now, scriptures like “pray for those who persecute you” or “love your enemies”, sound more like catchy religious sayings than they do practical instructions. That is changing. Your love is being tested now in order that it might come forth as gold during the darker times which are coming.

And so it becomes absolutely necessary for Christians to guard our hearts, and make choices for and not against love. Our Sunday school definitions will not work for us when the floodgates of wickedness are opened wide. We need to grasp the height, depth, midst, and breadth of the love of God, and choose the way of love even though everything in us may press us away from such a difficult path.

Understand that Moses was brought up in Pharaoh’s palace, with every comfort, every privilege, and every type of pleasure available at the snap of his fingers. The fact that he ventured out among the Israel slaves was unexplainable, completely out of the ordinary. And yet when he saw how they were oppressed and afflicted (“Moses…looked at their burdens”, v.2:11), he chose to do something about it rather than to retreat back to the comfort of his palace. Ex 2:11 says “Moses…went out to his brethren.” Beloved, once Moses saw them as brethren, not Hebrews, not slaves, not oppressed people, he was positioning himself to take action. We will never do with our hands more than we see with our eyes. In order to love as we are called to love, we are going to need to ask God’s help to open up our eyes.

Once our eyes are open, we still have to made right choices. It is very, very risky, so we have to be prepared. When we see crowds, we see inconvenience. When Jesus saw them, he saw a people harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. When he saw the sick, or those oppressed by the Devil, something moved at the very core of his being to bring healing and deliverance. The Bible never used the word sympathy as a description of an emotion of our Lord. Compassion feels not only FOR someone, it feels WITH and AS another.

That is why Moses “went out the second day” (Ex 2:13). He was no longer controlled by “wisdom”. It no longer mattered what others might say or do. The thought was no longer “what about tomorrow?” If Jesus had chosen to go into town to get some food after the long journey, or even to quietly rest by the well until they returned, no one would have given it a second thought. But Jesus, despite being “wearied from His journey”, had compassion on this pitiful woman who had one broken relationship after another. Paul later explained why Moses, or Jesus, or Mother Teresa, or Heidi Baker, acted in these radical ways. He wrote: “for the love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor 5:14). One who is under compulsion acts spontaneously and instinctively. There is an inner urge, a push, a lift.

We live in treacherous and shallow times. Friendship are casual to the point of being virtual. Commitments are made and broken willy-nilly. We love a sport’s team, a certain flavor of ice cream, and we love our mother and our spouse. If we look around us for a definition of love, we see a boat without a sail, a rudder, or an anchor. People are confused, and in that state of mind, in the face of unprecedented evil, Christians are being challenged to a higher place. Our hearts are being tested. Will we be made bitter, or better as evil increases? Will we retreat to our palaces as oppression and death abound around us? A standard is being raised throughout the earth for believers to be motivated by compassion, to see people as our brothers and sisters, to stir up the fire of God’s love in our hearts for the lost and the broken.

Excuse the cliches, but love is not sloppy agape. It is not passionate kisses, and it is not a dozen roses. Love is much more than a feeling. It sacrifices, it risks. It may involve words, but it must involve actions. The hearts of men will grow cold in our time. Our capacity to love will be stretched to the breaking point, when we will find no other way but to cry out to God for His love to take over and compel us from the inside. Persecutions will increase, and our enemies will begin to come out from among the shadows. Moses refused the label he had been given as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose the way of love. My love, your love is being tested in this hour. Choose love. Amen.

“Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you have planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.”  Ps 40:5

David wrote that he told of God’s salvation “all the day long” (PS 71:15). Too many to declare? Sounds like an obsession, or fixation, wouldn’t you say? I mean, didn’t he have something else to talk about?!

OK, let’s give him some room for literary license. He was probably being somewhat hyperbolic (overstating) here. And yet, many would be hard pressed to tell of all His mighty acts for even one solid minute, say nothing of one solid day. I say this to our shame, especially those of us who are called, and sent. I mean, that was the Old Testament, before Jesus came, before the Holy Spirit was poured out lavishly! We live in the day of the Last Things, when God is visiting His people around the globe in unprecedented ways. Surely this is something we can do!

One of the things that David did was set his heart to PRAISE God for His mighty deeds. The amazing things God had done were continually before him. Too many scriptures come to mind about this:

“I will bless the Lord at all times,

His praise shall continually be in my mouth…

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

He delivers them out of all their troubles.”   PS 34:1,17

Much of Psalms 71 and 145 are devoted to this. And this is one of the real keys to being an effective witness for the Lord. I asked my ten year old son to take five minutes to write down a list of the mighty things God has done. He came back with a paper filled, and asked me if this was enough. Because David wrote down and sang of the awesome ways of God, he was reliving them over and over again, making them as real each day as they were on the day when they had occurred in his life, or the life of his friends, or in the life of his people.

Another thing he did was he TALKED about them among his friends, and family. One huge mistake we make as believers is we leave the talking to the professionals. We have redefined the word “preach” so only mean something that is done behind a pulpit. In this matter, Satan’s deception has proven most successful. What was meant to be the work of all has been deftly relegated to a few. To this I only need point to Acts 8:1-4, when persecution rose against the church following the stoning of Stephen. History clearly records that all were scattered from Jerusalem “except the apostles” (i.e. the “professionals”), and that those who fled “preached the word wherever they went”. Sounds doable. Beloved, they did not even have Bibles, much less had they taken a homiletics class. This one thing they could do, they did with power; they talked about the mighty things God had done for them.

He also MEDITATED “on your wonderful works” (PS 145:5). More than just singing the songs, or listening to or casually reading the stories, David made a point of pressing it to really consider the incredible things God had done:

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;

I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” PS 9:1 (ESV)

No wonder he found them too many to declare. He was downright intentional about this. He did it with his whole heart, and kept re-counting them over and over again. What had been so marvelously carved on his heart through meditation overflowed into his speech. What a great idea!

Beloved, Jesus commissioned you to proclaim His might acts. When we speak of the amazing things He has done and is doing, when we testify of His miracles, of His amazing intervention in our daily affairs, we are doing that which we have been called to do. Stir it up! You know what will happen? People around you will get jealous, and hungry. David said “none can compare” because when people hear about all the incredible things God has done, they are convicted to wonder what their god has done for them. At the right moment, you can even fan this conviction with a question. “So tell me, what has YOUR god done for you?” Their silence will be deafening.

Many missionaries, even whole organizations, have fallen prey to distraction, and forgotten that our duty above all else is to preach this gospel to all creation. Mission founded schools, hospitals, and social institutions which long stopped obeying the Lord in this matter dot the face of the earth like scarecrows in a field, and testify against the hollow works of people who began with good intentions. Satan’s crows sit on the hats of these lifeless creatures with corn in their claws cackling their pleasure at us over their triumph in these things. The Lord deserves better! He is awesome, and mighty are His acts towards us! The great stories of all He has done should be ringing from our rooftops and echoing in our streets. The best place to start is right around our dinner tables, as the Word teaches us:

“One generation shall praise Your works to another,

And shall declare Your mighty acts.”  PS 145:4

Let us fan this gift into flame, rekindling all our energies to proclaiming in whatever way we can, whenever we can, to whosoever will listen.

“The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot
was sitting in the gateway of the city.” Genesis 19:1

You suppose Lot may have regretted the day he chose to part from Uncle Abe and “pitch his tents near Sodom” (v.13:12)? I’ll say! Yet even after Abram had risked his own life once to recover Lot, his family, and all his possessions after being taken captive, Lot still went back to Sodom! Now, years later, Lot was in a quandary. The sin of the city was so great, 2 Peter 2:8 says every day he was “tormented in his righteous soul”, just trying to cope. And so he sat in the gate of the city in this vexed state. For what? What was he thinking?

Before I get to this, let me refresh you on the facts of the story. For in reality, many have held God to unfair judgment, as though He willy nilly rained fire and brimstone down on a group of helpless people. In fact, the story is more about God’s mercy than it is about His judgment. Sodom was completely filled with evil. Not even ten decent people could be found in the city, and that included the members of Lot’s household! When one considers the extent of the depravity and depths of wickedness, it is a wonder that God stayed His hand as long as He did just for the sake of a few.

Details you ask? OK, how is this. Lot invited the two angels to be his house guests. When they were preparing to settle down for the night, “all the man from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house”. They insisted that Lot release his guests to them “so that we can have sex with them” (Gen 19:4,5). Ouch! Every male, young and old, completely bent on vile deeds, even to the point of raping any unsuspecting journeyer who happened to enter the gates of the city and not leave before nightfall.

So, back to Lot sitting at the gate. Daily, Lot had to withstand the onslaught of evil around him. I believe Lot was doing the following:

• Lot was devising creative ways to shelter his family from Sodom’s poison, and consider how he could nurture them in godliness.
• From the gate, his gaze was fixed outside the walls, yearning for a place free from perversion, a kingdom which would have no end, full of justice and truth.
• He hoped against hope that someone would pass through these gates with whom he could have godly communication.
• His conscience pricked him to warn and even rescue (provide a safe haven) travelers from the corruption and dangers lurking within.

Cities and nations don’t become Sodom and Gomorrah overnight. Paul describes one such slippery moral slope in Romans 1:18-23 which begins with men who “suppress the truth.” He says, “for although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God not gave them to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” The slope continues down to the cesspool at the bottom, where God “abandons them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desire…they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.”

The Sodoms of Biblical lore are no longer Sunday school material. Our own cities and streets are being “sodomized”. Whereas the day will come when we will be told to flee, until that day, God is looking for Gatekeepers in the same spirit as Lot. If you are being tormented in your righteous soul, there is a place for you at the gate. It’ s a place to ponder, and a place to plan. It’s a place to find hope for the future, as well as for today. It is a place of rescue, for there are yet those who are seeking refuge, who refuse to give in to the spirit of this age.  It is not a place to complain or fall into despair.  For Lot, the gate was a place of action, a place of service.

Now you know why Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. I can imagine him singing this song as he waited:

“Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.”
PS 24:7-8

“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments                              and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” LK 1:6

We make a grave mistake when we compare ourselves with superstars. In a very practical sense, not everyone can be LeBron James. You can practice 20 hours a day, have the best coach money can buy, watch every film of all the greats of the game, but if you are not physically endowed like LeBron, you are never going to get there.

When we read through the annals of Biblical history, if we try to be a Moses or an Apostle Paul, we are also not likely to get there since these men stand out over thousands of years of history as exceptions. While we should emulate them, and be inspired by their accomplishments, none of us were raised as a son of Pharaoh or discipled by Gamaliel (one of the most highly respected Rabbi’s of Jewish history). And I am not likely to all of a sudden be able to preach with the passion and flare of Reinhard Bonnke. We are each unique, but there is something which each one of us can do to qualify us for service in God’s house: we can obey Him.

I find myself gravitating to the more “common” men and women of scripture. I see myself in them. Did you know that Acts used to be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit rather than the Acts of the Apostles? If the great things of God were only intended to be done by a few apostles, then the majority of Christians could just relax and let the professionals take care of all problems out there in the world. In fact, that is the way many think about the Christian faith. “Let the Pastor do it!” But that is not the way God works! That is why Acts may chronicle the first century church largely through the exploits of Peter and Paul, yet there is also a splattering of others whose stories remind us that uncommon things are often done through common people. Philip and Stephen were appointed to “serve tables” (6:2) at the church’s first soup kitchen. Ananias, whom God used to propel Paul into ministry, was only “a certain disciple” (9:10). Tabitha just made clothes for widows, yet was instrumental in the town of Joppa’s revival (9:36). While the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem when intense persecution hit the church, “those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word” (8:4).

That is one of the reasons I like the story of Christ’s birth. God chose common people, whose primary trait was that they were faithful. I did not say perfect. Which brings me to the main person in this article: John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias. I love Zacharias. I love the fact that he was not contaminated by the politics and snobbery of the Jewish leaders of his day. I love that he was upright, walking before the Lord blamelessly. I love that he never gave us praying about having a son even though he and Elizabeth were much too old (LK 1:13). I love that “he lingered so long” (1:21) in the temple after the angel appeared to him.

I also love the fact that he had issues. Aren’t you glad that the angel didn’t tell Zacharias when he did not express the fullness of faith in his announcement: “Well, Zacharias, I can see that you are not really qualified for this. The Forerunner for the Messiah was going to come from your loins, but I can’t allow history to record that he was born the son of someone who dared question God!”

Instead, he was made mute. This is where it really gets interesting. We know that Zacharias had not blamed God for the shame of he and his wife bearing the stigma of being childless into their old age. Now, publicly bearing the brunt of sneers and criticisms for being a mute man due to his disobedience to God, yet Zacharias amazingly did not swallow the pill of bitterness. Risking further disdain, at the christening of his first-born son, against tradition, in the face of the astonishment of the crowd, he named his son John even though “no one among your relatives is called by this name” (1:61). Did Zacharias know at that moment his tongue would be loosed? No! He simply knew that it was always right to obey God. And then, opening his mouth, what would he say? He who had suffered punishment, scorn, and shame did the one thing that was in his heart to do, and it was not complain or be angry. He praised God. What integrity! What a testimony! How many have become bitter by lesser things? How many have given themselves over to self-pity or self-justification? Not Zacharias. He praised God.

I like Zacharias because he doesn’t have a big “S” on his T-Shirt. I love him because he was real, touchable, common. We can see ourselves in his story, for not many of us were born with a silver spoon, and not many of us have always had things go exactly the way that we would have liked. Life happens. We fail. We suffer disappointments, injustices, and rejection. In all these things, we have a choice just like Zacharias. I will choose to walk blamelessly before the Lord. I will choose to trust even when it’s hard. I will choose to continue in prayer, to lay my petitions before the Lord when it seems so much easier just to give up. I will choose to guard my heart from anger and resentment, so that if I am ever made mute for a season, the first thing that will come out of my mouth will be high praise for the One who has saved me and Who is ever true, even when I am not.

Beloved, you don’t need to be a superstar. You just need to be faithful.

“Jesus replied, ‘Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures,

and you don’t know the power of God’.” MK 12:24 NLT

Jesus made it very clear to His disciples that only those who know both the scriptures and the power of God are living according to His design and purpose. It is not either/or, but both/and. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we would have to say that we have not handled this tension very well. Christians have often had to choose between one camp or the other. Will I gravitate towards the “Word-based” group or the “Holy Ghost, power people”?

Beloved, can we decide once and for all that we are for both?! We do not have to sacrifice one for the other! We CAN have our cake and eat it too. We CAN be scholars and yet wake up speaking in tongues. We CAN have a ministry that witnesses healing and deliverance and not bow to the altar of “strange” fire.

Our church has begun a movement called #365, which mobilizes people to read the Bible through in a year. When I consider how Biblically ignorant this generation of Christians is, I say Hallelujah. This generation has no excuse for ignorance, for we have access to more knowledge and tools and education than any generation before us. I once gave a New Testament to a man in China on Monday. He came back on Friday to return it to me. I was deeply disappointed, so I asked him why he was giving it back. He simply said, “because I have finished it.” God have mercy! He wasn’t even a believer, and yet there as many, many Christians who have believed in the Lord for years and have never even finished the New Testament, much less the whole Bible.

I have been reading about Revival history, of movements, of revivalists, for the last several months. There are many features which characterized every past revival, and without fail one of them was an all-consuming passion for the Word of God. I just listened to the testimony of former Muslim Nabeel Qureshi say that for the first 20 years of his life whenever he got into debates with Christians, none could show him from the Word of God where Jesus said that he was the Son of God. Is it any wonder that people will follow after the hypergrace teachings of a Joseph Prince, or fall prey to universal salvation, or no hell, or other unbiblical yet popular opinions. We must know the Scriptures. Jesus said so.

One of the most striking facts of past moves of God is the inability to strike this balance, or to sustain it over time. An example of this can be taken from a mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit around 1800 in the newly established states of Kentucky and Tennessee. So powerful were these “camp meetings” held for days leading to weeks in the open air of these frontier regions that an eyewitness account wrote:

“At one time I saw at least five hundred swept down in a moment, as if a battery of a thousand guns had been opened upon them, and then immediately followed shrieks and shouts that rent the very heavens.”

One of these preachers, Barton Stone, wrote detailed accounts of the manifestations of the Spirit’s power. I cannot highlight the detailed descriptions of each here, but he called the manifestations “exercises” which were common occurrences. They were:

* The Falling Exercise
* The Jerks
* The Dancing Exercise
* The Barking Exercise
* The Laughing Exercise
* The Singing (i.e. in the Spirit) Exercise

Barton Stone went on to become the founder of The Church of Christ denomination, which no longer reads the records of these things by their own founder, nor do they encourage or embrace them when they come. They have run to the “Word” camp and found “safety” there.

We must also know the power of God. Most of you reading this know something of the power of God. Granted, we might know more ABOUT the power of God than we actually know the power itself, but at least we identify with this camp. While that is a good start, many of us are more spectators than we are actually participants. We say we know the power because we listen to Bill Johnson, or because we fell on the floor at a Rodney Howard-Brown meeting. I’m just now reading the book God’s Generals: The Revivalists, and I am under deep conviction because I am measuring myself against those who didn’t just plug into a toy car battery. These men and women were wired to the state power station!

I want more. I want more Word. I want more power. I want more of Jesus. I want more of the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals in the early days disdained the heady, proud, and powerless preachers of the traditional churches of their day, and in doing so threw the baby out with the bathwater, rejecting theology and advanced education. Thank God that stigma is past, and we now have some of the world’s most learned Biblical scholars and historians who come from the “power-based” camp. This is as it should be, for in these last days, as the winds of Revival are stirring again, these words of Jesus will be staring us right in the face.

Beloved, let us be a people of the Word, and a people of power. Let us be the generation who will not only experience the power of God, but who will witness a sustained move of God worthy of the Master who gave His life to redeem a Bride who is without “mistake”, yes, without spot of wrinkle. Amen.

It is a new year, and a new day. It is a time of new beginnings, and so I turn to the beginning, Genesis 1, to share some insights with you:

“…and God divided the light from the darkness.” Gen 1:4

Throughout the earth, a separation is occurring. Have you noticed? Things are shifting. Politics is becoming more polarized. Racial tensions are on the rise. Religions radicalized. Evil is becoming more heinous. Righteousness is ridiculed and met with intolerance at every turn. Even creation itself is reeling, groaning like a woman in travail awaiting to deliver and be delivered (see Romans 8:18-22). As it was on the first day, so shall it be on the last; God is dividing the light from the darkness.

Satan is evil, and his wickedness cannot be restrained much longer. Although it is clearly a futile fight, so great is his self-deception that he actually believes he might win. Emboldened, he is increasingly aggressive and vicious. As it was during the time of the crucifixion, his wickedness will blind him to the point that he will play right into the hands of God. His schemes are destined to become a part of God’s triumphant plan.

Of course none of this has caught God off guard; neither should we be. This is an expected part of the landscape in the days we are living in, even as was prophesied. While there are many battles to be fought in this war to end all wars, I want to take a minute to speak to just one. It is the battle of the Family.

You see, the Devil has the institution of the Family in his crosshairs. Everything about the family has come under intense bombardments. From skyrocketing divorce rates, to absent fathers, to teenage pregnancies…why, even the very definition of the family has come out of the trenches with its hands up. When I was young, a popular storybook called “Are You My Mother” told of a baby bird which hatched while its mom was away catching a worm to feed to it. Anxiously the bird asked a dog, a cat, a cow, and even a steam shovel if any was his mother. Little did I know that this question would be fretfully asked in our time every day, but not by little birds anymore.

The result of the separation, and ensuing confusion? Multitudes of people have been bloodied with an irreparable wound. And although some will surrender to the new definitions, and capitulate to and accept new “norms”, still others will grow increasingly wearied by all this newness. They will refuse to accept the dog or the cow, and keep searching, all the time saying in their hearts “something’s not right here!” To these:

“The Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings” Mal 4:2

This chapter, the last in the entire Old Testament leading down to the very last verse, reminds us that just when things seem most desperate, God has prepared the means of full recovery. In the midst of this separation, two distinct outcomes are foretold. He says “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” something will happen.

First note that this is both a great day, and a dreadful day. You might be thinking, how can this be? Well, it is great for some, but dreadful for others, which of course is determined by which side we go to during the division of light from darkness. For those who choose light, something completely sovereign and miraculous is going to take place. The little bird will hatch, and go looking for its father. And the father bird will suddenly be consumed with such love for that little bird that every pursuit will be left behind in order to return to the side of his chirping offspring. For the chapter continues, and concludes with these powerful words:

“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” Mal 4:5-6

Beloved, if you have not discovered it yet, let me tell you a piece of VERY GOOD NEWS. Satan’s attack on the family is being met by an even greater counterattack. The enemy’s conventional weapons will pale before the arsenal of God’s nuclear force. Hearts are being turned by the same power that conquered the grave. And the Sun of Righteousness is arising to heal all those who were once considered DOA. So beloved, let us not underestimate the greatness of God in these things and grow discouraged. When God arises, His enemies still scatter (PS 68:1).

There was a time when the darkness came in hues of grey. But as darkness gives way to gross darkness, some will awaken and flee towards the Light. We must be ready! This too was foretold, signaling the beginning of the greatest harvest the world has ever known. Those desperate for healing will then come to the Light, the Sun, the only way to be healed in body, mind, or heart—through His blood and mercy. When all hope seems lost, He will arise. And when He does, we will witness the Church’s finest hour.

“For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
and deep (gross) darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory shall be seen upon you.
The nations shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.”
IS 60:2-3

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” JN 10:26

I week ago I had a conversation with one of the wealthiest men in Asia as we were honored guests at his home for their weekly “family dinner”. Due to several members of his family have become Christians, he wanted to hear my thoughts about hearing the voice of God, of which he was very skeptical. I shared a few good examples from my own life and have been praying for God to water this seed in his heart that he might come to faith. But it also left me questioning; had I done better, would this man have become a Christian that night?

This is such a key part of each one of our stories. One day we could not hear the voice of God; the next day we could. Once we were not one of His sheep; now as His sheep it is normal for us to hear the voice of the Shepherd. If we can convince people that God has spoken to us, they are much more likely to believe God can speak to them as well. There really is a part of every man which yearns to commune with his Creator. You may not have thought of this, but Allah will never “speak to” a Muslim, nor will a Buddhist statue ever talk. Hearing God speak to us is something which sets us apart.

In reality, their skepticism is often justified. Some people who “hear God’s voice” are just plane flaky. Others speak of hearing God as though it is something mystical and otherworldly, something the average person out there either can’t relate to or doesn’t want to be a part of. There are also examples of people who have rashly or arrogantly declared what “God spoke to me” only to have it not happen as they said–or worse yet, have them live in such a way that is completely inconsistent with the message. Or how about two Christians saying God said exactly opposite things! We have a lot of misinformation or bad testimonies to make up for.

Whole books are written on this subject, but I want to stir up a desire in you to hear, and hear well. This is not an “elective” course, neither is it one that we want to get a C, a D, or God forbid an F on, as Christians. When God speaks it is creative, powerful, life-giving, and it brings peace. By God’s word we are directed, and corrected; we are strengthened and made courageous. Sometimes it comes to us with the force of lightning, while at others it’s like a like a gentle nudge.

When my host asked me “how do you know?” I told him that it often comes completely outside of ourselves, not being something that we would have even remotely had in mind, like Jonah being told to go to Ninevah. When God told me to go to Taiwan 26 years ago it was like that, since I had never had this thought, or interest, nor did I know anyone there, nor did it occur to me that there was anything for me to do there. And yet as I went in obedience, all the doors opened up before me as naturally yet supernaturally as could be!

As a young Christian I had suffered a horrible neck injury which meant I was forced to use a traction device morning and night. I had done this faithfully for a year and a half when one day I was removing it from my suitcase when God spoke to me “put it away, you will not be needing this anymore.” I was healed instantly of the affects and symptoms of my injury and never did use the traction device again.

During my reading through John this past week, I realized hearing is an underlying theme throughout. Let me highlight a few phases or aspects of hearing the voice of God that I noticed as I was reading through chapters 14, 15, and 16. You might consider these fave as moving along a gentle to intense, like increasing the volume, progression. Most days all of these are operating in my life:

• REMINDING: God may have spoken a word to me, or I may have heard it being preached, or it popped out to me on the page of the Bible, but in an instant this “voice” is dropped back into our hearts instantaneously and directly, like a reminder.
• GUIDING: The voice of God guides me, through peace, or signposts, or a confirming conversation with someone so that I do not wander aimlessly.
• TEACHING: More personalized and direct than guiding, this teaching brings some instruction with it. It is a very amazing thing for God to teach me something which I could not learn on my own but for which I have a definite or desperate need.
• CONVICTING: This can be an “oh oh”, or even and “oh, no”!. This can come to us gently, but also with a force, like an inner shout to our spirits, creating a pressure from the inner man to rise up for right, or stand up against sin or evil.
• DECLARING: “He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” JN 16:14. There is no ambivalence here! Sometimes it is just plane hard NOT to hear the voice of God, for God knows how to make it plane.

Beloved, if you are not hearing Him, today is the day to start turning that around. If you have NEVER heard Him, then frankly you might have to simply kneel and make sure that the issue of your salvation is settled now, once and for all. If you SELDOM hear him, then I hope I have stirred up that desire to hear the Lord’s voice, for desire is no small factor. God rewards the thirsty. Then finally, I want you to do something which seems almost antiquated. Just ask Him to talk to you! In 1 Sam 3 we have the story of how God raised up young Samuel to be a prophet. But first he had to learn to hear the voice of the Lord, which happened after Samuel said this simple prayer: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (v. 9)

Jesus spoke to His disciples in the clearest of terms: “My sheep hear My voice.” May we hear, and hear well. May His voice remind, guide, teach, and convict us. As we respond to and obey these ways He speaks, expect him to “take of what is His, and declare it to you”. The fact that we can hear God speak is one of the greatest treasures of life, and one of the most amazing and attractive thing about being a Christian. May God help us to quiet the skeptics, and to woo our friends and acquaintances as we tell our story. Think about it, the God who created all things, speaks to people like little old you and me. That’s a story worth telling over and over.

“Now when Peter heard that it was the Lord,

he put on his outer garments and plunged into the sea…” JN 21:7

I was in a meeting last week when the Lord began to show me some pictures and speak something deeply to my heart.  First I saw Peter leaping out of the boat and into the waters upon hearing that Jesus was standing on the shore.  I could see the reckless abandon in his eyes as he plunged with all his might, caring not for what the others might think.

Immediately, the picture shifted to a scene 1000 years earlier.  I saw David stripping himself of his kingly vestments as he wildly danced with everything in him before the ark of the Lord, showing no regard for what  family or friend might say about his flailing.  Just at that moment I felt the Lord say that He was raising a standard in our midst:  the standard of the fear of man.  “Look well upon this standard, for it is in conquering it or succumbing to it that I will deem you worthy of carrying the ark of My presence to the place of My choosing.” 

In that moment I realized that the same spirit which had led Peter to jump was in David to make him dance.  In that instant, I realized there was something in these two men separated by so many centuries which attracted God like a magnet; men who were deemed worthy to be carriers, hosts, and agents of the great things that God was about to do.   I let this thought incubate until I came into the presence of the Lord the next morning.  I picked up my pen and wrote the following as one moved:

Be careful lest you stumble over the fear of man.  Many who would have been used to bring greater manifestations of My glory fell here.  Their tombs litter the grounds of past awakenings which never came to their own. These heard the rumblings, they saw the signs like lightning foretelling of the approaching rain, but stopped short of ushering in the fullness because they chose their dignity over the freedom for Me to move as I choose. Rather than bow the knee to Me and Me alone, they turned aside to bow at the altar of the fear of man, not knowing the smoke of this offering would rise to Me as strange fire.  I have turned My face from these who began well so many times, but I cannot violate Who I am.  I resist the proud but give continuous grace to the humble. 

Turn not aside to this altar!  Fear not, My son, My people.  Stumble not upon this rock lest the power you seek, the change for which you cry out, the manifestation for which you have labored, begins well only to end in a puff of smoke.  For lo, I am a jealous God.  I will not share My glory, neither can I abide long with those who turn aside over appearances and the opinions of others.  For the bringing of My ark to the place of My choosing is costly. Like Uzzah, some will not make it, and though mistakes be made, press on, press in.  Prepare well your people for the sacrifices offered along the way will be many and hard.  Beware lest the eyes of contempt and the voices of criticism, or by means of disdain or hidden jealousies you become discouraged.  For there will always be Michals looking down from their lofty places who will never understand your passion.  How they come with the voice of reason!  They question your motives.  They raise the banners of doubt.  Rebuke her early, yeah, turn not aside to the altar of the fear of man. Say to her, “I will be even more undignified than this, and I will be humble in my own sight”. 

You can hear the thunder clapping in the distance. Occasional strikes in the sky have lifted your eyes in anticipation.  At times you have even smelled the coming rain.  I am coming, and when I do, it will be as the opening of the heavens.  Be wise, yeah, be careful, lest the opinions of man cause you to stumble.

I have been privileged to experience significant “outpourings” first hand, including being swept into the Kingdom during the Charismatic Renewal in the 70’s, the amazing demonstrations of God’s miraculous power upon the coast of China in the 80’s, and the Toronto as well as the Brownsville wells which opened up in the 90’s. 

The Spirit of the Lord is stirring in me.  I know He wants to move, and His eye is running to and fro, seeking after those whose hearts are so yearning, who are moved by the same convictions which made the Davids and Peters of old to LEAP.  He is looking for those who seek not just to experience His boundless blessings, but who can steward them as well.  May we be deemed worthy!  Yes, may we heed the call, and guard our hearts with all vigilance lest we stumble over the standard He is raising before He moves; the standard of the fear of man.