Category: Revelation

What does it mean to be a prophetic voice today?

April 5, 2010
callingRevelation
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” ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ What goes through your mind when you read Peter quoting Joel in Acts 2:17-21?  Two questions should come to mind: 1) Are these the last days? And 2) Has God poured His Spirit on all people? More specifically, has He poured out His Spirit on this generation? Now, if you believe that God has poured out His Spirit on all peoples and believe that this generation is included in this pouring, than you should then also believe that we are living in the last days where all peoples will have the potential to be a prophetic voice to the world for the Kingdom of God.

If you spend anytime on the Internet than you know that there are so many people out there who have something to say. Whenever I go to “You Tube” I get bombarded by video after video of people speaking up and speaking out about anything and everything. Blogging is also gaining even greater popularity. Not to mention Twitter and Facebook which are the king and queen of social networking. People in this generation have a lot to say. Now, to be honest a lot of what’s out there is just people seeking to be funny or inventive or shocking, but there are those who are genuinely sharing the passions and convictions that they hold in their hearts. If I take a step back and take a broad view of what’s going on, what all this says to me is that there are so many people out there who are or have the potential to be a prophetic voice for this generation. But, in order to be a prophetic voice to the world our focus needs to begin to change from being on ourselves to towards the world around you. This means, taking the time in discerning the times that we live in.

If we look to the Old Testament, there are two references that point to the importance of seeking those out who had insight into the times. In 1 Chronicles 12:32 we read that among those listed to join David’s army after he became King over all of Israel were 200 men of Issachar, “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” We also read in Esther 1:13 that King Xerxes consulted with “experts of the law and justice, and he spoke with the wise men who understood the times” before making important decisions. In both examples, we see the value set on those who understood the times and how kings sought them out for counsel. Though it’s not directly stated, we can safely assume that the men of Issachar were a key component of those whom David sought counsel from.

In the New Testament, we see that Jesus also addressed the importance of discerning the times when He accused the Pharisees of not being able to interpret the signs of the times. In Matthew 16:1-4, we read that “the Pharisees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.” But, Jesus said to them, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away. We all need to hear and receive this same rebuke that Jesus gave the Pharisees and Sadducees and begin to “interpret the sign of our times.”

Have you ever really sat down and taken a closer look at the times that we live in? As I spent some time really thinking and praying about the times that we live in, these are some observations that has God impressed upon me. We live in a time where there is the decline of the Church and the rise of humanism. We live in a time where there is the rise of a pornographic culture and the decline of the family. We live in a time where there is the rise of tolerance, but the decline of a genuine love. We live in a time where there is the rise of greater avenues of communication, but the decline of real connectedness between people. We live in a time where there is the rise of technological advances, but the decline of personal meaning. We live in a time where there is a rise of medical advances, but also a rise of more psychological and physical dysfunction. We live in a time where there is the rise of information availability, but the decline in the ability to process information.

God gifts and anoints people unconditionally. Meaning, He blesses people with gifts and talents and then allows us to use them at our discretion. This is seen throughout the Old Testament, Samson the judge or King Jeroboam I are good examples of this. They were both called and anointed by God (His Spirit was upon both judges and kings), but they used their gifting and authority abusively and selfishly. Fast forward to today, we also see this sort of abuse going on all over the Church at large. (I will refrain from naming any names here). So, the question may not be about having the ability to be a prophetic voice to this generation. But, more so about how well are you being a steward of God’s anointing on your life in being a prophetic voice to this generation?

something’s gotta give…

November 10, 2009
Body of ChristGraceRevelation
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This past month has been quite a whirlwind, so to speak. As I have been praying and discerning the will of God for my life, God has in His mercy brought some real clarity to my pursuit. If you haven’t been walking with me through this, let me sum up my journey so far. Currently I have been wrestling with the question: Am I to be a pastor or a counselor or both? In the beginning I figured I’d be both by being bivocational. But, what I have been learning is that there are difficulties in managing dual relationships with people. That’s not to say that being both a pastor and a counselor is impossible. It just means that I would need to be intentionally aware of which “hat” (pastor or counselor) I am wearing in my vocational relationships.

But, the more that I’ve been learning about the counseling profession, the more I’ve been challenged in thinking through the place of counseling in God’s calling on my life. I have this tremendous passion to work with the addiction population. But, I also have this tremendous passion to edify and building up the Body of Christ. So, the question that has come up in my deliberations in weighing these two passions is: Does one of these passions take precedent over the other? The simple answer to this is “yes.” God has called me to be a pastor first and foremost and though I do feel like God has also called me to work with the addiction population – the timing and urgency on this calling is secondary to the pastoral calling. Right now I need to be faithful to the pastoral call.

In walking this revelation out, I have decided to begin pursuing a pastoral position at a church and put my pursuit of a counseling degree on the back burners. I’ve also decided to change my degree from a Master in Mental Health Counseling to a Master in Counseling Ministries. God has called me to care for His people and though I do see myself ministering to people of the world, my main concern must be for the Body of Christ. This has been freeing because, quite honestly, I see myself more of as a spiritual director, than a counselor, which definitely fits better under the pastoral calling. Again, though I have this passion and calling to work with the addiction population (and I definitely see myself always working with people struggling with addiction issues), this calling needs to come under and submit to the pastoral call.

I am so grateful for God’s grace in all of this and the reality that He will never ask me to pursue something alone, but that His grace is always available to me. Even more than that, God has really impressed on me that because of Jesus I can count on His grace and that I need to always, always, always factor His grace into everything I do and into every decision I make.

The next leg of the journey…

March 11, 2009
GospelHopeRevelation
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Over the past 10 years, God has taken me on a pretty amazing spiritual journey. But, in reality it has been more than just a spiritual journey because my whole life has also been transformed. It all began the day I gave my life to Jesus Christ. On that day, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into me and the way that I saw the world was forever changed. Life became more real because the missing spiritual dimension of life came alive to me. The way that I experienced life changed because the Holy Spirit became the driving force in my life. I learned to live, move and have my being in Him and began to see the world from an eternal perspective.

Since that day 10 years ago, God has been untangling my heart from the drug lifestyle that was my comfort zone. Drugs were my security in life. Now, it has been a knock down drag out fight to break me free, but it is truly only by God’s amazing grace that am I living a drug-free life with a bright future ahead of me. But, very early on in my faith journey, God let me know that He had bigger plans for me than to be just another productive member of society.

Over these last 10 years God has been showing the importance of walking at all times in the strength of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now this has been a huge challenge in and of itself because nobody likes to admit that they are in constant need of help. My pride fought every step of the way. But, God was patient and kind with me. Everyday He purposefully moved me forward on this rocky road of redemption as He purified my heart and mind of all my twisted perversions and selfish aspirations. 

Fast forward to today. I feel like I’m coming to a new juncture in my faith journey. I feel like an explorer who has come to the edge of the civilized world and is now looking out across a vast unknown land. But, even so, the Spirit of God who dwells within me is reminding me that God is with me, that He will never forsake me and that I need to be strong and courageous. The Word He is bringing to mind are God’s words to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 2:9). This is a good reminder that: it’s not about me trying to do all this on my own, but about embracing my weakness, and leaning on God’s strength to help me endure the many coming hardships.

So, I am filled with both a little bit of anxiety mixed with a whole lot of excitement as I take on this endeavor to make a difference in this world for Jesus by prayerfully standing in the gap for those who are in bondage to addiction. I feel like this 420 Prayer Movement is a gift from the Lord to me that touches the very depths of my heart, the very depths that God entered into with His loving light and powerful truth in order to redeem and restore me from my own addictions. But, it’s more than just a passion. It’s a calling that God has placed on my life. Overall,  I am filled with the hope that comes from knowing the truth of the Gospel and the light of Christ. Soli Deo Gloria.