Normalization of the Apostolic
Then…and now Just thirty-forty years ago, the term “prophetic” was only used to describe those things foretold in the books of Revelation and Daniel or the events leading up to Armageddon. There were a few prophetic conferences but nearly all of them were about end-time events and emphasized the rapture or mark of the Beast. At that time the concept that “you may all prophesy” was gaining acceptance but only in a few small group settings. Public prophecy was relegated to a few bold enough to blurt out something (usually loudly) in the quiet between songs during worship and mainly of the “my children, my children” variety. Every charismatic church had one. Prophets were seen as odd, mystical types and the prophetic ministry limited to only a few. Based on an Old Testament model, prophets were seen as mystical and eccentric. Unoffendable by Francis Frangipane“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26).God has a new heart for us that cannot be offended, an “unoffendable” heart. Beloved, possessing an unoffendable heart is not an option or a luxury; it’s not a little thing. An offended heart is endanger of becoming a “heart of stone.”
2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
The Word of God is clear that days are coming,or are already here, when men will not want to hear the Truth of the gospel but instead create an alternative gospel, even an American Gospel. Instead of having a love for and desiring truth, believers will begin to want to hear only that which makes them feel good and does not confront their old nature. “Christian happy talk”, one leader calls it. Then He said to the disciples, “ It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! “ Luke 17:1
The offenses that Jesus refers to were actions done to people causing immature believers to turn away from God. But today we have an increasingly toxic,embittered society and a culture of victimhood where the perpetually offended are constantly talking about “their rights”. Fueled by politicians and activists, this has produced an offended culture.In a culture where truth is lacking,this happens. “..(we incite) rebellion and treachery against the Lord,turning our backs on our God,inciting revolt and oppression,uttering lies our hearts have conceived.So justice is driven back,and righteousness stands at a distance;truth has stumbled in the streets,honesty cannot enter.Truth is nowhere to be found,and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.”Isaiah 59:13-15 NIV The church is to be the pillar and support of the truth in any culture but must avoid two key extremes: truth w/o grace,which is legalism & grace w/o truth which is license. Authentic grace is comfortable with truth, the hard facts & the way things really are. Grace works in and out of truth, not to deny it. Americans now spend around 10 hours a day on devices. So it is no wonder we all can have a difficult time staying focused. Focus means:the center of interest or activity.
To say focused,we need to define the priorities God has called us to individually and as a family and not get bogged down in what is happening elsewhere or with others. As our world is more connected and we can know what is happening globally in real time, there is a tendency to get easily distracted from our path and our goals. It takes discipline to stay focused on your goal or goals and not allow yourself to get distracted with all the things going on around you. When we do this we slowly become double-minded and being double-minded robs our faith and prevents us from focusing on that objective or target we need to believe to get to. Several years ago, right as I was preparing to relocate to another city and plant a church, a prophet came to a retreat I attended in Maryland. When he came around to me, he began praying and said stuff like “You are a master musician, an Asaph” and then he referred to me as a “seer”. I actually didn’t know what either of these terms meant at that time but in the ensuing years I discovered that Asaph was a percussionist who led a band of musicians that ministered in David’s tabernacle & trained worshipers and musicians. I also discovered that a seer was a type of prophet who was extremely sensitive to his spiritual surroundings and a heightened awareness of the spirit world. These seers could see angels or demons, “smell” soon-coming rain or “hear” the trumpet of the Lord sounding in the heavens declaring a new day on earth.
OT Seers
Samuel, Gad, Iddo, Hanani, Asaph, Jehu and Jeduthun were all described in the bible as seers. While they weren’t the only ones, these all had higher positions of access to Kings. In those days the king had these seers in their courts. They occupied a cabinet-like position, which gave them access to the king so he might get godly counsel and have the Lord’s opinion on things revealed to him. David had Gad and Asaph as seers. Asa had Hanani and King Hezekiah had Jeduthun. He does not come to bless our programs, ideas or agendas. He comes to reveal the Father’s ideas and agenda. He doesn’t wait for our permission, He waits for our surrender. Paula White
Acts 8:29, “then the Spirit said unto Philip, ‘Go near and join thyself to this chariot”. Acts 13:2, “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ‘Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.’” I was amazed to see this few weeks ago from Religion News Service: “After decade-long resistance, the Southern Baptist Convention will admit missionary candidates who speak in tongues, a practice associated with Pentecostal and charismatic churches.The new policy, approved by the denomination’s International Mission Board on Wednesday (May 13), reverses a policy that was put in place 10 years ago” (RNS) This was a historic move for the Southern Baptists and a profound shift in US church to see this occur! So who is the Holy Spirit? Well,He is GOD. But we must better understand who He is so we can fully appreciate the privilege we have of walking with Him. There is a difference between who He is and what He does.
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AuthorPastor Marc Lawson Archives
July 2018
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