Sound The Midnight Cry

“When Nonconformist Conform”

This past week, the internet was buzzing with the proclamation coming out of Atlanta of a minister being crowned a king (yes, you read that correctly). In King James Bible terms, it created “no small stir” among the people”!

The pastor of a mega-church was coronated on the stage in front the thousands of church members and attendees. A supposedly “Jewish ceremony” (which was totally false in every way) was performed ending with the pastor being lifted up on a chair, carried around by for four men and the crowds cheering while the guest ‘rabbi’ declaring he is now a king. (video link)

The video of this whole charade was posted online and went viral overnight. If you are not familiar with the term ‘viral’ other than a disease, it simply means a video that becomes popular through the process of internet sharing.

The response from the video posting caused a huge backlash among the Jewish community for what was purported to be Jewish traditions that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Within the Messianic Christian circles, the response again was one of disdain citing the erroneous teaching being professed to be of biblical origin.

The irony has been the secular response in as much as it was shown on CNN the day after the event took place. Those that don’t pretend to be religious in any way have posted videos mocking it as another Christian “con” on the innocent people.

The amazing thing to me is that no one in that building seemed to see anything wrong with the goings on there. To date, no one that was there has written one word or spoken out against the proceedings carried out “in the name of the Lord”. The fact that no one present that day has called into question what was done and/or said should cause us to ask the question, “Why?”

As I watched the supposed spiritual conveying of kingship, I couldn’t help be reminded of 1 Samuel 8 when Israel told the prophet Samuel, “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations.”

The Church today desperately needs an infusion of spiritual vitamin D-–Discernment, especially within the realm of those that profess to be “filled with the Spirit” where there seems to be an increasing deficiency.

Christians are called to “Test all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) It seems more and more that people filling the pews of "spirit-filled" churches seem to be "ignoring all things; swallow everything that is said".  As J. Lee Grady, contributing editor for Charisma magazine so aptly put it, “With so little discernment among “Spirit-filled” believers today, it’s not hard to imagine that an anti-Christ figure could boldly march right into a church, climb in a leather chair and be anointed as a king.”

Alexander Hamilton said, “Those who stand for nothing fall for everything.” If Christians don’t ask God to remove the blinders from their spiritual eyes and start to read their bibles with an open mind and heart, this kind of stuff will continue and only get worse.

Christians are called to stand for truth; to be nonconformist to the accepted behavior of culture. When the nonconformist conforms, there is no one left to uphold the standard. And when the King of kings returns, what will they offer as their excuse?

The Apostle Paul said, “Therefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Good words for every Christian today!

 

“Really?”

A few years ago while on a trip to Israel, our small group had an incredible tour guide. He had degrees in several areas that gave us great insight to marine and land archaeological places we visited. His past life experience also included some incredible stories that you would never hear on a large group outing. Every day he would share with us something unique to a place or event and almost without fail, someone in the group would blurt out, “Really?” It classic response every time was, “Yes, it’s real—I’m the tour guide; it’s the truth—I’m not lying to you”! By the end of the trip when someone would inevitably say, “Really?” everyone else would respond, “Yes, really!”

Since that time, there have been many opportunities that I have been able to use this same response. Usually it involves conversations about Jesus, bible prophecy, current events and what the Bible says about it that the person(s) will respond with, “Really? You really think so?” or “Really, you believe that?” Of course, my now classic response is, “Yes, really—Jesus says so and He doesn’t lie!”

We live in a day of Reality TV where at any time you can see something that you would never have dreamed you would ever witness. At every turn, there’s a new reality show being put together and gaining huge following of viewers. Some are not worth wasting your time or intellect watching, but some are very fascinating.

When I look at the news events happening around the world and then read my bible, I see historical happenings taking place foretold hundreds of years ago. As we connect the dots and realize what’s taking place, we might find ourselves saying, “Really?” If we were to listening closely, we might just hear God whisper, “Yes, really—I don’t lie!”

So when I read that the Bible tells us that in the last days there will come into existence a revived form of the political Roman Empire, I can look at the upheaval in Europe now and realize that it’s beginning to form—really!

When Bible predicts the rise of a centralized global economic authority that will become one of the antichrist's principle methods of economic control, I can look at the world financial crisis and understand it’s beginning to come together—really!

When I read that in the last days that nations will rise against nations, I can look at the Arab Spring, the Occupy movement and many others revolutions taking hold in the world and realize that we are in the ‘last days’—really!

When a person recognizes that Israel is the centerpiece of Bible prophecy and that its existence and history are proof positive of the accuracy of bible prophecy—100% of the time, they can know that the return of Jesus Christ to earth is coming soon—really!

To that end, I would simply ask you “Are you ready for His return and all that it entails—really?”

 

“Mission Impossible”

The television show “Mission Impossible” would always start with, “Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is (mission named).  As usual, should you or any member of your I.M. Force be captured or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your existence. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.” One would then sit back for an hour of intense drama (at least, intense for those days; nothing compared to the MI movies on the big screen now).

The idea of course was that the mission faced difficult circumstances and objectives but that somehow the team would be able to overcome those impossibilities.

There have been other shows over the years based upon the same premise of doing the impossible (A-Team, MacGyver). Movies have been depicted achieving unrealistic storylines (most sci-fi and tech-action films).

I began thinking about this when a headline on WND.com reported, “IRAN PREPARING NOW FOR ARMAGEDDON”. Sources in Tehran reported Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been heard to say that the coming of the last Islamic Messiah, is near and that specific actions need to be taken to protect the Islamic regime for upcoming events. The Shiites’ believe that 12^th Imam known as the Mahdi will reappear at the time of Armageddon.

It is a well documented that Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has stated that he feels his destiny is to create the global chaos that is prophesied to force the Mahdi out of hiding. The Shiite belief is that that al-Mahdī was born in 869 and did not die but rather was hidden by God to be brought out in the last days to bring peace on the earth.

So the leadership of Iran that is working feverishly to acquire nuclear technology while threatening to cutoff the path of world oil exports is also preparing for Armageddon. If it was only the introduction to a novel or upcoming movie, I would be intrigued. However, it is more than that—and it’s a mission impossible.

The reason I say this is due to the misapplication of the word “Armageddon”. In the everyday use of the term, it means “the end of the world” based upon a worldwide conflict, usually inferring the use of nuclear weapons. The fallacy however, is that the original meaning of Armageddon is biblical and has a totally different reference.

The word Armageddon appears only once in the New Testament; Revelation 16:16. It is a place in Israel where a battle between the forces of the Anti-Christ will come that will result in a return of Jesus Christ to earth with the armies of heaven. The result will be a 1,000 year time frame of peace before the final judgment takes place.

When I read the article of the Iranian leadership preparing to take “specific actions need to be taken to protect the Islamic regime for upcoming events”, I deemed it a mission impossible.

Revelations 6 states, “Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person…cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?”

There is only one way to prepare for Armageddon and it isn’t with weapons; it’s surrender to the true Messiah—Jesus Christ! 

 

“No Effect”

Have you ever heard someone exclaim, “That has no effect on me?” The claim is that something or someone has no final outcome as to the behavior of the person. An example might be specific prescription used for relieving pain. The drug may work for the majority of people but have no impact on others. It doesn’t mean that the product in ineffective as a whole; it simply means that its intended result doesn’t work as it should for some people.

This week an article appeared relating to a new study that was headlined, “Nearly half of churchgoing Americans say church doesn’t have an effect on their lives.”

“Nearly half (46 percent) of churchgoing Americans report that their lives have not changed at all as a result of attending church... nearly one-third of individuals report not having ever felt God’s presence while attending church” according to the Barna Group, an evangelical company that studies faith in America.

The article did point out that there are those that can point to a point of influence or change as a result of their attending church. Yet, the article noted of those that participated in the study, “Six-in-ten church attenders, when asked to recount their last visit to a house of worship couldn’t remember any significant insight they gained related to their faith. Even more startling, among those who attended church in the past week, half said that they couldn’t recall any spiritual tidbits.”

There are so many questions that arise from this study that it’s hard to know where to focus one’s attention. Some people would simply shrug it off by saying, “It’s a sign of the times” meaning that it’s a fulfillment of scripture referring to that in the last days people’s hearts growing cold towards God. However, that wouldn’t be exactly true as the study concerned those that were attending church. I would like to think that at least some of them are there looking to find something.

If there is a place to start in trying to find out where the problem lies, I would suggest that it isn’t in the pews of the church but rather the pulpits and those filling them. I remember many years ago attending an event in Shreveport, Louisiana to hear the late David Wilkerson speak. Before he did, he invited to the podium the elderly Leonard Ravenhill (now deceased) to say a few words. I will never forget what he said that day to over 1,000 ministers gathered in that place.

“Almost 40 years ago I wrote a book titled, “Why Revival Tarries”. I’m writing a new book called, “Why Revival Still Tarries”. Do you want to know the reason why it hasn’t come yet?” (the response was a unanimous “Yes”). At that moment, Ravenhill pointed his finger at the crowd of ministers and said, “You’re the reason!” and he simply walked back to his seat.

Leonard Ravenhill’s point was clear: if there is no effect on the person in the pulpit, how can one expect there to be any effect upon the people in the pews.

Yes, there will be those that fall away in the last days for various reasons. However, the same scriptures say that there will be many who come into the knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ.

Church attendance in itself is not the answer; experiencing the power of Christ to change one’s life and the daily presence of His love is the answer.

It’s time for this cause and effect to happen from pulpit to the pew so that the Church is impacting the world instead sitting in pews waiting for something to change them.

Are you ready?

 

“The Beginning of the End?”

How many times have we used the phrase, “The beginning of the end?” It’s most common use is when we see change taking place. 2012 is beginning to do just that—changes that are aligning themselves with God’s Word. Let me give you just a few examples:

• Iran is boldly following its plan to develop nuclear technology. Two weeks ago, they boasted that they had begun processing nuclear enriched fuel rods. The EU and other western nations are debating to put an embargo against Iran for continuing down this path. Iran’s leaders simply mock the perceived weakness of the West due to their need for oil that passes through the Straight of Hormuz.
• Syrian president Assad is preparing for a civil war as he continues to try and quell the civilian uprising in that nation. Fear is that he could back a war against Israel to turn attention away from him.
• Russia has sold Iran sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles in hopes of protecting the Iranian nuclear facilities from an attack.
• The Egyptian uprising that began this time last year, it now coming full circle as the people rebel against the military powers that they once supported.
• Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood that everyone said was harmless has all but taken control of the political arena in Egypt and stretching into other nations.

All the while, Israel is being surrounded by hostiles equipped, funded and trained by Iran with the aid of Russia. Israel’s leaders are preparing for what appears to be certain war instigated by Iran and its proxy states.

Ancient prophecies in the Bible point to two events that will signal the apocalyptic end times—Isaiah 17:1 says, “Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” The other is Ezekiel 38 where it is said that Gog, Magog, Persia, Ethiopia and Libya will come against Israel and be defeated. These are widely thought to be Russia, Iran, Northern Africa and the former Persian Empire.

I believe that 2012 will see an increase in the tumultuous changes already at work across the earth. The aligning of these nations is occurring stronger each day and the end result seems to point toward war against Israel. “Will it come this year?” The experts say “yes”—only God knows for sure. However, He points out for us in His Word the signs of the times. Why? That we may know the time is near and that we might soberly be about our Father’s business. No fear—just assurance that God’s Word is true and that Jesus is coming soon.

So watch and pray and live with confidence that God is in control!