The Gifts Part 55
Prophecy continued...
Whatsoever is not anchored and grounded in the Word of God, whatsoever is not in harmony with scripture, will eventually crumble into the dust. Most often these lofty words, these words that the Lord has not spoken but men presumed to speak nevertheless, will fail individuals when they rely and lean on them most. Words that do not originate from God, prophecies that are not in harmony with scripture cannot and will not hold up to applied pressure, failing at the most inconvenient of times.
Isaiah 8:20-22, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And they will pass through it had pressed and hungry; and it shall happen when they are hungry that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom and anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.”
Most people today would rather hear a comfortable lie than a difficult truth. One need only give what is known as the church a passing glance, to realize the truth of this tragedy. No longer is our standard the word of God, no longer are we firm in our conviction that if one does not speak according to the word it is because there is no light in them, but we gravitate toward those who would promise us the earth and the stars and everything in between, we gravitate toward those who would encourage us in our indifference toward Christ, and those who would purport that God would put no demands upon us save for a tenth of our monthly earnings.
‘You shall neither see sword nor famine, your life will be one of merriment and bliss, the angels themselves will pamper you and carry you on puffy white clouds so you won’t even have to break a sweat, your faith will never be tested, you will never be called upon to sacrifice for the sake of Christ, you will have, you will possess, you will be happy. God’s singular desire is that you have your best life now, and the only reason He sent His Son to die hanging between two thieves is so that you might prosper in this life, and have an abundance of self-esteem.’
Did I miss anything? No, that pretty much covers the clichéd generalities that throngs and throngs of people are being fed day in and day out to their utter delight. Although what they are hearing and receiving is a lie, it is a comfortable lie, one that does not challenge, does not warn, does not prepare, one that insists ‘everything’s going to be alright’ even though those of the world who have no relationship with God are starting to see that things really aren’t going to be alright after all.
‘Well, so what brother Mike? So what if we preach a watered down, diluted, unscriptural message as long as it makes people optimistic about tomorrow, and happy about today, and causes them to feel better about themselves overall? What’s the harm in that?’
The harm in speaking a word that is not according to scripture, the harm in speaking a word that is contrary to what the Bible says is coming upon the earth, is that when these selfsame individuals who reveled in the cotton candy, bubble gum doctrines will be faced with hunger, and lack and need, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God.
They will so be enraged, because they are not receiving what was promised them by those who claimed to be ambassadors of the Kingdom. They will so be enraged, because rather than prosperity and opulence and excess, they will be faced with persecution, and hunger, and need, and no one ever prepared them for such things, no one ever told them such things were on the horizon, no one ever encouraged them to steel their constitution, and grow in the grace of God that they might stand in such times.
For now, those who preach a watered down gospel, those who encourage people to bury their heads in the sand and not take note of what is happening all around them because, well, ‘they won’t be here for the bad stuff anyway’, seem loving and tolerant, at least on the surface. Those who would warn, those who would stand in the gap and cry out for the children of God to prepare, for the children of God to live with the expectation of difficult times ahead, for the children of God to shrug off the remnants of the flesh and be wholly sanctified unto God however, are looked upon as mean, apocalyptic, unloving, lacking grace, fear mongers, and I could think of a few other choice names I’ve been called over the years that are not deserving of repetition.
What those calling men who would speak a difficult word names fail to understand is that love compels us to speak that for which we know we will be hated and despised; love, and obedience to God and the word of God.
True men of God have no choice in the words they are commissioned to deliver. True men of God do not have polls to determine what people would like to hear, they do not have polls to determine which biblical topics people would find offensive if discussed during a church service, they obey the voice of God, and preach the word of God regardless of blowback, or backlash.
I realize to some it may seem that I’ve strayed off topic, but in essence I haven’t, because the point I wanted to make today is this: if God calls you and endows you with a gift such as the gift of prophecy, the gift of discerning of spirits, the gift of the word of knowledge or the gift of the word of wisdom, be prepared to be despised, hated, maligned, spoken evil of, shunned and ostracized. If you desire spiritual gifts because you believe you will be lauded, praised, and embraced by men, what will follow will be a rude awakening indeed.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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1 comment:
Thank you. We attempted to print this series, but were unable to continue. Is there a possibility of it being published at Hand of Help? It has meant so much to us and some of our extended family who are in ministry of the gospel. We would like to share it.
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