A FULFILLED PROPHECY

A Fulfilled Prophecy
by R. Loren Sandford www.newsongfellowship.org

November 30, 2007 I posted the following "Prophetic Moments". In light of the crisis unfolding right now in our nation's financial system, I felt it appropriate to re-post at least key excerpts from it now today:

"RIDING THE ROLLER COASTER - For several years I've been warning believers that the kind of security and stability many of us have known in America during the last half of the twentieth century has ended....American believers have placed their faith in their prosperity (and thought it was God) to a degree most us have been blind to. This will be tested in days to come by the fires of instability and turmoil. The shaking that has come upon us will intensify and expose everything in us that has not been built upon a true foundation in Him....Having said this, I do not believe that America’s economy will collapse, but instability and uncertainty will get much worse. We will be like riders on a roller coaster, filled with fear because of the speed and violence of the changes of elevation and direction, when the truth is that for believers the ride is perfectly safe, fastened to the tracks in such a way as to ensure safety....The roller coaster of material instability is upon us and will remain, but for the believer the danger is only an illusion sent to produce fear. Fear shuts off the flow of the gospel and cripples the ministry of the body of Christ. Only true apprehension of the Father’s perfect love and a choice to have faith in His faithfulness form the antidote to the fear that threatens to overwhelm so many of us. In days to come we must learn to rely solely on our Lord for provision rather than the world’s lost stability."

To read the entire posting as I wrote it in November, 2007, click HERE. In "Purifying the Prophetic" I wrote that the true religion of America is not Christianity, but recycled Baalism. The cult of Baal in Bible times focused on material prosperity, the fulfillment of self. This focus, inspired by the same wicked principality, has dominated our American culture and has invaded the doctrines and practices of the church, drawing us away from the selfless message of the cross and installing prosperity as an article of faith. We are now experiencing the hand of God shaking this form of idolatry to its foundation. This is the fulfillment of what the Lord told me a year ago.

God has not given up on America. Not yet. This is why we are in no danger of imminent collapse, although some very difficult times lie before us. In 586 B.C. Israel's stubborn apostasy led God, in effect, to give them up to utter destruction, although a restoration came later when destruction produced its good fruit. We are not yet at that point - and America is not Israel. We might be more like Sodom and Gommorhah that would have been saved if even ten righteous could be found in them. Many more than ten righteous dwell in this nation and cry out in repentance for our sins. God still listens.

The shaking in coming months, however, will be violent. Never in my lifetime of 57 years have we seen such a stream of natural disasters impact this nation and the world. My sense is that we have seen only about a third of what is to come in terms of hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and so on. Some of these will impact regions previously considered safe. These disasters in nature are not the judgment of God, but rather the inevitable reaping of what we have sown in sin. Earth literally groans under the burden of it in the same way that when Cain murdered his brother Abel, his blood cried out to God from the ground. The financial meltdown we now see unfolding, however, is a different matter. I believe this is the hand of God directly shaking that in which we have placed our faith. Baal must be de-throned, beginning in the churches.

We must restore a faith like the apostle Paul's. I Corinthians 2:2, "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." He didn't die to make us prosperous. He died that we might die with Him, the old self laid to rest and a new self raised up in His image, reflecting His own nature and living it out in the world - and best of all, living in the Father's embrace. It's time for a radical adjustment of focus for our lives and spirituality.

Finally, as those in world around us become more fearful, they will need to know that a God in heaven loves them. They will be vulnerable to the gospel as never before. We must be ready to minister the kingdom of God to them. We cannot do that if we ourselves walk in the same level of fear as they do, or if we allow ourselves to be angry with God for material setbacks and financial difficulties. He has not let us down. We've let ourselves down. This is the time to press into intimacy with the Father who loves us and then to share our hope - our true hope - with those made ready to listen.

A FULFILLED PROPHECY

A Fulfilled Prophecy
by R. Loren Sandford www.newsongfellowship.org

November 30, 2007 I posted the following "Prophetic Moments". In light of the crisis unfolding right now in our nation's financial system, I felt it appropriate to re-post at least key excerpts from it now today:

"RIDING THE ROLLER COASTER - For several years I've been warning believers that the kind of security and stability many of us have known in America during the last half of the twentieth century has ended....American believers have placed their faith in their prosperity (and thought it was God) to a degree most us have been blind to. This will be tested in days to come by the fires of instability and turmoil. The shaking that has come upon us will intensify and expose everything in us that has not been built upon a true foundation in Him....Having said this, I do not believe that America’s economy will collapse, but instability and uncertainty will get much worse. We will be like riders on a roller coaster, filled with fear because of the speed and violence of the changes of elevation and direction, when the truth is that for believers the ride is perfectly safe, fastened to the tracks in such a way as to ensure safety....The roller coaster of material instability is upon us and will remain, but for the believer the danger is only an illusion sent to produce fear. Fear shuts off the flow of the gospel and cripples the ministry of the body of Christ. Only true apprehension of the Father’s perfect love and a choice to have faith in His faithfulness form the antidote to the fear that threatens to overwhelm so many of us. In days to come we must learn to rely solely on our Lord for provision rather than the world’s lost stability."

To read the entire posting as I wrote it in November, 2007, click HERE. In "Purifying the Prophetic" I wrote that the true religion of America is not Christianity, but recycled Baalism. The cult of Baal in Bible times focused on material prosperity, the fulfillment of self. This focus, inspired by the same wicked principality, has dominated our American culture and has invaded the doctrines and practices of the church, drawing us away from the selfless message of the cross and installing prosperity as an article of faith. We are now experiencing the hand of God shaking this form of idolatry to its foundation. This is the fulfillment of what the Lord told me a year ago.

God has not given up on America. Not yet. This is why we are in no danger of imminent collapse, although some very difficult times lie before us. In 586 B.C. Israel's stubborn apostasy led God, in effect, to give them up to utter destruction, although a restoration came later when destruction produced its good fruit. We are not yet at that point - and America is not Israel. We might be more like Sodom and Gommorhah that would have been saved if even ten righteous could be found in them. Many more than ten righteous dwell in this nation and cry out in repentance for our sins. God still listens.

The shaking in coming months, however, will be violent. Never in my lifetime of 57 years have we seen such a stream of natural disasters impact this nation and the world. My sense is that we have seen only about a third of what is to come in terms of hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and so on. Some of these will impact regions previously considered safe. These disasters in nature are not the judgment of God, but rather the inevitable reaping of what we have sown in sin. Earth literally groans under the burden of it in the same way that when Cain murdered his brother Abel, his blood cried out to God from the ground. The financial meltdown we now see unfolding, however, is a different matter. I believe this is the hand of God directly shaking that in which we have placed our faith. Baal must be de-throned, beginning in the churches.

We must restore a faith like the apostle Paul's. I Corinthians 2:2, "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." He didn't die to make us prosperous. He died that we might die with Him, the old self laid to rest and a new self raised up in His image, reflecting His own nature and living it out in the world - and best of all, living in the Father's embrace. It's time for a radical adjustment of focus for our lives and spirituality.

Finally, as those in world around us become more fearful, they will need to know that a God in heaven loves them. They will be vulnerable to the gospel as never before. We must be ready to minister the kingdom of God to them. We cannot do that if we ourselves walk in the same level of fear as they do, or if we allow ourselves to be angry with God for material setbacks and financial difficulties. He has not let us down. We've let ourselves down. This is the time to press into intimacy with the Father who loves us and then to share our hope - our true hope - with those made ready to listen.

MODERN IDOLS AND FALSE PROPHETS

Modern Idols and False Prophets
by Terry Somerville www.totalchange.org

Jeremiah 23:16 "Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Jehovah."


In both the old and New Testament we are repeatedly warned about idols and false prophets. Today, both are in the church. The idols look Christian,and the prophets may do miracles and signs! They may even speak true words like Balaam. But he was a false prophet because he did not lead the people into faithfulness to God.

The issue here is not the power to prophecy, signs etc, it is the heart of the prophet, his character and teaching. The true ministry of a prophet is to bring fidelity to Christ, but as we shall see there is much false prophecy when idolatry increases in God's people.

Jeremiah 23: 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

Mt 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves

Mt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
True and False Sources of Prophecy

True prophecy is inspired by the spirit of the Lord. But the scripture makes it clear that God's prophets may speak from other sources! Note carefully how prophets can speak from their own heart and spirit but think it is the Lord!


Sources Of Prophecy

1. The prophets own heart

Ez 13:2 …say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

Jer 23: 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets. They are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;


2. The Prophets Own Mind

Jer 23:16 They speak a vision of their own minds, and not from the mouth of the LORD.


3. The Prophets Own Spirit

Ez 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!


4. A Demon

Jeremiah 23:13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err"

Micah 2:11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

Idols In The Heart Of Christians and The Prophets

Idol worship still tempts Christians converts in India. They believe certain fears, needs or desires may be answered by these false gods. Why do we think our spiritual life in the west is any different just because we don't bow to a graven image? Idolatry of the heart is rampant! As far as the Lord is concerned it is real idolatry and serving an image in the place of God!

Here is how it idolatry of the heart works.

1. Our Heart Is Gods Temple

I Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

2. Idols Can Be Taken Into The Heart

Ezekiel 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?


3. Images and Pictures In The Heart Are The Idols

Ezekiel 8:10 behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.


4. Covetousness (Desiring These Images) Is Idolatry

Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

5. The Flesh Serves The Idol Resulting In Unrighteousness

James 3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.


The Question is, what are the pictures, ideas and images portrayed in your heart? What desires possess you? Are they Kingdom ideas or western culture?
My Own Experience

Many years ago the Lord confronted my about my idol worship. It was a revelation. I had three idol-pictures in my heart, covetous desires that I served. He revealed them by putting me through difficult circumstances. I needed to smash them down!

1. The Idol Of Ministry
I had a picture in my heart of "successful ministry". Even though it was all about REVIVAL, the pictures on the walls of my heart were created by the idols of our culture. Success, fame, youth, size, power etc. I prayed for it, prophesied it, and preached it. Because it was religious I could not see that my ministry had become my idol. My flesh served the idol. I was glad or depressed depending on the results.

2. The Idol Of My Wife
I also had an idol-picture in my heart of what I wanted my wife Karen to be like. It was an image of how I wanted her to look and act. I had fallen in love with this picture in my heart I coveted, instead of loving her. My flesh served the idol because I was glad when Karen was like the image, and upset when she was not.

3. The Idol Of My Home
God used our circumstances to expose this one. We moved to Campbell River from a water front home in Bermuda. For several years I would see images of the home we left behind every morning when I put my contact lenses in. I rebuked the devil but it was not him, it was my idol controlling my heart! I was miserable and tormented but could get free in my heart until I smashed this idol.
The Idols Of The Church Are Producing Todays False Prophets

The idols of our culture are being served in the church. But we don't see them because they are often equated with Christianity. Perhaps the greatest one is the idol of revival! I believe in genuine revival. But what the prophets are prophesying and what the people are chasing is NOT revival. It is an IDOL OF REVIVAL.

REVIVAL IDOLS
Success and fame. Everyone will come!
Size - We'll "catch it" and our church will grow.
Money - the offerings will bring financial blessing
Power and Influence. We will be respected as leaders
Spectacles of spiritual power


THE PROPHETS OF REVIVAL
The idolatry around the church today has produced many prophets of revival who speak from their own minds and spirits. They serve these idols in their hearts. They rely on spectacular revelations to boost their ministries. The draw is signs and wonders and spiritual experiences. Believers serving the gods of the land will run because of the name and fame of these ministries. They say "Iam of Paul, I am of Appolos", it is not the Lord.
Check Out The Prophets and Their Prophecy

1 Thessalonians 5:21 but test everything; hold fast what is good,

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Here are Some Tests for Prophecy and Prophets

1. The Word Of God – does it fit the Word of God ?

Psalms 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.


2. The spirit of the prophecy – does it bear witness of Christ in word and spirit?

1John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.


3. The character of the message – Does it lead to holiness?

Jer 23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.


4. Confirmation - Do other prophets and prophecy agree?

1Cor.14:29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh(discern) what is said.


5. The character of the messenger

Jer 23:14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness:

21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
Conclusion - The Church Must Repent Of Her Idols

The great need of the day is cleansing of the church from the idols of the land. We should not be surprised at the behavior of ministries in our day. We are in the grip of a terrible idolatry that rules much of the church and inspires many prophets. Most faithful Old Testament prophets could not convince God's people they had a problem with false gods. Many prophets ended up serving those false gods in the name of Jehova! The same is true today.

It is time for a great repentance, and abandoning of the idols of our time. We pray that God will give us eyes to see.

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Revelation of John 3:18

TEST REVIVAL WITH DOCTRINE

Test Revival with Doctrine
by John Piper

Lee Grady, the editor of Charisma, one of the main charismatic magazines, has written a lament and critique of the Lakeland “revival” which is now in a tailspin over the leader’s announced separation from his wife. Grady’s summons to pray for the church and our nation is right, and among his commendable questions and observations are these:
“Many of us would rather watch a noisy demonstration of miracles, signs and wonders than have a quiet Bible study. Yet we are faced today with the sad reality that our untempered zeal is a sign of immaturity. Our adolescent craving for the wild and crazy makes us do stupid things. It’s way past time for us to grow up.”
“True revival will be accompanied by brokenness, humility, reverence and repentance—not the arrogance, showmanship and empty hype that often was on display in Lakeland.”
“A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley’s news hit the fan. He said to me: “I’m now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment.” Ouch. Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution when an imposter shows up.”
Charismatics will not be the only ones who follow the Antichrist when he rises. So will the mass of those who today in thousands of evangelical churches belittle the truth of biblical doctrine as God’s agent to set us free (John 8:32).
Discernment is not created in God’s people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological.
The common denominator of those who follow the Antichrist will not be “charismatic.” It will be, as Paul says, “they refused to love the truth.”
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)
Our test for every Lakeland that comes along should first be doctrinal and expositional. Is this awakening carried along by a “love for the truth” and a passion to hear the whole counsel of God proclaimed?

THE DEPRESSION HAS BEGUN

The DEPRESSION HAS BEGUN
-by Andrew Strom.

Ten months ago in November 2007 while preaching in Wisconsin
USA, I felt a strong unction from the Holy Spirit to speak about
the future of the United States and the imminent Crash. As often
happens under that kind of anointing, a real boldness came over
me, and for the first time I found myself clearly putting a "date"
on the coming financial Depression - something I had never done
before - except in the vaguest of terms. I found myself predicting
that tragically within six months America would be in Recession,
and within 12 months the actual Depression would begin.
(-This audio is on our website - http://www.revivalschool.com )

So let us look at the evidence. It is now ten months later. Has the
Depression begun? Sadly the answer has to be "Yes". In the last
two weeks the two largest mortgage giants in the world (Fannie
Mae & Freddie Mac) failed, the largest Insurance Company on earth
crashed (all taken over by the US Government), Lehman Brothers
went bankrupt (almost taking the entire financial system with it),
Money Markets reeled, the two remaining giant Investment banks
sought protection as "holding banks" - which means the end of
Wall Street as we know it, etc, etc. Stocks are in turmoil, Oil leapt
on Monday by the most ever recorded, gold is volatile - and on it
goes. -The most shattering two weeks since the Great Depression.
Meanwhile the US Treasury is seeking 700 billion dollars in a
forlorn effort to put Humpty back together again - tragically too late.

THERE ARE "JONAHS" on THE BOAT

Why is this storm hitting America at this time? There are certainly
many reasons - most of which we have discussed before. But let
me put something else before you that I believe God spoke to me
not long ago:- There are "Jonahs" on the boat - and they are
sending the nation down.

Who are these Jonahs? I believe they are the "prophets" of America
who will not preach the truth - who sleep comfortably in the bowels
of the nation while chaos reigns all around them. Too afraid to
deliver God's word 'Repent', they run the other way - toward smooth
talk and pleasant sayings - "Peace peace" when there is no peace.
And the depths of this great crisis can be laid directly at their door.

Yes - that's right. A big reason why the ship of America is sinking
is because her prophets ran away from their God-given task and
message at the crucial moment.

If only these prophets had preached the TRUTH when the nation
so desperately needed to hear it. If only they had begun - way
back in the 1980's - to call the lukewarm church to repentance,
to rebuke the people for their love of money, their greed, their sin.
But no - the siren call of "popularity" was too strong. The call of
"grace, grace", of mass acceptance, of big reputations and even
bigger offerings. And so they sold out. And now they sleep bliss-
fully in the midst of the ship, while the storm whips to fury all
around. How do you sleep, O Jonahs, who would not cry "Repent"?

And it is not just the "prophets" either. It is the televangelists too.
Caught up in a world of fakery, hype and money-grubbing unseen
in the church since the Dark Ages, these hucksters are spreading
their garbage to every Third World Revival nation around the globe.
Greed, manipulation and pride on a scale that only America could
generate. Where is your shame, O charlatans of greed?

And so God is forced to act. And just like Jonah, the storm will
not abate until the wayward preachers are thrown overboard. Until
America is rid of these international thieves and prostitutes, she
is finished. And she will not recover until they are gone.

You see, it is not just the leaders who are at fault here. It is also
the people, who "love to have it so". And thus until the heart of the
people is scourged and purged they will accomodate the "Jonahs" -
even seeking more of their ear-tickling fables to comfort themselves
in this time of breaking.

Until the heart of American greed is shattered - until her people
act of their own volition to throw these Jonahs overboard - this
storm will go on and on. In fact, it is about to grow a whole lot worse.

Mark my words, America: Until you remove these Jonahs, your
nation cannot recover. They have held the whole world in thrall by
their apostasy. And God cannot have it so any more. How long will
it take you to realize? How long will it take you to act?

THROW THE JONAHS OVERBOARD and be done with them!!
Only then will this mother of all storms subside.

Sarah Palin and Women in Church Leadership

Dr. Kluane Spake

www.kluane.org - spake@mindspring.com
Sarah Palin and Women in Church Leadership
 
Right now, many conservative Christian churches still don't allow women to preach in their pulpit or participate in governmental leadership. Most Conservative Christians believe that God has ordained the roles of men and women to be different in the Church.
 
On September 18, 2008, Gospel Magazine (the most widely distributed urban Christian publication in the country) was pulled off the shelves of more than 100 LifeWay Bookstore across America. The bookstores' owner, the Southern Baptist Convention, said the problem was that the five smiling women on the cover are women church pastors! Other churches still don't allow women leaders either - i.e. the Catholic Church and several evangelical groups (such as the Presbyterian Church in America still don't ordain women.

For years, I attended a church that would NOT allow me to speak at a public meeting, preach to a group in my home, teach a Sunday School class to adult men and women, take an offering, introduce a song, or say a public prayer. They were nice people - doing what they believed was right - that "Biblical order" demands that men alone were chosen to lead in Church government authority, and they alone should run the show!
 
It's odd that it seems okay to many of these same Conservative Christian types to support Governor Sarah Palin as potential Vice President -- when most of them don't even think that a woman should exercise co-leadership in her marriage, let alone lead her country!
 
Whether she wins or not, the question is why are people willing to vote for her as Vice President and still think that a woman is not qualified to serve as pastor of their church?
 
We must ask, IF the Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, is supposed to be "UNDER" her husband and to be submissive to him (as so many theologians claim), then how can she independently lead America? Will her husband actually be making all the decisions? Will McCain be her "covering?" Will she just be some "man's" puppet or figure-head? Or, maybe her husband will relinquish his authority "over" her, so that she can do her job. Or, perhaps she is well able to stand firmly in her right to serve fully to her capacity?
 
With almost multiple personalities, the extreme Christian Right seemed ecstatic when Sarah Palin was invited to be on the McCain ticket. That was because she is a Christian! But how can she go along with their expectation to remain subservient," compliant, accommodating, submissive, and deferential to all men -- and still fulfill this assignment of Vice President of this great country? 
 
This continued gender bias is a PRIORITY question for all of Christianity. I know! I write this as a woman pastor who has fought a career-long battle to shatter the "Stained Glass Ceiling" for gender equality. I've surveyed hundreds of churches to determine their use of women in leadership - and even though some say that it is okay, they usually don't implement it. OF course there are numerous pastors who champion women's rights to lead, but statistically they are few and far between.
 
And of course, during the last decades, there has been a great rise in successful female pastors, evangelists, Bishops, etc. They have endured in spite of it all.
 
Hierarchical tradition has long maintained that "Women should keep in their proper place," or as Martin Luther coined, "A woman's place is in the home." That saying is not anywhere in the Scripture, it's a quote from Luther!
Then there was Calvin, who taught that a woman was created in the image of God... "Though in the second degree."i Calvin was certain that women had absolutely no place of impact in society. Earlier Augustine wrote his theory in De Genesi ad Litteram IX.5, cfVII.3,1 that said the woman was only to be a helper for childbearing, but in every other case another man would be a better help.
 
Limiting and prejudicial ideas against women in leadership have endured in various forms for centuries.
 
We can no longer ignore the fact that thousands upon thousands of educated people flatly reject the Gospel because they refuse to accept these ridiculous kinds of preconceived, prejudicial ideas that barrier abilities and squelch potential of another human being.
 
In this era of heightened gender awareness and sexual revolution, the church must address this issue of discrimination. That's why we must re-examine Church history that ledgers continuous biased bigotry and closed mindedness against women in leadership.
 
Praise God! This truly is a cultural, political, social, and theological dilemma! This issue of equality has long gone fully addressed. Sure, some of us women are labeled "exceptions," but we still don't get invited to play golf with the guys!
 
The doors of full opportunity within the Church have been generally closed to most women. Often, a woman can have ten times the capability as a man, and not be given full recognition. Trust me when I say that even slightly egalitarian ideas are often labeled by many as feminist or a "Jezebel spirit!"  If a woman should happen to have ministry success, it is usually met with condescending disapproval and even hostility. Secret subterfuge. Indifference. Or, at best, nuances of patronization.
 
Thankfully, Jesus was the ultimate rebel! He defended women, revealed truths to them that He had not told another, and appeared to them first after He died. The way He valued women was a concept that shook that culture to the heart.  Paul insisted in Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ." This is a core-essential emphasis. No human being is excluded from service to God.2
 
The question is, can women make independent Church Leadership decisions regardless of their reproductive organs?
 
Win or not, Governor Sarah confronts the Church with a great predicament! We are being forced to confront long held standards. Church leaders at large must re-evaluate their staunch posturing against sincere and capable women leading.
If Sarah Palin is elected Vice President, will she (as a Christian leader and a political leader) be able to preach in a Southern Baptist pulpit? Or, in your church? WHAT? Are you open to women preaching in the pulpit? Leading governmentally?
 
Palin could potentially become President of the United States of America - and have authority over EVERY SINGLE PERSON in America (male and female). Does that mean that God can equally use both women and men in society, church, and home?

Lord God, we excitedly enjoy watching this unfolding reformation of change.
 
 
 
1 Calvin, "Commentaries on the First Book of Moses called Genesis" 1.2.18, vol. I, trans. John King (Grand Rapids, MI): Eerdmans, 1963.
 
2  See my book, "From Enmity to Equality" for a detailed theological study of what the Bible actually says about women.

God's Friend and Yours
Dr. Kluane Spake -  Your Online Pastor

BECOMING A TRUMPET OF THE LORD

Becoming a Trumpet of the Lord
by Lee Grady (Editor Charisma Magazine) www.themordecaiproject.com

While listening to an old Billy Graham sermon, I was challenged to be a faithful herald of the pure gospel.
 
A few weeks ago I watched a vintage Billy Graham sermon from the 1950s that aired on television. I said to a friend who was with me that I rarely hear the gospel articulated today as clearly as we did through this amazing evangelist. A few days later, for my birthday, my buddy sent me three recorded Graham sermons that are now available on DVD.
 
Last weekend I watched one of the messages, from Graham’s 1971 crusade at McCormick Place in Chicago. The shag haircuts, huge afros and bright polyester fabrics in the audience looked odd, and the music performed before the sermon was almost prehistoric (Norma Zimmer from The Lawrence Welk Show!). The cultural references included a mention of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar and a remark about Ocean’s 1970 hippie ballad, “Put Your Hand in the Hand.”
 
But when Graham held his big Bible in the air and preached about the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in that packed arena (still the largest exhibition hall in the country), nothing seemed outdated. The sermon might as well have been recorded yesterday. His message, in fact, seemed more relevant than a lot of the Christian books, videos, blogs and PowerPoint-enhanced teachings we circulate in 2008.
“My heart cries out for the American church to stop muddling, muffling, cheapening, distorting and merchandising the pure gospel.”
Listening to Graham stirs something deep inside me: a passion to preach, and to be a herald of truth to my generation. My heart cries out for the American church to stop muddling, muffling, cheapening, distorting and merchandising the pure gospel. How we need to return to the simplicity of evangelism that cuts to the heart, produces repentance and reveals the Son of God.
 
For several months I’ve been asking the Lord to make me his trumpet. In my quest He’s shown me some of the qualities that shaped biblical prophets into His mouthpieces. I pray all of us will adopt these same characteristics.
 
1. A prophet is bold. True prophets have steel backbones and foreheads of flint. They do not cower when the majority disagrees with them. Like the apostle Paul, they are compelled to preach because a holy restlessness churns inside them. They are possessed by God, and they must release the fire inside. Will you pray for this boldness and say with Isaiah, “Here am I, send me” (Is. 6:8, NASB)—even when you know you will be opposed?
 
2. A prophet stays biblical. So much of what is passed off as prophecy today resembles what you might find in a daily horoscope. The so-called “prophetic movement” in the contemporary church has been tainted by silly fads and charismatic witchcraft. One prophetic e-mail list sent out a word recently saying that dormant angels were being awakened out of the walls of our churches. (That’s not remotely scriptural.) Another predicted that God would begin to speak to people through the names of candy bars and blue jeans.
 
So much of our prophetic verbiage sounds like warm and fuzzy fortunetelling. This type of “imitation prophecy” can titillate and thrill those with itching ears, but it is pablum designed for babies who don’t want to grow up. What we need is a word we can sink our teeth into—true meat that is the Word of God.
 
3. A prophet does not compromise. Nathan was willing to confront King David’s sin, even though the prophet was on the palace payroll. Yet today, we practice the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” rule. We prophesy what people want to hear so we can get an honorarium and an invitation to return. This has caused some whole groups of prophets to collectively follow each other into a ditch.
 
Beware of the herd mentality! Don’t just swallow and follow! You cannot go along with something just because everyone else is doing it or preaching it. Stay close to the Lord, develop keen discernment and listen to the nagging voice of your conscience.
 
4. A prophet is compassionate. Some prophets today refuse to confront because they are too nice. Others speak rashly “like the thrusts of a sword” (see Prov. 12:18) and their words are delivered with a bitter, vindictive spirit. Neither of these prophets will receive his reward. We must speak the truth, and we must do it in love.
 
Most people think Jeremiah was angry and judgmental, but actually he wept when he confronted Israel’s sins. It is not enough to prophesy the Lord’s word—we should aim to speak with His tone of voice. We must be willing to intercede for and identify with those we confront.
 
5. A prophet stays pure. When Moses made the tabernacle, God told him to make silver trumpets that were “hammered work” (Num. 10:2). If we want to speak for Him, we must be willing to endure the smelting process. (In other words, prepare to be hammered!) Before Isaiah could be an effective prophet to his nation, his lips had to touch burning coals from God’s altar (see Is. 6:6-8). We must be willing to visit the uncomfortable furnace of sanctification.
 
God is not so much interested in the booming voice, the rousing delivery, the charisma or the technological savvy that we expect today from celebrity preachers. What matters most is pure content, and that can only flow through a pure vessel.
 
6. A prophet faithfully embraces the call. Jonah tried to flee as far as possible from Ninevah, but the God of the second chance used a strange vessel to get the prophet back on course. It involved a visit to a fish’s stomach, where Jonah spent three days in darkness, stewing in digestive juices. When the fish vomited him on land, he was better prepared to speak heaven’s words.
 
Like Jonah, the American church has been running from our evangelistic mission. We charismatics get excited about prophecy, angels, healing, visions, dreams, gold dust and prosperity, but when it comes to winning souls we’re not interested. Like Jonah, we’ve boarded a ship for Tarshish—and we’ve put unbelievers in peril by our disobedience.
 
Now is the time for us to reclaim our role as trumpets for the Lord. May we take up the mantle of Billy Graham and speak to our generation with boldness, biblical integrity, character, compassion, purity and faithfulness.