Prudent Speech

Do you see a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 29:20


There are a select few that are sagacious with their words. Many of us pour out of our mouths streams of words. Many people have the gift of gab - the ability to speak on any subject. Once you start a conversation with them, they can carry it for days. Some don't have this gift, but still practice lingual negligence. We speak when we need to shut up. We don't speak when we need to scream. We put forth a plethora of words, many times without even thinking before about what is coming out of our mouths. How many of us are guilty of this?

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Christ Jesus was one that never minced words. In fact, by His own lips He said that His words are life because they are Spirit. He actually claimed that He says nothing out of His own mind, but everything comes from the Spirit of God. Then, at another time, Jesus said that we would be judged by every idle word that comes out of our mouths. Have you ever doted upon that? Mete on it for a moment. Every idle word... What about the words that are not idle? What about the words that are premeditated? I think the point is being made: every word, whether we think about what we're saying or not.

If Jesus was one that would not speak a single word without its inception being from the Spirit of God, what then shall we say of ourselves? Paul said that he desired to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. What shall we say of ourselves, who are not the Son of God nor apostles? We don't have such a caliber of character as they, and yet we find even they are making statements about a choosing of their words and understanding. If Paul desired to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified, what then must his words have been enriched in?

The art of prudence is lost to our generation. We often don't think about the future, let alone act according to that thought. Of the famous music on the radio currently, we hear song after song about not thinking about what happens next. Let's worry about that when it comes, for now we want to party all night and sex it up until our bodies explode from erotic bacchanal. If our actions are so unpremeditated and without intuition, how many of our words are the same?

Jesus had said that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. That, of course, supposes that our hearts are overflowing. But what is it overflowing with? We simply need to check out our words to know the answer to that. Think back on the past conversations that you've had. Think back upon the arguments or the reactions that you've had. What comes out from your mouth - whether in the good or the bad moments? How much was simply verbiage to fill the air, or make your point, or show how the person that you're speaking with is wrong? How much was the weighty overflow of the Spirit of God that brings a glory out of your lips?

Out of the overflow of your heart, your mouth speaks. I'm becoming acutely aware of the need to speak less, yet in those fewer words speak much more. There are a few that I know that when they speak, it is some of the most precious words that you've ever heart. And when they listen to you speaking, they actually listen. There isn't the hope of listening so they can respond. There isn't the hope of listening so that they can then tell you their opinion. They actually listen. Why?

They listen to you because they themselves are more accustomed to not speaking unless they have something to say. When you have others around you that are in like manner, then when someone speaks up, why wouldn't you listen? This is the very heart and soul of the person. To listen to the words of what a man or woman speaks is to listen to the very heart of that person. When their heart is given over to vanity, their words will reflect it. But there is a glory that comes when we "desire to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified."

I'm striving for the latter. Many times I find myself listening to sermons, watching movies, talking to people, and I just want them to get to the point. They spend an hour talking, and yet there is barely anything said. The void isn't filled simply because we've spoken. I know some that can speak for five minutes and say more than those that get up on Sunday morning and speak for an hour. The biggest need in our day is not to teach people more information about the Bible and the Gospel. The people aren't 'over-gospeled.' They are actually under-gospeled. Our words aren't weighty enough because we haven't spent enough time listening to the Spirit and not speaking until that word is birthed in our heart out of the waiting.

What is Divine Inspiration?

I've been challenged to provide a definition of inspiration. Words have meaning. Therefore, it behooves us to come to terms seeking to understand what that term means. To place upon a word our own interpretation of that word is both disservice and dangerous. The most extreme case to point to would be Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Both Hitler and Stalin redefined what it meant to be a person. Because they redefined what it means to be a person anyone who does not add up to that definition is then less than human - subhuman. Subhumanity is dispensable, so can we truly say that the annihilation of 6,000,000 Jewish people is really that terrible? You get my point.

When we come to the idea of inspiration, we use phrases that are very fuzzy. I've heard that Divine inspiration means that the Bible says the words that God had intended the Bible to say. Well, who gets to determine what exactly that means? Or the classic example of what I've heard Divine inspiration would mean would be to say that the words are "God breathed." Yet, once again, we don't have a very specific idea as to what that means. These are general definitions, but I'm afraid that our definitions are intentionally fuzzy so that we are not required to take a stand.

Then there are the King James only-ers. These are people that aren't necessarily wrong in criticizing English translations of the Bible - many times quite accurately. Yet, the problem that I have is that they use unequal weights and measures. For example, the Hebrew is poetic. Words are not simply translated because "ruach" means spirit. Ruach has three "translations": spirit, breath, and wind. Which of those three translations do we choose? Oh, well you choose whichever fits the best. But the problem really lies in that Hebrew paints pictures with its words. Ruach is the Divine energy that stirs up the creation. So, if we're going to translate it as wind, we would be correct. In fact, it is equally as correct as breath and spirit. So how do we translate it? That's the difficulty.

I'm not going to say that any one translation is better than another. I think that all English translations have their shortcomings, and the different manuscripts that we have of both Hebrew and Greek show slight variations. They are very slight, but they exist. So, if we're going to say that Divine inspiration means that God had literally breathed this version of the Bible, and every other version must line up to this plumb line, we're left with a difficulty. Which one do we pick? If we say that the King James Version is the ultimate, then what about the later versions that had better technique and understanding in how to translate the biblical Greek?

But then this also goes with all the other versions. If we say that the New International Version of the Bible is the absolute authority, then we end up having to ask about those pesky verses that are omitted from the Bible. But what if we're actually going about this all wrong? I believe in the inspiration of Scripture, and therefore I believe in a literal creation of the world exactly as it is stated in Genesis 1-11 (or so). I believe that when the prophet spoke, they spoke the very words of God.

So how would I define inspiration if not by saying that these are the very words of God in textual form? In order to answer that, we only need to ask why it is important to have an inspired text? What is the point of Divine inspiration?

When I engage, or I hear of others engaging, in dialogue about the Bible, the most common criticism is that the manuscripts aren't exactly the same, and we really can't be sure that they were written when we say they were written, and how do we know that this wasn't added years later? The attack isn't so much about what is said, but instead on when it is said. The attack isn't so much on whether what was said is true or not, but instead on whether it was ever said, or if we just made the whole thing up. Why? It is easier to attack the manuscripts and say that we can't be certain of their validity than it is to disprove the statements. If the texts that make the statements can be proven fallacious, then the whole of the text is fallacious.

So Divine inspiration is really getting at the heart of, "Yea, hast God said?" This isn't an issue of whether the Bible is correct when it uses this word rather than that, but instead an issue of the revelation of God. So when we're trying to define what Divine inspiration is, we need to stand it up against the understanding that this reveals God as He is. Divine inspiration, then, is not found in the original texts, nor in the modern English versions. It is found solely in the person of Jesus Christ. From that revelation, we come to a further questioning of the texts. Does what is written here in my English version align with the person of Christ Jesus and who He has revealed God to be?

The debate is not over textual analysis and whether we translated the words correctly. The debate is over whether this reveals the heart of God, or whether it instead reveals something contrary to God. So debates on whether this or that passage/verse is supposed to be in here, should we go with the Texas Receptus, or the Latin Vulgate, or the Massoretic, or the Septuagint, etc are really only a little higher than nonissue. What is first and foremost to be presented is Christ and the character of God. Once we have that established, lets then go into the texts and decide as to which one seems to fit the best. Slight copyist errors and other minor variations in the original manuscripts can be trifled about later. First and foremost, we need to ask whether this is truly revealing God, or if it is a perversion.

Divine inspiration is the idea that God has breathed the whole of Scripture to reveal Himself. That is slightly different than saying that this or that version is the word of God. It is taking up the whole counsel and then wrestling from that revelation of Christ with the smaller details. Lets first and foremost get the foundation laid. When we're debating with atheists or Muslims or our Jewish brethren over whether the New Testament documents are valid, the best thing to do is not to quarrel over various texts and we believe the King James, but instead to display the glory of Christ and how the whole of the Bible displays the progressive revelation of God.

I don't believe the Bible is the word of God because I read "All Scripture is inspired..." I believe the Bible is the word of God because God has revealed Himself to me through the eternal Spirit giving illumination. God took out my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh. Now when I read the Bible, whether I'm reading the NIV, NASB, NKJV, KJV, or the Message, I have something greater than the words on the page to line up to. Sometimes things just aren't worded correctly, and when we go back to original language we ask, "Why did they translate it like that?" Sometimes we need to read a cumulative and broad range of English versions to understand the point being made. But the reason I read the Bible the first place was because of the Spirit bearing witness in me. It was not until later, after I had learned a bit more about the whole of the Bible, that I started even asking such questions.

Ultimately, I think that when we simplify too much we lose a lot of doctrinal reality. God is Triune, therefore I believe that He has and does communicate with Himself. He has also communicated and revealed Himself to His creation through speaking. Because He has communicated Himself, I have every reason to believe that He has given us an inspired Word that reveals Him perfectly - not because such and such text is 100% accurately speaking the very inclinations and thoughts of God, but rather because God has given a revelation of Himself through those texts.

There are sometimes where I would say, yes, God is speaking directly through this text the very words out of His mouth. There are other times, like in the book of Job, where there is a revelation of God being expressed. God was upset with Job's friends because they did not accurately depict Him. That is the beauty of inspiration. It shows us God as He in fact is, so that when we read His word we can better understand His heart through the revelation that He continues to express through the Spirit. We don't read it as undiscerning nincompoops. We have been given every tool necessary to discern the text for what it is truly saying. That is the Divine inspiration: the Spirit bearing witness.

The End from the Beginning

My wife shared a dream that she had the other night. In the later part of the dream, we were preaching together. I was trying to explain from Genesis through Revelation how everything fits together to give a whole picture. She would fill in for when I was looking up Scripture references with a "holiness message." The two worked side by side, though slightly different subjects. She kept hearing that I was at an ultimate moment to begin to share the holiness of God, and I continued to press forward to express the whole of the message. She mentioned that there was a battle: do we stop because we know that the people can only handle so much and speak to them about God and His holiness, or should we continue to express the whole picture so they can essentially take home the leftovers and feed from it for the next few days?

The dream got me thinking. I don't typically speak in a way to expound a certain text. As much as I love to hear teachers express the depths of this or that passage, I am more of one that finds beauty in how this text is a part of the whole, and here is how it all fits together. I'm not sure what exactly that means for me, but I do know that it seems like it gets me in trouble sometimes...

T. Austin Sparks had said that if we want to know the end, we should look for it in the beginning. God somehow in His genius (if there only were a bigger word than that!) is able to express the end from the beginning. He is able to expound to us something that we should be looking for at the end from the beginning. The book of Genesis and the book of Acts are expressions of God's ultimate plans of redemption. From there, we read the expression, "the Law and the Prophets." This was an idiom to say, "from Genesis through Revelation," basically meaning the whole Bible.

A lot of times we find ourselves captivated by this or that speculative kind of teaching. It might be end times related (some of the craziest ideas come from that), or it might be the notion that the 10 tribes of Northern Israel (Ephraim) were "lost." Then people want to go hunt them down to come to a conclusion that we're Israeli no matter where we were born. Even the rapper Chingy has had the "epiphany" that he is somehow of one of the lost tribes.

How do we keep from such foolishness? How do we keep from such nonsense as the prosperity gospel? How do we discern truth when all about us are chaotic statements and truisms (cliches)?

It takes a couple things. It is expressed in 2 Thessalonians 2:10 that it takes a love of the truth. But what is truth? Know this: the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth that will lead us into "all truth." We must love the Holy Spirit and what it would teach us. That being said, it also takes discernment to know what is being spoken by the Holy Sprit and what is being spoken from our own arrogance or possibly even demonic voices. That is where the next thing comes in: we must have a solid foundation of the "whole counsel of God."

What is that whole counsel of God? It is the whole picture from Genesis through Revelation. However, contrary to saying that it means we know how it all fits together, we need to be able to see the heart, intention, and character of God from Genesis through Revelation. It all expresses Him, and any other foundation which is Christ is a false foundation.

While considering these things in my heart, I came to realize how much I actually do love the Law and the Prophets. Not as the idiom of the whole Bible only, but even the literal Law and Prophets. My favorite Old Testament books are Genesis, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel, and Zechariah. How ridiculous is that? I might be the only person I've ever met that "rejoices" each time that Leviticus comes around for my daily reading...

Yet, it is these very books - the five books of Moses - that give us the basis for all of Scriptural understanding. Every statement in the New Testament has its origin from the five books of Moses. It all filters from that foundation. Christ is as the heart of the books of Moses, and if we cannot recognize Him there then we cannot recognize Him. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Any other depiction of Christ is not truth. It is from that understanding of Christ in the Old Testament - as expressed through the truth of the Holy Spirit - that we have come to a place where we cannot be deceived. Nothing can fool you if you see Christ through everything.

I think this might be why I am so bent on expressing the entire Bible every time I speak... There is something that is expressed in seeing Jesus in even Leviticus - that He is our sacrifice and offering, whether burnt offering, peace offering, wave offering, meal offering, or otherwise. When you can go from seeing Jesus in the books of Moses to expressing Him in the prophetic Scriptures and eschatology, you are beginning to lay down the foundation necessary for the Church to be built upon. This is beautiful, and I think it might even be the "beauty of holiness."

Church Leadership

This has been a question asked by a couple people, "What does Church leadership look like?" I am so unfit to answer this question. Before we even talk about leadership, we need to ask what do we mean by "church?" There is a lot to unpack.

When you ask someone what church is, they will typically tell you it is the people. Then you ask them about their church and they will tell you about programs, events, buildings, sermons, worship music, and other things that really make you wonder how much they truly believe that the church is the people. Lets get this one clear: the church is not a building. You might meet in a building, you might meet in a living room, you might meet at a different place each week, but where you meet does not in any way, shape, or form tell us one iota about your "church." The church is first and foremost the people of God, coming together frequently in fellowship together.

In the midst of frequent fellowship, and in the midst of adversity of life lived together, we find ourselves in a strange place. Questions come from the devil asking whether these people even like you. He tempts and taunts and earns his title as "the accuser of the brethren." Nothing short of complete transparency and honesty will help to overcome that hurdle. When we can be united in a way that we are able to confess our faults one to another, and honestly tell each other when we have felt wronged or when the devil has been speaking his deceptions into our ear, it is precisely at that moment that we have stepped out from being an institution and into being an apostolic reality.

Our lives and characters are to be interwoven in a way that you cannot see me without seeing the other members of my community. You cannot tell where the one begins and the other ends. When you hear me speaking about a certain subject, I have not come to this knowledge independent, but instead in the midst of corporate wrestling. We all have a word, a song, a prophecy, a tongue, an interpretation of that tongue, a cry, a burden, a hope, a love, a message that cuts through all the crap, and most of all, we all have hearts yearning for a coming Kingdom. In that context, when we meet, we don't listen to the one man who has prayed, but instead we listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches through this man, and that woman, and these brothers, and those couples, and even the children. God speaks through each and every one, or He doesn't speak at all. Even in silence, we can be speaking the very word of God.

This brings me to another question often asked: How do you maintain order? We have set up "church" so that we have the worship, a little bit of announcements, and then the sermon, and then we all "fellowship" or leave. How is it that if there is no set schedule that we will have order?

It is not a cop out when I say that the Holy Spirit gives order. When we take off our control and allow Him to be in control, we find that the amount of order is amazing. Our time together can actually be more ordered and seamless when He is in control than when we are in control. The problem is this: often we let go of control and God is not in it. What happens when the Holy Spirit does not come in our midst to have authority and lead? Is God required to take the authority over the meeting?

When we come together, if there is no order, it is not because we haven't set up rules and bounds and guides, or that we lack leadership. The reason that there might be a lack of order is actually a spiritual issue. For those that have kept their hearts and are following the Spirit, there will be order. But if we have spent our Saturdays watching the football game, and have neglected prayer and the Bible, then it is no wonder that we need a system in order to keep from going berserk.

The quality of our life lived before God is no greater than the quality of the life we live together. When our lives together are constituted by seeing one another once or twice a week, we've already shown our cards. When we "fellowship" by playing games and watching movies together, we've already shown our lack. When we need some sort of entertainment to sit together for multiple days back to back, then our quality of life together is quite poor. How is it that the same eternal Spirit that is at work in me is at work in you, but we can't even find something to talk about? How is it that so often what we talk about and discuss has no eternal weight to it? How is it that we are far more intrigued with the ball game than we are with what it means to have a corporate character of holiness?

I say these things to our shame.

And then we want to talk about how we need church leadership. The leadership is often times equally as wanting in character and life as the person in the pew. The only difference is that you have a man or woman that is now a toddler in the faith that is able to lead the infants. This is not true of every congregation, but it is certainly true for the majority. Church leadership is born out of the intensity of life lived together. When we have wrestled with these first and foundational issues of how to even come together frequently, then we can start discussing leadership.

Leadership is never something that we promote because of a title, education, or credential. It is based on one thing, and one thing only: the word of God. When the credentials are met according to the Bible, and when that word comes from heaven to say, "Separate unto me..." then we shall know who the leaders are. God appoints the elders and deacons. He appoints the pastors and teachers. If it weren't for the assured times when discipline is necessary, you would not even know who the elder is and who the layman is. They are one together.

Submission to authority is thus a submission to the Holy Spirit. Those that are to be great among us are to be our servants. Just as Jesus did not come to be served, but instead to serve, so we are to serve one another. Those that God has appointed as elders are in actuality very rarely the ones that "stand a head and shoulder above all others" (reference to King Saul). Typically God chooses the servant and the least of all. That does not mean the least educated or least knowledgable, but the one that does not identify himself or herself as anything worthy of such a title. The one that does not desire to be sent out and speak to the world as a prophet is the one chosen as a prophet. Why? Because God knows that that man or woman will not speak their words, but will instead remain humble and speak only the words God has given. Likewise, the servant, the one that is truly humble, will not seek to somehow lord over anyone else when they are given authority, but will instead have the authority because of the anointing of the Spirit. They will not govern according to the way that the world governs, but instead have a different disposition: one that asks how Jesus leads; one that asks what it means to rule and reign in the Kingdom of God.

In this manner, God has made it that those who lead are not always those that are most qualified. It is a humbling to those that are more qualified to then submit to the authority. The authority, by the way, is never a man with a title - even one given of God - but instead a submission to the Holy Spirit. If the youngest and newest convert speaks a word that is cogent and drips with anointing, no matter how much we desire to scoff and say we're the elder or we know more, we bend the knee and submit to that word or rebuke that has come from even the babe in Christ.

The oldest is not too far from being rebuked by the youngest. All are able to speak into one another's lives, because what is more important than leadership is apostolic character. Our greatest pursuit is that we do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, which is to say that we we live solely for the glory of God. Anything less than the glory of God is apostasy, and we will not settle. Our leaders are to be those that have discernment to know when a word is truly coming from God and when it is coming from the flesh. These are men that might not know everything as far as knowledge goes, but they do know God. They do know His presence. They do know His power. They do know His Spirit.

Because the leadership has cherished that Spirit that is within them, they are able to see the false a mile away. Any kind of false humility, false speaking, false prophecy, false hope, or false spirit is utterly opposed. And know that it is never the person that is attacked, but the spirit of deception. We speak the truth in love to one another. That doesn't mean that we are somehow timid or wimpy. We can speak boldly and confidently without assailing.

In the context of community, in the midst of adversity of life together, we find an unusual calling. How can we even be to each other what we ought when our privacy is taken away? How can we show each other love when all of the luxuries that we've enjoyed up to now are no longer legitimate? It takes a certain kind of stamina and love for the truth to endure this. When we are willing to submit to that love of truth over our personal ambition, then we have come to a place where maybe we can start asking questions about church leadership. Out of that Body that is consecrated to the Lord, and has been sanctified through the outworking of His Spirit in the midst of that Church, God will speak, "Separate unto me." There will be no question of who the elders or pastors or teachers or deacons or leadership are. It will be blatantly obvious if we are indeed in the Spirit.

I hope that this answers some of those questions about leadership, authority, and submission to that leadership and/or authority.

A Warning of Israel

I know that this is a strange title. I want to communicate 2 things. First, I want to express that we need to have a mental acceptance of what is coming. We need to get deeply immersed in God and in His Holy Spirit in order to wade through the hell that is coming upon the earth. Second, I want to address the verse in Romans 11, “They are the enemies of the Gospel for your sake.”

So lets deal with our first topic. When touching on the end times and what it will take in order to make it through to the end, I am almost always found speaking of the need for wisdom. This somewhat makes sense. But in a lot of ways, it doesn’t make sense. Why would wisdom be what is absolutely necessary? Wouldn’t it make more sense that what we need is a game plan or some formula? There is never a formula.

How can we define wisdom? I would like to suggest that our current understanding of wisdom is inadequate. For most, wisdom is what we gain with knowledge. It is an understanding or common sense of sorts. But there is an ultimate wisdom. There is a wisdom that is attributed to being with God from the very foundations of the earth (Proverbs 8). This wisdom cries out in the streets. It declares the ways of God. It makes known His paths. It speaks to the righteous, but rebukes the fools. This wisdom that is found over and over again in the Book of Proverbs (specifically chapters 1-10) cannot be our conventional wisdom. It cannot be something that comes with knowledge.

Even knowledge is not rightly understood. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, then what shall we say of the atheists? There are some very intelligent atheist and agnostics. Are they without knowledge? This knowledge surpasses words. This wisdom goes beyond having smarts or experience or common sense judgment. These are two concepts that the Bible speaks heavily upon, but few believers comprehend. It is not beyond anyone to grasp these concepts. In fact, it is quite the opposite. But these words need to be apprehended (which usually comes from being apprehended by them).

So when we speak of wisdom, what are we indicating? First and foremost, the Book of Proverbs gives personality to wisdom. This personality seems to line up very closely with the personality of the Holy Spirit. The same is true for the characteristics given to wisdom. It is for this reason, that I think that wisdom and the Spirit are synonymous. That does not mean, however, that if we have the Spirit that we are filled with wisdom.

We must nurture the Spirit within us. We must learn to listen and hear what the Spirit says. We must seek understanding. The kind of wisdom that will get us through the end times is this: a wisdom that expresses the ultimate path and choice of God when all other experience up to this point has never given us any bases to look back upon. What do I mean by that? When we live a life that is very safe, we can learn how to survive. Even when we move to a new environment where we aren’t sure how to adapt, we eventually get into the swing of things. This kind of wisdom is not necessary for that.

Imagine a scenario where everything you have ever learned up to this point cannot tell you one iota or shred of wisdom of how to respond. Here is an example: your son runs up to you and cries, “My head! My head!” and then falls to the ground. What do you do? Most would say to take him to the doctor. What if you’re living in the middle of the “wilderness” (lets say central Montana where the nearest doctor is 30 miles away)? What do you do?

Even in this example, there are bits that can inform you of what to do. Past experience can play a role in deciding what to do next. For most of us who don’t live in these places where we are 30 minutes away from the nearest town, we can’t fathom what the options are. Lets take this a bit further.

Lets say God is speaking to your heart to take in the Jews in the last days. You need to provide a place of refuge for them. It doesn’t matter if you live in the city or in the country. When it happens, how do you let them know they can run to your place? How will they know they have a safe haven there? How will you stand up for them? What will you do? Where will you hide them? What if you’re found out and you need to send them onward? How will you know when and where to send them?

These are the kinds of questions that nothing can prepare you for. You can study the Underground Railroad. You can look into the history of World War 2. Just because you learn a couple techniques of what others did does not constitute that you will know what you should do. It takes a very specific kind of wisdom. It takes knowing what the Lord has to say. That is the only thing that will get you through to the end. And if He decides that you get found out and are killed, that is up to Him and not you.

But on the note of “how will they know to come to you,” you obviously can’t put up a sign on the door. It is at this that there are a couple ways to look. The first is one that says we need to get in contact with the Jewish community. We need to let them know we're friends and not foes. Then the will feel comfortable to flee to us when they need it. But even this seems manipulative and as though it doesn't fully trust in God. The other option is equally as difficult. It is to do nothing but trust that God will provide those people and speak to your heart when the are coming and when they come. In a sense, this is exactly what seems like the legitimate option. But in another sense, it seems to be totally opposed by reason. I am all for communicating with the Jewish society around us. How can we say that we stand with Israel and then ignore the Israel within our own towns or cities? But I don't think that our ultimate reason for communicating with them ought to be "to build relationships" so they know that we're safe. That is still promoting a lie and a deception. Our reasons must be pure.

This kind of struggle is ultimate. It will find you out in every way. If there is anything within you that will say, “I’m not willing,” it will be brought to the surface. God is not playing games. If you have an addiction or are in sin, God will be ruthless with you to pluck it out. You will undergo chastisement and suffering before they do. In order to be a priestly people to Israel, we will need to undergo similar suffering. We will need to understand where they are coming from so that we can minister to them.

It takes a certain kind of character that does not come about in a day. This will take years to harbor. It will all be the work of the Holy Spirit. In the end, we will not be able to take any kind of credit for our character or wisdom or love. Which, to bring up wisdom again, we will be required to give answer to the Jewish people for their suffering. If you think that playing nice because they’re going through a hard time is the correct way to speak with them, then you are sadly mistaken.

If God gives you a sharp reply, then you speak sharply. If God gives you a gentle answer, then you speak gently. If God would give you a personal revelation of such and such circumstance to speak a prophetic word, then you speak in faith. If God tells you to say to them that they are under judgment and to continuously push that button that they are out of the will of God and under chastisement, then you do it. If you are called upon to say nothing, then you give no answer. If you are told to give a layout of the whole end times, then you give an overview of the end times.

It all comes down to what God says, and not what we say. If we speak or act out of flesh, then we have forfeited all. This is part of what it means to be priestly. The priest would walk up the altar by a ramp. This was so that the robe would not lift up and expose any flesh (even a foot). The priest was to wear a certain thing, act a certain way, pray a certain way, and minister a certain way. Everything was to be conformed to what God called priestly, and not to what other nations called priestly. The priest taught the ways of God. So when we read of the Pharisees in the New Testament, one of the first questions should be, “Where are the priests?” If you read the Old Testament, it doesn’t take long to realize: like priest, like people.

If we are faulty in any way, then we will bring a faulty foundation to the redemption of Israel. This is a calling for ultimate sanctification and purity. We won’t be able to buy, sell, or trade. Why, then, would we expect to have medical, grocery, mail, internet, or any other convenience that we have in modern times? It will take wisdom to make it through this. It will take God speaking to us as a prophetic Body. Community is not an option. Community is the only way we can survive.

Sunday morning church isn’t enough. As much benefit as it might bring, there is an ultimate calling to daily fellowship. We must learn to go from house to house daily. We must learn to have all things common. If our brother needs a coat and we have 2, we give them one. How else will they survive if we store up for self and lock self away? This is life and death. The very teachings of Jesus and Deuteronomy will determine whether we live or die. If we aren’t one with each other, then we cannot be to Israel what we must. We will continue to give only a religion, but will not have the life necessary to breath into them (1 Kings 17:19-24).

The second thing I want to communicate is that it will not be easy to house the Jews. Paul tells us they are the enemies of the Gospel for our sake. Why would he say it is for our good? There is something in witnessing to the Jew that is more difficult than witnessing to anyone else. They are not only stubborn, but have an ingrained disdain for the name Jesus. They have “suffered by that name for 2000 years.”

I would recommend doing some research into their history. You will find that even under the name of Jesus Christ they have been persecuted. During the time of the bubonic plague, Jews weren’t getting sick. So they were blamed for the plague and genocide commenced. The reason they weren’t sick is because they kept to the Kosher diet as prescribed in Leviticus 11. During the middle ages, the Catholic Church spread the rumor that certain Jews were using Gentile blood while making their motzah. They were killed. During the inquisition, Jews were herded like cattle into their synagogues, where the buildings were then burnt to the ground. Hitler publicized himself as a Christian. The Nazi soldiers had crosses and their uniform had their own German version of “in God we trust.”

This enmity runs deep. There is something intrinsic within Jewish nature to reject and abhor the name of Jesus. If you think you are going to take them in and they will respect you and treat you kindly, you are wrong. They will be in panic mode, and the things they might say will be completely other than kind. They might bring up their tragic history and blame you. They might search out for any false motives and hold that over your head. They might degrade you. They might even be the reason why you are handed over to the authorities and murdered.

It will not be an easy thing to take in the Israeli. They that are Israel have seen their God at Sinai. They are able to scrutinize and see through any falsity. When we have our little religious prayers that are self indulgent, when we have our religious festivities on Sunday morning, when we have our midweek Bible Study, when we have our “corporate worship,” do any of these things bring an authenticity? Is there anything contained within it that is more than religion? I ask this as an honest question for honest assessment.

Many places that meet on Sunday morning are shallow. They don’t have the authentic reality to display to Israel and drive them to jealousy. Everything that we offer on Sunday morning is what the Jew can receive in their synagogue. Nothing will suffice less than the awe inspiring reality and presence of God that would cause for them to fall upon their faces once more and cry out, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” Do you live in that kind of reality? Are your friends and family stupefied?

I’m telling you that it takes more righteousness than what the Pharisees obtained. We like to read our New Testaments and see Jesus call them out in their sins. But what if the tables were turned? What if it was our religious functions and religious leaders that are being examined? How would they hold up? Are their lives governed and constituted by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit alone? Do they speak from their own minds, or has God sent them (Jeremiah had a lot of words to say about those folks)?

I’m not here to challenge anyone’s salvation. I am going to challenge the faith, as we know it in western society. I started with saying that the Kingdom of God is essentially Jewish. If that is true, then we ought to have some sort of Jewish perspective. I like the word Hebrew. It is more than Judah. The people of God stem back to before Abraham. There is a Hebraic root. Our mindsets and attitudes need to be changed and brought into a Hebraic understanding. There are a lot of ways that I can show how this applies. That, however, is for another time.

I only make the point that when we come at the faith from a Gentile or Greek or Western perspective, we will find that our contention with the Jews will shake us to the core. It is one thing to have a sentiment for Israel because it is “God’s people.” It is completely different to have the attitude of Paul that would say, “I could wish myself accursed for their sake,” Romans 9:3. What kind of burden must he have had that would cause him to say such a thing? He rightly apprehended the faith. Not only that, but also rightly apprehended the end times.

Because Paul was able to see the ultimate purposes for Israel, the Church, and the nations, he was able to make such a statement that would start with wishing himself accursed and end with ecstatic praise (Romans 11:33-36). This kind of view will change everything. It is apocalyptic, but it is also glorious. To rightly apprehend (which is to say, be apprehended by) this point of view will shatter any previous conception of the faith. Anything that is found wanting or shallow is either cast aside or dug into further. I can’t simply speak clichés. I can’t simply pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Because I know the coming judgment of God, when I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, I am praying for that judgment that will bring redemption and an ultimate peace that unless the judgment come, we would never have seen or comprehended that peace.

My religion can’t be trite. I cannot allow myself the privilege of simple sentiment. There are ultimate purposes that are going to take place. If I am not mature to be used of God in that time, then I will either be put aside or fall away. This is crucial. Triviality will sustain us for this time, but when the sun sets and all is not well, how then will we make it? When persecution breaks forth, and the Antichrist is creating hell for God’s people (Jew and Christian alike), how will we bear it? It takes something bigger than the view we currently have.

It takes the glory of God. This will strip everything from you. Anything that is not conformed to His image will come to the surface. Even in my speaking of these things and the harshness that we will be called upon to endure, things are rising to the surface. If you have any kind of contention that would rage against Israel and their purposes (for whatever reason), then you have already shown that you are against God and His purposes. It isn’t that you are too zealous for the Church or whatever other reason you want to bring. This will find you out. There is a scandal in specificity. I don’t know precisely what it is, but to get specific brings about rebellion. We don’t want God to choose this over that. We don’t want God to be specific.

In God being specific, we find that our knowledge and understanding does not suffice. We thought we understood and knew full well the plans and intentions of God. We thought we understood and comprehended His character. But when He chooses something that is other than what we had supposed, it suddenly challenges to the core. It isn’t about Israel. It is about us. The reason we kick against this is because we wanted their calling. We wanted to be the hot shots.

God has put it together so that in even considering this perspective will test and try our hearts. This is why they are enemies of the Gospel for our sakes. To even consider that we ought to go to the Jew first, and then to the Greek challenges our intentions. To even consider that they will suffer with us challenges us. I thought we were the people of God. I thought the Antichrist overcomes the saints. They aren’t saints! They are the people that have continually rejected their God since they came out of Egypt! They crucified their own Messiah! Why should they have anything to do with God’s Kingdom?

And in the very questions – if they are going through your mind – you display your own rebellion against God. This is deep stuff. Everything is stacked against us and is stacked against God. It is made to look as though this is impossible. We’ll see how many truly do believe “With God all things are possible.” This is my warning. Take heed to it. It will not be easy, and in taking up this kind of mindset and motive will bring against you all of the forces of darkness that have up to this point been able to yawn and say, “Jesus we know and Paul we know, but who are you?”

The realities that are all around us at every moment that we haven’t up to now been able to perceive and recognize will become tangible. It is for this reason that I want to next speak about the cosmic and eternal perspective, which is dealing with the principalities and powers of the air.

The oil of the virgins

In our charismatic Christian "concerts" that we call worship, I believe that this story in Matthew 25 is paramount. I don't mean to call names, nor do I mean to point fingers, but I must admit that I see this more in the Pentecostal and charismatic scene than anywhere else. During Sunday services, we play music for the worship time. This isn't wrong in any way. What is wrong, however is that we will rev up our amplifiers and crank up the bass in our sound systems to try and make an atmosphere that is separate from the anointing and presence of God. In our loudness, we hype up the audience. Even in the preaching, by saying certain words or phrases, such as, "I can really feel the Holy Ghost tonight," we deceive those listening who are either ignorant, or naive enough to believe that all words spoken are of truth. It is obvious that by attending a few meetings and revivals, any good actor could become an evangelist and make millions.

In Matthew 25, starting in verse 1, these 10 virgins have oil in their lamps. 5 of them have enough oil to last until midnight, and the others have an abundance. The 5 without ask the 5 with to share their oil. They are denied, and so the 5 without oil must go buy more. While they are gone, Jesus returns. The 5 return and see a door. The other 5 had already gone through this door, and so the remaining 5 knock and ask to be let in. They are told, "Depart from me, I never knew you." And, of course, this is our Lord Christ Jesus answering.

I believe the oil is the anointing of God to be able to minister with His Holy Spirit, and the power that comes from it. This oil is obtained from anything that requires a cross to bear, such as prayer, accepting rejection from those you speak to, denying yourself pleasure of this world, etc. Essentially, its a suffering that is born in obedience to the Lord. Now, the fact that Jesus said, "I never knew you," begs the question of what kind of oil did the 5 without have? Was it some kind of synthetic, "surrealist" oil? Or, and this is my belief, maybe they had gotten the oil in prayer and petitions that were only for their own need.

The "residue," or abundance, of oil would be those prayers that go beyond our need and to the needs of God. They would be the offerings to not ask God to sacrifice of Himself for our behalf, but for us to offer ourselves as sacrifices on God's behalf. A perfect display of this is to listen to testimonies. Most of the time, it is a testimony of how God has done something for them, and they not only expect, but require God to keep doing things for them. This is self-centered, whereas we should be God-centered. The true testimony is not of what God has done, so that we almost say that He is the giver and never asks of anything. It is true, and I've been a recipient of God's giving, but when our whole Christian viewpoint is upon what God not only has done, but will continue to do for "me," it is a surreal authenticity. It is a copy of the real, but is in the end a mirage.

What is sad is that even when believers pray for revival, what they really mean is a hype, or a shot in the arm that would benefit and bless them. They are willing, and desperately hungry enough, to allow anything that seems "real enough" to be brought before them so they may obtain this blessing. If people are falling down, if there are shouts of tongues, if there are testimonies of healing and miracles, then we equate that with God, when we can read in Matthew 7 that that might not be the case. "Many will say to me in that day, 'Have I not prophesied in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and done many wondrous works in your name?' And my response will be, 'Depart from me, I never knew you.'" Now, that is not to discredit healing or miracles, but to say that we need to use a bit of discernment. If the person praying over you is embedded in carnality, that which he/she has can, and will, be imparted unto you. What kind of shows were they watching the night before the "revival?" What kind of music do they listen to? What kind of character do they emit when outside of the church arena? If it is not authentic Christianity, according to the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5, don't let them touch you.

I must admit, there is a lot more to be said, but I have nothing else to write. I hope that this is something you can ponder over and enjoy digesting while celebrating the Christmas and New Years.