Don't Fool Play Yourself to Your Own Destruction

Playing the Fool

Greg Laurie

www.harvest.org

Life is filled with choices—dozens, hundreds, even thousands of choices each and every day.

Maybe you are at a fork in the road of your life where you are facing an important choice right now. Perhaps it is a decision regarding a relationship or a career. Maybe it is something else.

Whatever decision you must make, make the right choice. Choices produce consequences, and actions produce reactions.

We find a clear and tragic example of this in the life of Saul, Israel's first king. His life is a study in contrasts. He started his reign in victory and ended it in humiliating defeat.

His life stands as a warning that you cannot rebel against God and get away with it. Your choices and actions will catch up with you—maybe not today, maybe not even tomorrow. But sooner or later, the Bible says, your sin will find you out unless you repent.

Saul's story begins with the nation of Israel, which until then had been ruled by various judges, along with prophets who would give the word of the Lord to them. But the people grew tired of that. They wanted a king, because other nations had kings.

So they complained to the prophet Samuel. As God instructed him, Samuel warned them of the consequences of having a king. Still, they were intent on having one.

Samuel brought Saul before the people of Israel and told them: "Here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired . . . If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God" (1 Samuel 12:13–14 NKJV).

Not long afterward, Saul began an inexplicable course of self-destruction. He became a victim of himself—full of impatience, pride, rebellion, and jealousy, ultimately leading to attempted murder.

Over a period of years, he descended from being a great leader to being a paranoid tyrant. And when he directly disobeyed God's command, Samuel said to him, "You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart . . . " (1 Samuel 13:13–14 NLT).

After this, Saul went from bad to worse. It wasn't long before David emerged on the scene, and Saul began to relentlessly pursue him out of paranoia and jealousy. Saul eventually died a pathetic death on the battlefield, taking his own life.

Saul started well, but he finished badly. In effect he wrote his own epitaph when he said, "Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly" (1 Samuel 26:21 NKJV).

We too can "play the fool." We play the fool when we disobey God, even in the smallest matters. Spiritual decline is gradual. It is not for us to pick and choose what we like about God's will for our lives. It is for us to do what the Bible teaches.

We play the fool when we attempt to justify the wrong we have done. More than once, Saul blamed others for what he had done. He was more concerned about the opinions of people than the opinion of God.

We play the fool when we forget that how we finish is more important than how we start. Finishing well is important. Saul forgot that.

We play the fool when we allow hatred to control our lives instead of love. Saul's jealousy ultimately destroyed him. He thought everyone was out to get him, but he was self-destructing.

We are all going to slip up in life. We are all going to make mistakes. We are all going to sin. But you don't want to look back on your life one day and think, I threw my life away by the stupid choices I made.

The question is, can you learn from your mistakes? Can you say, "That was such a bitter experience, such a hard pill to swallow, I pray that I will never do that again"?

If so, you have learned something. Something good will have come out of something bad.

But if you go back and do the same thing again and again and again, then you are falling backward. And ultimately, you are going to play the fool.

Mourn to be comforted!

Blessed are those who mourn

by Steve Cornell

Jesus began his kingdom manifesto (the Sermon on the Mount) with a pronouncement of blessing on the poor in spirit? This is what I love about the teaching of Jesus. Who would think of poor in spirit, mourners as blessed people? This breaks with all our expected categories! It challenges our cultural assumptions. It is like saying that Christian character and discipleship begins with a recognition that you don't qualify. A poor in spirit person is broken and contrite. He recognizes that he has nothing to commend himself to God ---no claim upon God but God's mercy. The Sermon on the Mount begins on a theme that traces back to God's grace. 

The Paradox intensifies:

And, if being blessed and poor in spirit seems paradoxical, the paradox is more startling when Jesus pronounces a blessing on mourners. Blessed are the sorrowful? Blessed are the grieving? How could this be? 

 

Get this! Following Jesus is completely counter-cultural. We naturally resist it. We would say: "Blessed is the person who has no sorrow or sadness." What kind of mourning or sorrow could someone experience that would make him blessed? 

Since there are many kinds of sorrow, Jesus could not be saying all who mourn to be blessed. All who mourn will not be comforted. How are we to understand this? What kind of mourning would be blessed by God?

An Emotional Counterpart:

Is it possible that the second beatitude (blessed are those who mourn) is the emotional counterpart to the first beatitude (blessed are the poor in spirit). "It is one thing to be spiritually poor and to acknowledge it; it is quite another to grieve and mourn over it" (John R. W. Stott, Sermon on the Mount, p.41).

The eight beatitudes seem to unfold in progressive experience-one common to all of Jesus' true disciples. The one who begins with poverty of spirit will mourn about his sin. This will lead to meekness toward others. 

All of God's children sooner or later cry out with the apostle Paul, "Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death" (Rom. 7:24). Earlier the apostle said: "I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwells no good thing." Like the prophet Isaiah, when we become aware of the greatness of the holy God, we react with a sense of personal devastation, saying, " "Woe to me!".…."I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips…" (Isa. 6:5).

On Oct. 18th 1740, David Brainerd (the godly missionary to the American Indians) expressed poverty of spirit and mourning when he wrote in his journal, "In my morning devotions, my soul was exceedingly melted, and bitterly mourned over my exceeding sinfulness and vileness."

Although God commended the righteous character of Job, at the end of his trial, he said to God, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes"  (Job 42:5-6; contra. Rev. 16:8-11).

Augustine, in the days prior to his conversion, wrote, "I grew more wretched and thou didst grow nearer." Could God's presence bring a mixture of comfort and terror? The first two beatitudes picture the tax-gather who beat himself on the chest and cried out with down cast eyes, 'God be merciful to me the sinner'" (Luke 18:9-13). In Psalm 38:18, David, the man after Gods heart said, "I confess my iniquity I am troubled about my sin" 

When Jesus said: "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted" ( He does not speak of mourning for any kind of misery. It was mourning associated with recognition of one's poverty of spirit. "Blessed is the man who is moved to bitter sorrow at the realization of his own sin. The way to God is the way of the broken heart. Penitence is the first act of the Christian life, and penitence is sorrow" (William Barclay).

"To mourn is something that follows of necessity from being 'poor in spirit'. It is quite inevitable. As I confront God and His holiness, and contemplate the life that I am meant to live, I see myself, my utter helplessness and hopelessness. I discover my quality of spirit and immediately that makes me mourn. I must mourn about the fact that I am like that (Martyn Llyod-Jones, Sermon on the Mount, P.58). 

Just as conviction leads to conversion, true confession will always involve contrition (i. e. sorrow and remorse over sin).  The apostle Paul wrote of, "godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to (i. e. indicating the reality of) salvation (2 Corin. 7:10). Yet he also wrote of, "the sorrow of the world which produces death."

Sorrow that is not blessed:

Some people give a show of sorrow about sin but they are really sorry for the consequences and the personal hurt their sin caused them. They display the sorrow of Cain, Esau and King Saul--the sorrow of the world. They are sorry they I got caught and had to suffer. If this person gives a display of confession, they will mostly verbalize it in relation to themselves-- to their hurt, and their pain, not in relation to God and others. 

"The sorrow of the world, indeed is not something distinct from sin; on the contrary, it partakes of the very essence of sin. It is not sorrow because of the heinousness of sin as rebellion against God, but sorrow because of the painful and unwelcome consequences of sin. Self is its central point; and self is also the central point of sin. Thus the sorrow of the world manifests itself in self-pity rather than in contrition and turning to God for mercy" (Philip Hughes, N.IC.N.T. 2 Cor. Pp 272-273).

They shall be comforted:

The blessedness of those who mourn is directly related to the fact that, as Jesus said, "they shall be comforted." There is clearly a present and future aspect to this comfort. Just as the Christian life begins with poverty of spirit and an emotional response of godly sorrow over sin, so it breaks out into the joy of forgiveness, the joy of God's salvation.

The psalmist declared, "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him… (Ps. 32:1-2).

We sing it:

This theme has been repeatedly captured in song: "He speaks, and listening to his voice New life the dead receive, the mournful, broken hearts rejoice, the humble poor believe" (Charles Wesely). Is it comforting to know that the wonderful grace of Jesus is "broader than the scope of my transgression"? "My sin O the bliss of this glorious through my sin not in part but the whole; is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul"

The "already not yet" reality: 

The initial awareness of sin and sorrow at the time of salvation never goes away in this life. In fact, if anything, it intensifies as we grow closer to God. There is an ever-deepening awareness of the evil of sin against the holiness of God.

The indwelling presence of God's Spirit at salvation brings comfort and joy, but as Romans 8 shows, it is precisely because we have the deposit of the spirit that we groan with expectation for final fulfillment.

"Already, through the indwelling presence of God's spirit, we have been transferred into the new age of blessing and salvation; but the fact that the spirit is only the first fruit makes us daily conscious that we have not yet severed all ties to the old era of sin and death. There is a healthy balance necessary in the Christian life, in which our joy at the many blessings we already possess should be set beside our frustration at our failures and our intense yearning for that day when we will fail no more when we shall be like Him" (Douglas Moo, W.E.C. Romans P. 557).

We must not expect that mourning over sin will all end at salvation. I am deeply concerned that we do not misrepresent the Christian life as one of unending joy and bliss. There is an emotional variety that intensifies and should be understood and accepted.

"Some Christians seem to imagine that, especially if they are filled with the spirit, they must wear a perpetual grin on their faces and be continuously boisterous and bubbly… The truth is that there are such things as Christian tears, and too few of us ever weep them" (John Stott).

Christian Realism:

"There can also be a mourning stimulated by broader considerations. Sometimes the sin of the world, the lack of integrity, the injustice, the cruelty, the cheapness, the selfishness, all pile onto the consciousness of a sensitive man and make him weep. The Christian is to be the truest realist. He reasons that death is there, and must be faced. God is there, and will be known by all a savior or judge. Sin is there, and it is unspeakably ugly and block in the light of God's purity. Eternity is there, and every living human being is rushing toward it. God's revelation is there, and the alternatives it presents will come to pass; life or death, pardon or condemnation, heaven or hell. These are realities which will not go away. The man who lives in the light of them, and rightly assesses himself and his world in the light of them, cannot but mourn. He mourns for the sins and blasphemies of his nation. He mourns for the erosion of the very concept of truth. He mourns over the greed, the cynicism, the lack of integrity. He mourns that there are so few mourners (D.A. Carson Sermon on the Mount p. 19). 

Joy is a distinguishing characteristic of the godly, but joy must be placed beside the tears and sorrow. The Psalmist said: "My eyes shed streams of tears because men do not keep thy law" (Ps. 119:136). God's faithful people are described as those who: "sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in Jerusalem" (Ezra 9:4). The godly scribe Ezra prays and identifies with the sins of the people in confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God. 

Jeremiah the weeping prophet said: "oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night. For the slain of the daughter of my people! O that I had in the desert a wayfarers lodging place; that I might leave my people, and go from them! For all of them are adulterers, and assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongue like their bow; lies and not truth prevail in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord." 

The apostle Paul wrote about many "of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18).

The emotion of the eternal God was recorded in Genesis 6:5-6, "the Lord saw that the wickedness or man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart."

Although the gospels never record the laughter of Jesus they do record his anguish and tears. ( Mt. 26:34-38; Jn. 10:35; Heb. 5:7-9). The prophet Isaiah identified the coming messiah as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who would bear our grief and carry our sorrows. 

Lloyd-Jones speaks to us today:

"I cannot help feeling that the final explanation of the state of the church today is a defective sense of sin and a defective doctrine of sin. Coupled with that, of course, is a failure to understand the true nature of Christian joy. There is the double failure. There is not the real, deep conviction of sin as was once the case; and on the other hand there is this superficial conception of joy and happiness which is very different indeed from that which we find in the New Testament. Thus the defective doctrine of sin and the shallow idea of joy, working together, of necessity produce a superficial kind of person and a very inadequate kind of Christian life" (Sermon on the Mount). (cf. 1 Cor. 5:2- "should you not have rather mourned?")

Of course, "We are prepared to walk with Jesus through Matthew 23 and repeat his pronouncements of doom; but we stop before we get to the end of the chapter and join him in weeping over the city" (D.A. Carson, Sermon on the Mount, p. 19).

Comfort for some not all:

Those who mourn with the sorrow of the world will end their self-centered sorrow with the weeping of final judgment (Mt. 13:42,50, 23:30). But those who mourn with godly sorrow will be comforted ---in this life, as they receive the comfort of sins forgiven. And, even this great comfort will be surpassed one day in a new heaven and new earth, the kingdom of God will be consummated, and God himself will wipe away all tears from the eyes of those who once mourned. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away (Rev. 21:4) (see: D.A. Carson p.19). Weeping may endure for the night but joy comes in the morning and in our mourning!

Steve Cornell

senior pastor

Millersville Bible Church

58 West Frederick Street

Millersville, PA. 17551

717-872-4260

 

Bio for Steve Cornell

Steve Cornell is Senior Pastor of Millersville Bible Church, Millersville Pennsylvania. Steve attended Citadel Bible College, Philadelphia Biblical University, Institute for Biblical Studies, Lancaster Bible College, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (North East extension), and Biblical Theological Seminary. He has a wide-ranging ministry on radio, in newspapers, among university students, and at Conferences. Steve and his wife Becky are parents of four children.

Reaching through Preaching

Preaching without Apology

Greg Laurie 

www.harvest.org

Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.

— 1 Corinthians 1:21

God can be known—that is the message of the church. And God can be known and made known through preaching. Preaching is God's primary way of reaching lost people. We are to declare a known God to a world that does not know Him.

That is not to say that we don't have personal doubts. That is not to say that we don't have our own struggles. But it is not our job to share those with a lost world on their way to hell. Our job is to point them in the right direction, to point them to Christ.

Preaching is what God has called the church to do. Jesus was a preacher of the Word. We read in Matthew 4 that when He began His ministry, He preached, "The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!" (Mark 1:15) Then He sent His disciples out to preach as well. Yet the trend today is for preachers to share their doubts instead of their faith. 

We need to teach the Word without apology. The apostle Paul, speaking at Mars Hill, didn't stand up and say, "Well, I see you worship an unknown god. Hey, I worship an unknown God too, but we are all on a journey together. Let's discuss. Where's the coffee?" No, what Paul said was, "This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I'm telling you about" (Acts 17: 23). God can be known.

So don't tell me that God is a mystery, that He cannot be known, and that it is actually arrogant to say otherwise. God can be known, God should be known, and God must be known. And it will happen as His Word is proclaimed authoritatively.

True Spiritual Authority

Francis Frangipane:

"Spiritual Authority and the Things We Love"

While the doctrines of Christianity can be taught, Christlikeness can only be inspired. By their humble and holy lives, this next generation of leaders will inspire multitudes. They will truly walk in Christ's love; they will be granted great authority.

The Church has many administrators, but few examples of Christ; many who can explain the doctrines of Christianity but few who walk as Jesus walked. Indeed, while many stand in leadership today, not many function in the higher realms of authority that Christ purchased for His Church. However, a new badge of authority is coming to the Church. It will bring deliverance on a scale unprecedented; in some cases, entire cities will be turned toward God.

What is spiritual authority? It is nothing less than God Himself confirming with power the word of His servant. Moses exemplified spiritual authority when he warned unrepentant Pharaoh. The Spirit of God confirmed Moses' judgments with power that broke the pride of Egypt. Jesus manifested spiritual authority when He confronted demons in people, silenced storms, healed diseases, and then fulfilled redemption in resurrection power. The Father let none of Christ's words go unfulfilled.

The Bible provides us with many examples of those with spiritual authority. Every example tells us the same underlying principle: those who are raised up by God are backed up by God. They will "decree a thing, and it will be established" (Job 22:28). Such is the nature of spiritual authority.

The Source of Authority

Obviously, as pastors, leaders, and intercessors, we need to operate in greater authority. Yet while we enjoy a variety of graces that add to our personal edification, God gives us authority for one specific purpose: to fulfill His purposes on the earth. What are God's purposes? One main unveiling of the divine purpose is seen in the Great Commission. Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:18-19).

Christ gave the Church authority to make disciples. We have been much more successful in making converts than disciples. In our day, many are Believers in Jesus, but few are truly followers of Christ. If the goal is discipleship, how do we accomplish this? We are to take our converts and teach "them to observe all that [Jesus] commanded" (verse 20). When the Church returns to teaching all that Jesus taught, our disciples will have authority to do all that Jesus did.

Yet, spiritual authority is not something we possess merely because we strive for it. We cannot buy it as Simon the magician attempted to do (Acts 8:18). The power of authority will not function simply because we copy the methods of another, as the sons of Sceva realized (Acts 19:14-16). Nor can it be attained automatically because we read books about building the Church. We cannot pretend to have spiritual authority. As we focus upon obeying the words of Christ, there are divinely ordained ways for Christ's authority to unfold in our lives.

From the beginning of our salvation we have enjoyed the Father's unconditional love. As we mature, however, there comes a time when the Father's love toward us seems conditional. As it was for Christ, so it is for those who follow Him. He said:

For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life.—John 10:17

Jesus lived in the deepest intimacies of the Father's love because He laid down His life for the sheep. If we will grow in true authority, we will do so by laying down our lives for His sheep. Have you felt the drawing, the divine working of the Father bringing you into Christlike surrender? Be encouraged: He is equipping you for this next outpouring of His Spirit. But also be advised: your authority will be an outgrowth of your life laid down in love.

As leaders, we do indeed have administrative authority due to our positions in church government; however, spiritual authority transcends administrative authority. Here is the path to true spiritual authority: in full possession of our souls, without fear or intimidation by any outside source, we choose to lay down our lives for Christ's sheep. Yes, in full freedom, with avenues of escape plainly within view, we fearlessly surrender our souls to God. No one controls us but God, yet our lives are laid down, like Christ's, in intercession for others. When we could easily fight and win, yet turn the other cheek; when we are unjustly opposed, yet quietly endure—at those moments spiritual authority is entering our lives.

No one has taken [My life] away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.—John 10:18

Jesus was not forced to accept crucifixion; He chose crucifixion. Christ's Gethsemane prayer was not an entreaty to escape the Cross, for while Jesus was still in the garden, He told Peter, "Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53).

Jesus had a choice: legions of warring angels and immediate personal deliverance, or death on the Cross and deliverance for the world. He chose to die for us. The willful decision to lay down our lives as Jesus did is the very path upon which true authority develops. Jesus said, "I have authority to lay [My life] down" (John 10:18). His authority came in the laying down of His life. Our authority comes from the same source: picking up our cross and laying down our lives for others.

Authority, Not Control

Spiritual authority is the provision of God to transform the temporal with the power of the eternal. It is not something our flesh can imitate, nor is it found in the tone of our words or the gaze of our eyes. Divine authority requires divine sanction. This sanction comes from passing the tests of love.

When authority is administered without love, it degenerates into control. God does not call us to control His people but to inspire and guard them. The outcome of control is oppression, witchcraft, and strife. But the result of love is liberty and the power to build up and protect God's people.

True spiritual authority exists above the realm of fleshly control. Our lives, and the lives of those who follow us, are laid down on our own initiative. It is a choice we make because of love. Since true authority itself is born in freedom, freedom is what it breeds.

We will walk in either the true authority of love, the false authority of control, or no authority at all. Both false authority and no authority are rooted in fear, and we react to fear in either of two ways. The first reaction, which produces false authority, is to seek to control those around us, thus making the circumstances around us more predictable and less threatening. The other response to fear is to refuse to accept and exercise any authority at all. Many relationships are simply the pairing of these symbiotic needs: the desire to control and the willingness to be controlled. Both are fueled by overreactions to fear.

Scripture tells us, however, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). Since true authority is built upon love, its goal is to liberate, not dominate. Therefore, before one can truly move in spiritual authority, he must be delivered from fear and its desire to control; he must be rooted and grounded in love.

Authority to Inspire Christlikeness

When our teaching about God and our obedience to Him are one, spiritual authority accompanies our lives. Jesus astounded the multitudes, for He spoke "as one having authority" (Matthew 7:28-29). What He taught was consistent with how He lived. Therefore, we also must live and display the virtue we seek to teach.

Dear pastor, if we seek to train our congregations to pray, we ourselves must first be intercessors. You may say, "But out of a congregation of several hundred, only three people join me for prayer." Then with those three develop your intercessor base. Do not be discouraged, for you will win others. But the measure of our success is not the numbers in attendance on Sunday mornings. God has given us people so we may train them, not merely count them. Of this group, those whom we inspire to live like Christ are actually the measure of our success, the test of our effectiveness in the ministry.

Another may say, "But I've never been a leader." When anyone lays down his or her life in Christ's love, others will see and follow. Whether you are a business owner, a housewife, or a teen, such a one can speak with confidence and authority as Christ's disciple. In truth, if you are following Christ, others are following you. You are, indeed, a leader.

This next generation will not just teach the people; they will inspire the Body of Christ to live like Jesus. Their example in all things will awaken godliness in those around them. From true virtue shall the leaders of tomorrow draw true authority, for when the nature of Christ is revealed, the authority of Christ soon follows.

Authority in Spiritual Warfare

As wide as our sphere of love, to that extent we have spiritual authority. We see this in the mother who loves her child. Such a woman has authority to protect, train, and nurture her offspring. She has authority to protect what she loves. The same is true of the husband over his family. His authority is not merely to rule but to establish in his home the life of Christ. True spiritual authority is born of love.

The individuals who love their local congregation have authority to build up that congregation. Their authority is not extended, however, beyond the boundaries of their love. If we love the entire Body of Christ in a locale, our authority touches the lives of those in our city or region, either through the burden of prayer or through teaching or outreach and service.

The testing ground of all spiritual things is love, for love alone purifies our motives and delivers us from the deceitfulness of self. Even authority in spiritual warfare must be rooted in love. David gained the skills to slay Goliath, not on a battlefield, but by defending his father's sheep from predatory animals. David loved the sheep so much that he risked his life for them. So also we grow in authority as we protect our Father's sheep, the flock He has given us to love.

Authority is muscle in the arm of love. The more one loves, the more authority is granted to him. If we love our cities and are willing to lay down our lives in service to our community, God will enlarge our hearts. He will grant us new authority in spiritual warfare. However, no man should ever engage in confrontational warfare who does not love what he has been called to protect. If you do not love your city, do not pray against the ruling forces of darkness. Satan knows the genuineness of our love by the brightness of the glory that surrounds us. A man or woman without Christ-inspired love will soon shrink back and fail in spiritual warfare. Only love "never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Indeed, when it comes to spiritual warfare, there are many things the Holy Spirit has to say that we are not able to hear until the base of our love is expanded. In His wisdom, the Lord protects us from presumptuously attacking the strongholds of Hell and suffering loss. Yet, if we are truly anointed in God's love, the price to see our culture saved is not too great. But it will be a price that love alone can pay.

Authority to Build Up the Body of Christ

For even if I should boast somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you...—2 Corinthians 10:8

Many so-called "prophets" today think they are called, like Jeremiah, to "pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow" (Jeremiah 1:10). Jeremiah's message was to a people who were destined to be carried off into Babylon. The prophet spoke to a people who did not have the Holy Spirit and the Blood of Jesus. Israel was, at that time, a nation that God Himself said was destined for captivity, and had been speaking and warning against judgment for over 250 years.

Yet, even if we had only the prophet Jeremiah as our example, God's commission of Jeremiah was more than confronting sin. It also included promises of restoration and deliverance, "to build and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:10). To represent the heart of the Lord, which is the true prophetic role, the servant of God must know both God's grace and His truth. We must know by revelation whether the Holy Spirit is preparing to destroy or seeking to rebuild.

Today, in my opinion, we are a people coming out of captivity, a people whom God is encouraging to build, as they did in the days of Nehemiah, Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah. We have been in exile from the promises of God, but we are returning to rebuild the Lord's house. Yes, we are in a time of judgment, correction and discipline, yet it is not a time to tear down the Body of Christ; it is time to establish and to build up.

The authority coming to the Church in this next outpouring will be an authority to restore the local, citywide church. Like Paul's authority, ours will be given for building and encouraging and not for destroying.

God has this new leadership constantly before His eyes. Pastors from many denominations, along with their congregations, are meeting together in prayer, seeking to draw the very fire and heart of God into their souls. Emerging from this foundation of humility and prayer is a new authority to make disciples of Christ. Because their love extends outward into their cities, their authority reaches outward as well, even into the heavenly places. These are the leaders whom God is raising up. And those whom God raises up, He backs up with His power. Authority is muscle in the arm of love.

Dear Lord, make me a willing sacrifice. I desire Your authority, Lord. Give me courage to surrender in obedience, even when I do not see the outcome and when all I see is loss. Help me to trust as I walk through the narrow gate. Establish in me Your love that I might defend Your people with authority. In Jesus' name, amen.

Francis Frangipane

Ministries of Francis Frangipane

Email: francis1@frangipane.org

Website: www.frangipane.org

Worship Him or Become Depraved?

Wired to Worship 

Greg Laurie

www.harvest.org

The fundamental difference between humanity and animals is that animals don't worship, but people do. God has essentially wired us this way. As Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, He has placed "eternity in our hearts." We sense there is something more, and it causes us to worship.

Of course, not everyone worships God. But when you get down to it, everyone worships. Everyone has built an altar in their lives to someone or something.

Often, our problems and questions are resolved in worship. Asaph, who was grappling with the age-old question of why the wicked prosper, wrote, "When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me-until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction" (Psalm 73:16-17 NKJV).

Asaph didn't understand why things were the way they were until he came into God's presence to study His Word with His people. Then his questions came into proper perspective.

Worship affects every aspect of our lives. When we neglect it, problems will develop, as we see in Romans 1:20-25. These verses offer a look at the downward steps that occur when we fail to worship God.

It all begins with a failure to worship and glorify God. Verse 21 says, "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God . . . " (NLT). For example, you might decide that you don't need to go to church this week. Next week comes, and you're too busy. Soon, two months have gone by. Prayer is no longer a part of your life. Bible study is not a part of your life. Church is not a part of your life.

A downward spiral has begun. It may not happen overnight, but it starts with a failure to worship and glorify God.

The next step down is a failure to give thanks. If you don't glorify God as God, then it is inevitable that you won't give thanks to Him. Verse 21 says, "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused" (verse 21 NLT).

Some Christians neglect to give thanks at mealtimes, thinking of it as unnecessary. I think that it is a wonderful thing when an individual or family stops before a meal and prays. You are acknowledging that God has provided that meal for you. Even when you are in a public place, it is a good thing to do. If people see you, then let them see you. After all, you are giving thanks to God.

Next, failing to glorify God and to give thanks will result in turning to other gods or idols. Verse 23 says, "And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes" (NLT).

When God is removed, someone or something will take His place. Many people turn to belief systems designed to alleviate a guilt-ridden conscience. They think that whatever is true to them, if it is their truth, then that is good. This is the way many people live.

Failing to glorify God and be thankful will not only cause idolatry to enter in, but degraded and wicked living will soon follow. We find this step down in verse 24: "So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies." (NLT).

If you don't have God in your life and you are not following His Word, then you don't have a moral compass. You don't know what is right and wrong anymore, so you just go with whatever feels good to you and become more and more depraved.

As I said, everyone worships something or someone. At what altar are you bowing today? Will that god be able to save you? Will that god be able to help you when crisis hits? The answer is no - if your god is anyone apart from Jesus Christ.

You were created to have fellowship with the true and living God. You were created to glorify Him. He will bring you the pleasure, fulfillment, and purpose that you have been seeking from other things. But it starts with worshipping Him.