Today there are many voices beckoning for our attention and many within the Church community. Paul warned Timothy of such times in 1 Timothy 6: 3-6 to be careful to seek out those who teach the doctrine according to godliness; who are not proud; who avoid doting about questions and strife of words which cause envy, strife, railings and evil surmisings; who do not seek personal gain but godliness with contentment. In verse 10 he specifically condemns the love of money that is the root of all evil. Verse 11 plainly states that a man of God will flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness. This is our standard and pattern for discerning whom we should follow at such a time as this.
There are many pastor/teachers that I have followed over the years that I respect in their understanding of God’s plan of redemption set forth in His Word. It is the story of the Lamb of God who is the eternal love and meekness who left the bosom of His Father to be the resurrection of meekness and love in all the darkened souls of men. Jesus said in Matthew 11: 29 “Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” It was for His humility that God so highly exalted Him. Again, Paul presents the Christian’s pattern of lowly service in Philippians 2: 1-21: like-minded; esteem others better than self; humble; without murmuring and disputes; holding forth the word of life; not seeking their own.
In recent weeks, my heart has been greatly grieved over those respected pastor/teachers who have departed from the path set forth above and are holding to “their doctrines,” their “time tables,” “their viewpoint of Bible prophecy” and exalting themselves over others who don’t fit into their viewpoint. Acts 1: 7-8 says “It is not for you to become acquainted with and know what time brings (the things and events of time) and their definite periods or fixed years and seasons (their critical niche in time), which the Father has appointed (fixed and reserved) by His own choice and authority and personal power. But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirt has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.” Many of these pastor/teachers have emphatically said that God has spoken in His Word and He no longer speaks through prophecy, no longer performs miracles or healings, and does not promise a revival or harvest of souls before the Rapture to complete His Son’s Bride. Read what Jesus said to His disciples in John 14: 10-14. He promises that the Holy Spirit will empower us to do great things for Him!
Let’s consider the words of James in 5: 7-10 concerning the time before the coming of the Lord: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receives the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” This passage echoes the message of Joel 2: 28-32 as repeated by Peter when the Church was birthed in Acts 2: 16-21 concerning the last days: “For this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy; And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” That sounds like a revival and harvest of souls to me!
A.W. Tozer was a respected Bible pastor/teacher born in 1897 and died in 1963 and had this to say about the apostasy of the Church: “What is needed desperately today is prophetic insight. Scholars can interpret the past; it takes prophets to interpret the present. Learning will enable a man to pass judgment on yesterdays, but it requires a gift of clear seeing to pass the sentence on our own day. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us—the old prophet type, one who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne—one who will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom who has suffered from the injuries of the first half of the century, one who will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other.” God wants a purified Church and a complete Church!
Paul has powerful words for us in I Thess. 5: 17-23 regarding the model walk of the Believer before the return of the Lord: pray without ceasing; give thanks in everything; quench not the Spirit; despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from all the appearance of evil. His prayer for us in verse 24 is: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” According to verse 24 it is not by our power or by our might but by the Spirit of the Living God—faithful is He that calleth you, who ALSO WILL DO IT!”
God brought me to Genesis 35—the first account of revival in scripture as Jacob the wanderer returns to God and communion restored. Consider these details and decide if America is at this point: (1) revival is often preceded by a period of gross iniquity, disgrace, and consequent fear (2) it is initiated by a Word from God, direct or through a consecrated leader—“God said” (Amos 3: 7) (3) there must be a forsaking of all that is displeasing to God (4) there is a corresponding return to obedience to God’s revealed will (5) past blessings are remembered (6) those who genuinely seek to serve the LORD are assured of divine protection from their enemies (7) revival is accompanied by a new revelation of the character of God (8) the promises of God are renewed and a revelation of the possibility of a higher spiritual life is given (v. 11—I AM GOD ALMIGHTY) (9) revival may prove to have been God’s preparation for meeting a coming test or tribulation. Only the future will reveal God’s will. Watch and pray. Ec. 1:9—“that which hath been is that which shall be…”
This morning God confirmed this message to me all over in an interview on Prophecy Watchers aired on August 27, 2022. God is our Deliverer! Be encouraged by this timely message. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3OoOpWq6Tg