Last week, in the third part of the “Banking on God: Crisis” subsection of this series, I asked some pointed question concerning the lack of preparation our churches have made to weather bad times. Today, I’d like to begin to offer solutions.
In talking over today’s post with the Lord, one word came back to me again and again. It’s a word that’s fallen out of favor in far too many churches. We have young people in churches all over this country who have never been taught what this word means. We’ve got people leading our churches who have no concept of how this word applies to any part of American civil existence, yet it’s a word that defines God more than any other word:
Holy
For our churches to be prepared for down times they must be holy.
Now I’m all for grace. The Lord’s grace covers each of us and makes us perfect in His eyes. But think about when the Lord led His people out of Egypt. What did they leave behind? Egypt. And all its trappings. All its idols. All the things that would hinder. Because when we go on a journey—and prevailing through dark times is a journey—traveling light is its own reward.
For the Christian, traveling light means leaving behind the things of life that rise up and ensnare us. Frankly, we’re so ensnared in our American Dream, in our so-called “rights,” and in our sense of personal well-being that holiness has taken a backseat to cultured appearance, doing things our way, and entitlement. But none of those common things will see us through tough times.
One passage God revealed to me comes from the rock apostle:
For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
-1 Peter 2:6-12
The other meshes with it, but in a more urgent way. Jesus says this of dark times and preparation:
Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
—Matthew 24:17-18
People who live in the shadow of tribulation need to understand that holiness and the journey before them are intertwined. We need to abstain from those things that will make us stragglers, easy pickings for robbers, and in danger of falling behind the rest of the band.
So we start our list with this critical need.
1. We must be holy
- This means dropping everything that makes us “common.” Christians are to be a peculiar people, an aroma of heaven amid the scent of death. And the only way we can be that aroma is if we are holy.
If we’re surfing “those” sites on the Web—stop. If we’re listening to trashy music—stop. If we’re watching trashy movies—stop. If we feel compelled to buy this throwaway thing or that—stop.Stop living a common life. Start living a holy one.
We must watch our mouths, attitudes, and thoughts. If we’re not happy with the way we deal with any of those things, then we must get before God and make sure we’ve mastered them before we take another step on the journey.
A holy nation doesn’t need unholy stragglers. It doesn’t need common, ordinary people, but uncommon, extraordinary ones, people who think right and not left, people who can’t be conned to leave the path of holiness.
If your doctor said, “If you drink another diet cola, you’re going to die,” do you think you would drink another diet cola? No. You’d make a decision then and there to stop drinking the darned things.
If your house were on fire, would now be a great time to watch March Madness? No.
Stop sinning. Just stop it. Stop being common. Be holy.
Look, the things we do every day either move us closer to the Lord or draw us away. It’s high time we start purging all the distractions. Our very lives may depend on that, because God works through people who are serious about holiness. If we’re going to need miracles, we better darned well have nothing we’re doing in a common way that will hinder those miracles.
2. We must live simple lives
Just as we can’t have anything in our spiritual lives that might weigh us down, we can’t be weighed down by material things. The American Dream is not God’s Dream. Please read that again. God is not interested in the American Dream but in a Church that does what He says.
If your American Dream and mine are hindering God’s purpose in our lives, then it’s time to dump that American Dream. You know what is hindering you. If not, then find out by drawing near to God. He will tell you what you need to purge.
For most of us, we own too many perishable things. It’s time for us to give them up. Some of us will need to give those things away to others who might need them. Others will need to hold on very lightly so that if God says, “Hold for now,” we can easily let go when He eventually says so.
The first thing we can do is to stop the frenetic consumption. Stop buying more junk. That stuff will only hold you down. You don’t need an iPod. You don’t need a big screen TV. You don’t need most of the things you own. I suspect that the average family could give away 75 percent of what they own and still live responsible, meaningful lives.
How many pairs of shoes do you really need? And do you need to buy $200 running shoes? Why the new car or computer every couple years? Why the multiple gaming systems? For those of us who are compulsive book buyers, do we really need to stock our Christian library with yet another how-to tome that we’re not putting into practice? Seriously.
If the Hebrews in their flight out of Egypt had as much accumulated junk as we have, there never would have been an Exodus. They’d still be packing to this day.
Our preparation must include a purging of those things that will hinder us.
3. We must be generous to others
Here’s the best word I can give to any of us who self-label as “mature” Christians: It’s not about us. The days when it was about you and me were over the day we bowed our knees at the cross. We died. It’s not about us.
It is, however, about others. The Christian is a servant whose heart inclines toward others, toward God and toward other people.
If we live simple lives that are not focused on self, then we are freed to live for others. That makes us uniquely generous.
Living generously for others means that your privacy and mine are a thing of the past. The dead have no privacy. The dead can’t be inconvenienced by others. Dead people can’t complain about the living. If we have to live in dark days in situations that would have violated our privacy in lighter times, tough. Time to grow a thicker skin.
Because we are no longer so concerned about our own cocoon, God will use our newly available selves to move in generosity like we haven’t in the past. We may even quit jobs that consume all our time and energy and take lesser jobs that may once have been beneath us, so that we might better serve and have time to be generous.
And being generous means giving out of what we personally have received. It’s too easy to recommend that someone else be generous. Each of us needs to give out of his or her own rich blessing of God.
4. We must be guided by the Holy Spirit
Agabus, a prophet, stood and announced to the early Church that a famine would hit the whole world. The early Church immediately set about to address that word. This is God speaking to His people to ready them for the next step. This is how we must live.
If we are not attuned to the Spirit of God, if we despise either the written word or the prophetic word, we will not hear the next step. No more serious condition exists for a people journeying through dark times than to fail to discern the direction we need to take. And if we want to hear God, we need to get back to that first condition above: holiness.
Holiness and hearing God go hand in hand. The trappings of the world will dull our hearing. So will a lack of faith to hear.
I said earlier this year that 2008 was the year that the Church must start getting serious about listening to the Holy Spirit. Today, I think that is even more true.
5. We must think outside the box
When Adam fell, his mind fell as well. Though some Christians actually believe that we are getting stupider with each passing generation, I don’t believe this is true. Christ promises to renew our minds, which is not a vain promise. He will do it.
For those situations where we need to find radical solutions to intractable problems, we must be prepared to think along lines that we may have neglected in the past. Or we must pursue revolutionary, new ideas. Either way, we must use our renewed minds to the betterment of our situation and those of others around us.
Leonard Ravenhill tells the story of meeting a church janitor, a meek woman with an elementary school education. After he preached that Christ renews our minds, that little woman, who was only in the church to do her cleaning, overhead the message and came up to Ravenhill afterwards. She asked if God can really renew a person’s mind, including the mind of a person whom many would consider dull and stupid. Ravenhill assured her that this is how God works.
That woman took the Lord at His word. She promptly enrolled in Bible college and learned everything she could of the Scriptures. She renewed her mind. She then went on to university, learned several languages, taught the Scriptures, and became a noted missionary. All because she believed that God could take the mind of someone who knew nothing and use it for His glory.
A mind renewed by God thinks counterculturally. It will always be coming up with ideas that run counter to prevailing wisdom. This is how God works. This is how we should think.
6. We must have faith for miracles
The shoes of the people of Israel did not wear out. The widow’s oil never ran dry. The centurion said to Jesus, “You say the word and my servant will be healed.”
This is the faith we must have in times of crisis.
Note that this is not a faith that settles for anything less than the miraculous. Sadly, very few people in the United States have that kind of faith. We have a rationalized faith that sees the mountain as a mountain that cannot be moved because…well, it’s a mountain. We make peace with our faithlessness and call it enlightenment. But Jesus does not honor that kind of faith for it is not faith at all.
If we’re to do great works before the darkness rolls in, then we must be people who have taken up the shield of faith, the armor of choice in tough times.
7. We must be prepared to die
In times of crisis, we must be people who love not our lives unto death. Some of us may not make it. That’s the risk of going faithfully into difficulty.
That’s not a message you will hear in too many Christian circles today, but it was an attitude that pervaded the early Church. We need to rediscover that truth.
C.S. Lewis wrote in The Great Divorce of a heaven far more substantial than this earth we’ve called home. Is that true in your life and mine? Then why do we cling so rigidly to this world and not the one that is more real and more worthy of our attention?
If we do these seven things, I believe we will be on the path to preparedness.
In my next post, I will offer practical solutions for battening the hatches of our churches as we prepare to weather crisis. Stay tuned.
***
Amen.
Again, very good post Dan. Frightening, but one that needed to be written.
One of your best posts, Dan. Especially the part about our need to be holy — that’s missing in so much of Christendom today. There has been an increasing blurring of the lines between what is common and what is holy, what is an acceptable expenditure of time for a professing believer and what is not. How many prayers for the lost or for struggling believers are left unprayed or the poor left in need because God’s people were watching “Lost” or “24” and didn’t have time? We cannot lose sight of the fact that while everything is indeed permissible, not everything profits spiritually. There are limited hours in the day for each of us and everything we say “yes” to, we, by default, say “no” to everything else. “Yes” to a 2 hour movie filled with profanities and immoral behavior, and by default, “no” to interceding for the needs of Christ’s church. We just cannot get back the time we squander on trivialities. Those 2 hours are gone *forever* — and what’s more, we will be held firmly accountable for how we spent those 2 hours. I love the works of JC Ryle and am continually amazed at the strong words he had for what was then considered worldly entertainment (but nowdays is just considered “freedom in Christ,” no matter how base and defiled). He marvelled at Christians who spent so much time in trivial pursuits that spiritually profitted nothing. I suspect Ryle’s views would largely be considered “legalistic” today, though.
Could you expound more on this part?:
“If we are not attuned to the Spirit of God, if we despise either the written word or the prophetic word, we will not hear the next step. No more serious condition exists for a people journeying through dark times than to fail to discern the direction we need to take.”
Was that just a typo, or did you intend to separate the “written word” from the “prophetic word”? Is there a difference, do you think? I’ve always understood that the prophetic words have ceased (other than the written prophecies found within the closed canon) and that God speaks today but through His written word only. And, that God speaks in general principles only (again, only through written Scripture) but never in specifics to any person.
He does speak through your pastor’s sermon, or a song/hymn, or a book you read, or a godly friend’s words — but only inasmuch as the said vessel is faithful to Scripture’s intent and meaning. Basically, your friend’s “word from God” that he or she speaks into your life really only directly mirrors what is found in Scripture already. (ie; 2 Tim 3:16 — All Scripture is proftable for … doctrine, reproof, correction, for instruction in righteousness.)
For example, your friend might call you up one morning and share that God was “speaking to her heart” that He is our refuge and strength, and that He is the only place of comfort and security — and that is indeed a “word from the Lord,” but it is also a word found directly in Scripture. God may use that friend’s timely reminder to encourage YOU as well, but it is not a direct word from Him. Rather, it is what Jesus spoke of when He said the Holy Spirt will bring to mind all that He has taught. There are emphatically no “new” words from the Lord today, and most definitely no “new” prophecies.
Is that your take, too? Or is your understanding different? Thanks for your input! 🙂
Holly,
I do NOT mean to separate the “written word” from the “prophetic word.” They are both essential.
Let’s look at the verses I cite:
Here we see a distinct prophetic word uttered by someone gifted by the Holy Spirit with a prophetic gift. The word was specific in time, place, and event. It called for a specific response, too.
I do NOT believe that prophetic gifts like the one on display above have ceased. If they have, then we have lost a VITAL means of God to speak to His people that CANNOT be duplicated by the written word. The written word is vital, but because it is intended as a general word to all peoples in all places, it cannot speak to specific instances like what we see Agabus doing in Acts 15. Yes, the written word is all we need to be equipped to do the work. But we need the prophetic word to know what works to do where and when, just like the prophetic word Agabus gave.
That Lord told the Church that an event was coming for which they must prepare. It said when and where. It also foretold what the event would be. After it was spoken, the Church mounted a response based directly on that word.
God still leads His people in this way. Some claim He does not. But if He does not, then we have lost something foundationally important to the functioning of the Church. Paul himself said that he wished each Christian would prophesy (see 1 Cor. 14). That’s how critical this function is.
I can see not one thing in Scripture that says that this gift passed away or is no longer needed. If anything, in our day and age, it is more needed than ever.
Sadly, we have too many well-meaning people who have relegated the prophetic word to the past. And we all know that God will not speak to people who refuse to hear Him or who believe He no longer speaks.
The written word and the prophetic word are not the same. Yes, the canon is closed. But the closing of the canon did not close the mouth of God any more than the finishing of Creation left Him with nothing more to say!
If God is not still speaking, then there is no reason to preach. We should read our Bibles and never once discuss them for fear that God might choose to reveal wisdom out of our mouths concerning His written word. If God is not still speaking, then there is no reason to pray because there will be no answer other than what was already said, no words for God to say to our specific situations. God will not respond if we pray because He supposedly no longer speaks to people. If God is not still speaking, then there is no reason to comfort people in pain. We should hand them the proper words of Scripture and leave it at that for fear of adding something to what He said in the written word. If God is not still speaking, then there is no reason to evangelize. We should just hand people Bibles and not say another word. Anything else we add could not possibly be from God.
But none of us lives that way, do we? So why not acknowledge that God is still speaking and that the gifts He gave His church were meant to last until the Final Day? The prophecy in Joel cited by Peter in Acts says exactly that, that the gifts will last until the Final Day. Why then do we discredit them? And what vitally important works are we missing out on because too many of us think that the gifts are dead?
Like I said, a Church ready for a journey through dark times needs the kind of supernatural guidance that is found not only through the written word, but also the prophetic.
That’s where I stand, and that’s what I’ve been writing on Cerulean Sanctum from the first day. That may be different from teachings others have received on this issue, but it’s what we all need to hear right now, at least as I read the Book.
Dan,
What you said makes alot of sense — thank you. I need to think through all of this. I’ve just never heard anything along those lines before. The concept of God speaking and directing today similar to how He did in the book of Acts (for example) is completely new territory. I don’t have a frame of reference for this, I’m sorry. I am not a cessationist; I do believe that many of His gifts are still operating today, including the gift of healing. But my understanding was (and it may be I’ve just understood wrong) that the prophetic gifts have ceased. But your arguments make alot of sense. I certainly wouldn’t want to be one of those to whom God *doesn’t* answer prayer because of a lack of belief that He still speaks today.
We’ve only been members of our church for 2 years, so I don’t know the doctrinal stances in entirety. The major theological positions I am aware of, but obscure things like whether the gift of prophecy has ceased, I have no idea. What do most churches believe regarding this?
Holly,
The issue of continuing prophecy is a thorny one because it tends to fall along denominational lines. Some churches reject it entirely (Nazarene), some embrace it fully (Pentecostal, Assemblies of God), and the rest fall everywhere in-between. Most Reformed churches believe it passed away, though Sovereign Grace churches don’t. I was part of a Reformed Presbyterian church that fully embraced the continuing gifts position. It was the impact of several charismatic Lutherans that led to my own encounter with continuing gifts, though Lutheranism would not be considered a hotbed of that movement.
So the answer all depends.
Pastor Michael cites Wayne Grudem as a source. In fact, he’s probably the most respected source on this topic. Besides Grudem’s Systematic Theology, he wrote a book called The Gift of Prophecy. Since Grudem is respected across a lot of denominational lines, he’s probably going to be as close an unimpeachable source as one gets on the issue. While there are definitely books in Penetcostal and Assemblies of God circles that talk about the gift, the variability on quality is high. Try the Grudem book first.
You’re both right… to a point.
There is no scriptural evidence that the sign gifts have ceased.
However, the main way that God speaks to His people is through His word.
Holly has taken the safer, and in my mind better way by focusing on what God has already said rather than searching for “new revelation” to get through each day.
God is sovereign and in His providence He guides and controls all things to the end that He desires.
He has saved us unto works that have been set before us and if they are truly His works we will not miss them if we are abiding in Him.
God is indeed still speaking today through His word which is alive and sharper than any two edged sword and to discount that power is folly.
Pastor Michael,
No doubt, the Scriptures are the lone unimpeachable source. I go to a Pentecostal church and my pastor hammers that point home. Paul himself concedes that “we prophesy in part” and that’s all we need to know.
The problem comes when ALL modern prophecy is tossed out like the veritable baby with the bathwater. And that’s what a lot of people do. While I agree (and have written extensively here) that too many bogus prophets and prophecies exist, the Lord Himself warned us there would be. That, in it itself, doesn’t kill all modern prophecy dead.
So while the written word is the first source, when it is silent on a direction, we must still entertain that God can give that direction, as he did with Agabus, through prophetic words to those who heed them.
Oh yikes, I was completely wrong. Our church DOES subscribe to the idea that the “gift of prophecy” is for today. Who would’ve thought. 🙂 Sorry! I dug up a statement of faith and found this:
” …mission of the Holy Spirit … by manifesting Himself in spiritual gifts (being sovereignly free to dispense, as he wills, all the gifts of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10) for the upbuilding of the body of Christ and the confirmation of His Word, by calling all the nations into the sway of the gospel of Christ, and, in all this, thus fulfilling the New Covenant promise to create and preserve a purified people for the everlasting habitation of God.”
And of course, listed within 1 Cor 12:8-10 is the “gift of prophecy.” Jeesh, the fascinating things you learn when you take time to read the fine print! 🙂
Thanks for the motivation to look this up. I wonder if alot of Christians don’t realize ALL of these gifts are for today. I didn’t.
Is there a respected standard on this subject that would be instructive reading so as to learn more? A title or two you could recommend would be wonderful — thanks.
Holly,
May I ask what denomination your church is a part of?
Dan,
I don’t think it’s part of a mainstream denomination. If I had to buttonhole which denomination it most closely resembles, I’d say maybe Reformed Baptist. It’s very, very Bethlehem Baptist-esque (John Piper’s church). Or possibly Presbyterian Church of America — there’s alot of James Montgomery Boice/Philip Graham Ryken undertones as well.
It’s heavily Reformed in theology (strongly Calvinistic, amillennial, covenant theology) yet adheres to believer’s baptism (definitely not a mark of CT). The teaching pastor spends his days immersed in Puritan studies which permeates almost all of his sermons, giving each sermon a deep precision in theology and a reverential seriousness (like the Puritans were known for). Yet it is not a dead orthodoxy; there exists vibrant life within the serious tone. The church is heavily academic and values the modern-day work of Michael Horton, DA Carson, Carl Trueman and pretty much anything that comes out of Westminster.
I hope that helps. I tried to be as descriptive as possible!
Holly,
Then I’m surprised that it supports the charismata. Not shocked, just a little curious.
Now *I’m* curious! 😉 Why are you surprised?
I will say this, though. I don’t think our church supports the “weird” elements of the charismata. (Such as, rolling in the aisles barking, etc).
In fact, truth be told, I had no idea till today that our church even supports the charismata (in terms of believing all of the gifts are in operation).
Frankly, you’d never know that was in their Elders’ Statement of Faith by just attending a worship service. There is no outward evidence whatsoever that they believe in the miraculous or prophetic gifts. I’ve never heard a prophetic word given from the pulpit, never seen a healing service, never saw anything that remotely resembles a Pentecostal revival, never seen (or heard taught) anything regarding the “speaking in tongues” phenomena– and I have been pretty faithful in church attendance, so it’s not like I missed an Azusa Street Revival on a weekend I was out of town!
So, it’s more like it’s in the Statement of Faith, that the elders DO believe in these continuing gifts (I cut and pasted for you exactly what they believe), but I’ve just never SEEN it during any of the services. I think maybe the elders mean they believe in these gifts perhaps in a private way, like in your own home. I don’t know, really.
What does a prophetic gift look like, in the context of a church service? Maybe there have been prophetic gifts taking place and I just never recognized it from the pulpit. If you can give me an idea of what this gift looks like in operation, I will rack my brain and see if I remember it taking place at church.
Holly,
Thanks for the clarification. I’m surprised because Westminster is not a “hotbed” of charismatic thought. 😉 Nor do I believe that Horton and Carson support a charismatic viewpoint.
Still, Piper comes down on the “continuationist” side, even if he does so lightly.
Holly,
Balanced books on the subject are hard to come by…try “Systematic Theology” by Wayne Grudem.
I believe he addresses the subject better than anyone I can think of.
Your mileage may vary…
I agree that We must be holy as long as holiness is inside-out … outside-in holiness always leads to legalism and never helps anyone. Refraining from sin is always a matter of strength – if your inner man is stronger than your outer man then you will struggle less with sin. So the issue of holiness is always an issue of doing the things that strengthen your inner man.
Kansas Bob,
I used to be 100 percent behind the position you take on inside-out holiness, but as I’ve gotten older I can’t find that idea as the only one presented in the Scriptures. Some of it most definitely comes down to Jesus’ admonition in John 5: “Stop sinning or else something worse will happen to you.” Or as Paul warned to “flee sexual immorality.” It involves us making a conscious decision not to do something, then not doing it.
I think our therapeutic model of psychology has permeated too much of the Church in the West, leading us to believe that Christians have no control over their actions. But the Scriptures don’t show that. If they tell us to stop doing something, then we must be able to stop doing it or else the admonition is simply more Law we can’t live up to. Otherwise, we wind up in this strange position of blaming God because He didn’t give us the power to resist sin.
I don’t think the issue is exclusively an internal one but really, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t really empower us in our inner man.. then what is the point? If holiness is not really a true reflection of who we really are then why not just say that and do our best in the flesh to overcome sin?
I am convinced from the scriptures and from personal experience that it is an inner man issue. The fruit of the Spirit is self control.. it is an issue of the inner man exercising control over the outer man. As long as we are just following the rules on an external level we will never be able to defeat sin in our lives because our inner man will remain weak. Feed the inner man and the outer man will yield – one bite at a time.
KB,
I still think there’s something to “Don’t do that” standing by itself. The entire OT was based on that premise. Did people blow it? Sure. But a lot of them got by simply by saying no.
That said, each person’s weaknesses are different. I can say no to alcohol. I can stop after a glass. It’s not a problem for me. Those people for whom it IS a problem need the Holy Spirit to overcome.
So I’m sort of in-between on this issue.
To Danny’s question about positive holiness, I think that this is the issue. I think that holiness looks like the fruit of the Spirit … it is an extremely positive view of holiness.
I was a bit confused by your last response. When you speak of the Holy Spirit being needed by some to overcome … I am sure that you don’t mean an external HS … you must be speaking of the internal HS – right? And I don’t think that you mean that overcoming in the flesh is a legitimate alternative – correct?
About “Don’t do that – here is the way that I believe it works: When our inner man is stronger than our outer man in our life we simply “Don’t do that. Really, the issue is how do we “Don’t do that. If it is simply fleshly “will power” then holines is simply all about who is the most strong willed amongst us … the Holy Spirit has little to do with it … it is a very sad and judgmental message for someone who isn’t as strong in the flesh.
If you disagree then I would be interested in your thinking about how we “Don’t do that and if you believe that there is a different between the work of the Holy Spirit in the OT and NT.
Happy Tuesday!
Dan,
You seem to define holiness by a negative. You define holiness by what we “don’t” do. Is there a way to define it positively?
Danny,
Looking like Jesus.
I am also concerned about the irreverance of the young people today. Stories abound about how they see God as their “pal” and “buddy.” The “Yo, God, what’s happenin’?” crowd is so sad to see.
Excellent post.
Diane,
I went through that same stage, too. I think it’s a remnant of the Jesus People era. It may seem a bit extreme, but it’s that pendulum swing extremism that goes between the distant God and the familiar God. I think most people will fall toward a more centrist view in time.
Still, I don’t like it, either. But since I’ve been there, I understand it.