Friday, May 28, 2010

RIDING THE FLOOD

This year, 2010, will go down as one of the most unpredictable years in recent history. As I write this, we are barely into the fifth month of the year and the devastation that nature is bringing is staggering. We have had major earthquakes in Haiti, Turkey, Chile, China, northern Mexico, Sumatra, Indonesia, and now Puerto Rico. The loss of human life in several of these disasters has been huge.

There was a sense of the unreal when suddenly a volcano erupted in Iceland and the dust cloud that followed shut down air traffic in northern Europe for days. The scene became more surreal when the scientists explained that this was a small volcano and they were concerned about the big one in Iceland that is now overdue to erupt.

Natural disasters seem to be reaching the flood stage.

But the flooding that is affecting us is not just in the world of natural occurrences. We are seeing a veritable flood in other areas, as well. Pornography has become a flood. Moral laxness has become a flood; casual sex has become the norm. Drug abuse is a flood. TV’s “60 Minutes” recently did a report on drug use among third- and fourth-year college students. It is estimated that in some senior classes, 60 percent of the students take neuro-enhancers (drugs) to help them focus when studying, writing a term paper, or taking a test. They are taking these stimulants without any regard for side effects or addiction. The amount of illicit drugs coming into our nation is beyond the flood stage, as is the hunger for the recreational high that drugs and alcohol brings. Is anybody listening?

We truly are living in the days that the Apostle Paul described as “perilous,” meaning savage days, “times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear] (2 Timothy 3:1, Amplified).

There are numerous biblical references to floods. The flood of Noah’s day is the most well-known of the Bible stories. It is important to remember that this big flood was orchestrated by heaven and had a divinely ordained purpose to it—the issue was not water but the fulfilling of God’s plan.

As I watched the news a few days ago, I was stunned at what suddenly happened in Tennessee. A rainstorm dropped an unprecedented amount of water on middle Tennessee in twenty-four hours. Thirteen inches of rain in twenty-four hours and the downtown area of Nashville was flooded, with some hotel lobbies under ten feet of water.

I was working on this article when the storm hit Nashville and I heard the Spirit of the Lord say to me, “So it will be with the coming storms; they will come without warning and catch many by surprise.”

A few days later, on May 6, the stock market plummeted 1000 points in just a few minutes before recovering a good portion of what was lost. It appears that the wild swing was the result of human error and caught everyone by surprise.

The Holy Spirit also quickened to my heart Psalm 29:10-11 (NIV):
”The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
“The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.”


The only time this Hebrew word for flood is used in Scripture is here (in 29:10) and in reference to the flood of Noah’s day (Genesis 7:6-10). The flood of Noah was an event directed by heaven to bring about the fulfillment of a divine plan. I believe God is allowing the floods of our day to bring to fulfillment His divine plan for this world and for His people.

The restricted use of this word for flood is very comforting to me, especially when the words of Psalm 29:10 are followed by.
“The LORD is enthroned as King forever.
“The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.”


The Lord is reminding us that not only did He control Noah’s flood but His everlasting reign controls all the details of our life and destiny. He ties His control not only to the flood but to the destiny of His people.

For Christ followers, the sudden outbreaks of all types of flooding are not to be times of fear. We need to imprint on our hearts the meaning of the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 29:10-11: “My sovereign Lord sits eternally enthroned as the king/ruler of the flood. He watches over His people. He promises to fill them with peace and strength—the peace of knowing that He is sovereign and in charge, and the supernatural strength to handle all that comes their way and to find His ark of safety for them.”

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water (Genesis 7:17-18 NIV).

Noah and his family were safe because Noah listened to God, stepped out in faith, and followed His instructions to the letter.

Our ark of safety in the coming storm is constructed by our faith and obedience. Our ark will ride on the surface of the waters just as Noah’s did!

Friday, May 21, 2010

ELISHA'S PRAYER

One of the most interesting characters of the Old Testament, for me, is Elisha. Elijah gets most of the press—but Elisha also had the goods. He was the real deal—one righteously bad dude! (Translation: He was a powerful man of God.)

Look at the story found in 2 Kings 6:8-23. The Syrians were warring against Israel and were constantly frustrated by them. Every time the Syrians would lay a trap for the Jews, the Jews would find out about it and the ambush would come to nothing.

In frustration, the Syrian king called his men together and accused them of having a spy in their midst. The loyal servants said, “No, there is no spy. The Jews have a prophet named Elisha and he tells the Jewish king even the words that you say in the privacy of your quarters.” The stunned Syrian king quickly replied, “Tell me where this man is so that I can send troops to capture him.”

Before we go on with the story, let’s pause for a moment. We are seeing a picture of how a prophet ministers to the body of Christ (the church). The prophet will often warn the body of what is ahead so they can take appropriate action and be appropriately prepared. In other situations, the prophet will speak about problems and what corrective action is needed.

There were few prophets in Israel and there are not many today. In fact, I am very cautious about people who call themselves prophets. My personal rule of thumb is, “If they call themselves prophets, they aren’t!” To give oneself a title or a position is an act of pride, and prophets are not proud people. We know this because God does not speak through the proud and arrogant. “God opposes [sets Himself against] the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 NIV).

Back to the story! By night the Syrians came against the city where Elisha was staying. It was a sneaky, Pearl Harbor-type attack. When Elisha’s servant went out early in the morning to get the paper, he was shocked to see that the city was completely surrounded by the Syrians. On the other hand, Elisha didn’t seem at all surprised. I believe Elisha foreknew exactly what was going to happen; after all, he was aware of what the Syrian king said in his bedroom!

Elisha’s servant cried out in fear, “What are we going to do?” Does that sound like a familiar question being repeated today? Elisha’s famous response was, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16 NKJV).

And then Elisha did something that I want you to take special note of. He prayed for supernatural eyesight to come on his servant so that he could see the army of God. Elisha prayed and the servant saw the host of heaven (the horses and fiery chariots) that cannot be seen by the natural eye.

As the storms increase and the attacks come suddenly upon us in the coming days, we are to expect God to do the supernatural on our behalf.

Not only did Elisha pray for his servant’s eyes to open, but he prayed blindness on the attacking Syrians. This was not physical blindness but mental confusion and bewilderment. Suddenly, confusion reigned in the ranks of the Syrians and they didn’t know where they were or who they were supposed to be capturing.

Again, this is an important point of understanding for us. When the enemy comes at us with overwhelming force, pray Elisha’s prayer: “Strike this people [this attack], I pray, with blindness” (6:18). And He will do for us what he did for Elisha.

The rest of the story is almost humorous. The confused Syrians lost sight (pun intended) of who they were to attack and capture. Elisha talked to them and they had no idea who he was. He told them that the man they were looking for was down the road and they should follow him for he would take them where they needed to be. Elisha then led them down the road right into the camp of the king of Israel. About this time the Syrians’ blindness lifted and they saw that instead of them surrounding Elisha, they were actually encircled by the Jewish army.

The king of Israel shouted out to Elisha, “My father [a term of respect], what should I do? Should I kill them?” Elisha responded, “No, feed them [bless them] and send them on their way.” Is this not a Christ-like response? Jesus said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to them that hate you…” (Matthew 5:44). Many of the attacks that will come against the church in the days ahead will supernaturally be turned into times of powerful ministry!

The response of Elisha and the king of Israel rendered the attacking forces powerless and the Syrians went back home. “So the bands of the Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel” (2 Kings 6:23).

In the days ahead when the storms rage and the attacks come, remember Elisha and how he responded. Remember the supernatural intervention and remember to pray Elisha’s prayer: “Strike these attacks, these attacking spirits, with blindness, confusion and bewilderment.”

In fact, don’t wait! If you are under attack now in any part of your life, go ahead and pull the trigger on Elisha’s prayer.

Friday, May 14, 2010

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

Before dawn one morning, you position yourself on a small hill from which you can see the entire horizon. You spend the day there, watching and trying to understand how the sun and the earth work together in the solar system. You observe the sun as it begins its ascent in the east and watch it slowly make its way across the sky throughout the day, and then descend in the west.

With no prior knowledge of the solar system, what you just observed could very easily lead you to conclude that the sun revolves around the earth. Of course, that conclusion would be false but based on what you had seen, it would seem to be an appropriate conclusion.

Sometimes we Christ followers are guilty of “jumping to a conclusion” when we don’t take time to fully understand what God is doing or what He says about the matter under discussion.

A problem in the church has been the issue of “proof texting,” which means isolating one Scripture, often lifting it out of context, and giving it a meaning that is different or exaggerated from the passage. Would you like to prove from Scripture that suicide is permissible? You can do that by lifting verses out of context and linking them together—but you will end up with a false conclusion.

When God begins to do something new in your life and the full revelation of it has not yet come, don’t be guilty of jumping to a conclusion too quickly. A lot of us have made mistakes by being too quick to reach a conclusion, only to find out that our hasty thoughts were not fully what God had in mind.

Simple rules to follow

1. Pray…pray…and then pray some more!

If your new direction in thought or ministry cannot wait for a few weeks or months of prayer, then it very likely is not of God. A wise friend once counseled me, “Take time to pray over the matter. If it still burns brightly in your spirit after a few weeks of prayer, then it’s of God. If the issue you are praying about loses your interest, it’s not of Him. So take the time to really pray!”

2. Don’t be in a rush!

Our modern minds tend to push past the fact that after Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, he spent several years in Arabia learning how to be a follower of Christ. Moses spent 40 years in the desert learning how to be a leader (obviously he was a slow learner).

3. What does the Bible have to say?

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105 NKJV).
God’s Word will speak to you about your situation. Your responsibility is to take the time to read and to listen.

4. What do my trusted adviser/friends have to say?

“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14 KJV).
Reach out to wise counsel and listen.

In 1815 all of Europe waited in suspense for news of the battle being fought between the English forces led by the Duke of Wellington, and the French emperor Napoleon. For decades Europe had been in turmoil because of Napoleon. Wars had been fought, thousands of French nobles had been killed by Napoleon, and turmoil had reached out across all Europe. The nations of Europe thought they had seen the last of Napoleon, as he had been defeated and sentenced to exile, but he escaped. He put together a huge army and was committed to defeating the English and its allied army led by Wellington.

All Europe, and especially England, waited for word of the decisive battle being fought at Waterloo in Belgium. A sailing ship was stationed offshore to relay the message to be signaled by coded flags. A lookout on the top of Winchester Cathedral finally began to read the flags on the sailing vessel, but got only the first two words before fog descended and obscured his view. The message read: “Wellington defeated….” And that was the message sent throughout the British Isles. Shock and depression spread at the devastating news. Several hours later the fog lifted and the lookout was able to read the full message: “Wellington defeated the enemy.”

The moral of this story is, don’t jump to conclusions before the fog has cleared.

After David was anointed by Samuel and he killed Goliath, he seemed to be on a fast track to leadership. He was semi-adopted into King Saul’s family, but then very quickly the whole situation began to disintegrate. Saul revealed his jealousy and tried to kill David. I wonder what went through David’s mind when he realized that the spear in Saul’s hand was meant to kill him. “Well, there goes my career in leadership and high office…this thing is over and done. I’m dead meat!” Jumping to that conclusion at that time would have been a natural thought but totally wrong; there was still too much fog. In the confusion of the moment, David fled with Saul’s men hot on his trail. Within a short time both Samuel and Jonathan reassured David that he was not going to die and that he would be the next king and, indeed, they were right!

It’s so easy to jump to conclusions rather than to wait and trust…or maybe I’m the only one who struggles with this.

So when God begins to speak to you about something new, remember the illustration of the rising and setting of the sun. Without time to understand the full picture, you may jump to the wrong conclusion.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV). This verse was written by a Jewish zealot who initially thought he might be having a brain hemorrhage as he travelled to Damascus…or perhaps I jumped to a conclusion on what he thought.

Friday, May 7, 2010

QUESTIONS FOR A FORMER REVIVALIST

Question – What does “former revivalist” mean? Are you backslidden or something?

Answer – No, I’m not backslidden! It means that I don’t talk about revival the way I used to.

Q – Why is that? Did you talk bad about revival?

A – From the time I was a boy, I heard sermons and stories about the revivals of the past and the ones “just around the corner.” When the old-timers talked about the early days of the Pentecostal revival, the stories were always tinged with, “Those were great days and we wish it could be that way again!” There seemed to always be a wistful desire to “go back to the good old days.”

I couldn’t begin to count the times I heard sermons about the great revivals that were coming—great tidal waves of His Spirit that would shake cities and countries—but never arrived. I picked up this jargon too, but no more!

Q - Have there been no revivals during your life?

A - I have seen God do some marvelous things that were a type of revival, and I have been able to participate in a few of them. For example, the Charismatic Renewal and the Jesus Movement both happened in the 60’s and 70’s. Also in 1970 a revival broke out at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, that eventually spread to dozens of universities and colleges. In the 80’s and 90’s there were flashes of revival throughout the U.S. and Canada and a lot more in other countries. But there were hundreds and hundreds of “impassioned messages” given about impending revivals and moves of God that never happened.

Q – So you stopped believing in revival?

A – That’s the odd thing. I see more need for revival now and want to see revival more than ever but I don’t feel inclined to talk about it like I used to. I am drawn more to pray about and personally live in revival but I’m tired of trying to talk up revival or to alternately coax people into revival using the old “carrot in front of the donkey” trick. I’m tired of trying to preach guilt and goad people into a worked-up revival. Hot preaching (with hot music) is not revival…it’s nothing more or less than a lively form of worship—a style of worship.

Q – What do you mean when you talk about “personal revival”?

A – The following verse from Isaiah has really spoken to me:

"For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite”
(Isaiah 57:15 NIV).

Gods’ commitment is to be with His children, to live with them, and to bring revival/renewal to them on a personal basis. The only condition God sets on this personal revival is that His people be contrite and lowly in spirit, meaning that they be humble and honest.

Q – Do you think that’s what holds back revival…the lack of humility?

A –I believe revival is held back because people do not do the one thing that will bring humility.

Q – Which is what?

A – Repentance brings humility. When we ask God to forgive us for trying to do it on our own and we honestly repent and confess that we really are nothing, we break the back of selfish egotism. Pride is brought down by repentance.

Somehow in our lifetime repentance has gotten all tangled up with legalism, and misguided preachers are telling people to repent over clothing styles or drinking coffee or something equally mundane. Repentance is not about exterior issues, it’s about the heart and the core values of my life. It’s about giving Him the steering wheel of my life and my repenting for trying to drive by my rules and not His. Repentance is about laying aside the things that weigh us down and distract us from living a life that is pleasing to Him.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Every revival starts with one repentant sinner, people just like you and me.

Q - Are you suggesting that churches should stop having revival meetings?

A - We have focused so much on the Upper Room experience that we have lost sight of the fact that if you had visited the Upper Room a few days after Pentecost, you wouldn’t have found anybody there. The wind of the Spirit pushed the “newly empowered believers” out into the street to share their faith. When the newly revived didn’t fully understand what Acts 1:8 was saying and seemed to get stuck in the first part of the verse, again the wind of the Spirit blew many of them out of Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The real revival meeting of the 21st Century has little to do with a church meeting and everything to do with His people being led by His Spirit to take the gospel into the marketplace and to the ends of the earth.

Q - So what’s your final word on revival?

A - I intend to continue living in the presence of the Lord and having my own personal revival. I also intend to keep encouraging others to do the same…to stay humble, to stay repentant and to continue living in the reviving, refreshing presence of the Lord according to His promise. I intend to continue letting the Spirit of God lead my life.