It is beyond me how anyone with half a brain could sit and listen to men like Perry Noble, Mark Driscoll, Rick Warren, or a hundred others in their blood line and not pickup on their falsehood. The only answer is “Strong Delusion.”

We read in Scripture of the strong drink that the nation will be made to drink of, and the drunken state that will be the result. “A second angel followed and said, ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.’” What we began to experience in the circus church was a spectacle, and still is, but it has moved on to an intoxicated fisticuff.

I have followed loosely Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries and Christian Research Net, and Lighthouse Trails documenting of Perry Noble at New Spring Church in Anderson S.C., but have never commented, till now. After reading about the account of the leadership at New Spring, going way over the line, in their attack of James Duncan for his critique of Perry Noble, and Perry’s strong arm response of intimidation, a word of warning is overdue from this site.

In an interview with Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith Radio, James Duncan, a Professor at Anderson University advises all believers to start a discernment blog to warn of the imminent danger that is at hand; this is good advise. The interview, “Perry Noble’s Employees Assassinate the Character of a Critic,” needs to be listened to. Perry is a growing influence in the Seeker Sensitive, Mega Church movement and is charting the course for many market driven Churches. This man brings violence one step closer to the elimination of all Bible believing Christians, and he gets support for his deeds.

Also, on James Duncan’s own blog, Pajama Pages, James documents, in detail, how  these so called followers of Christ, tried to destroy him for openly criticizing Perry Noble.

Perry Noble, like Mark Driscoll, preachs a very worldly and flesh oriented message, and by so doing gather to themselves large followings of those who gravitate to the base nature of man, rather than to the Cross, where the flesh and the world are put away. Perry openly feeds his congregation the filth of the world, then tries to intimidate, by his crude rashness, anyone who would dare disagree with him.

This is the trend of Church Growth today, the blind leading the blind into accepting a false, flesh gratifying, Im O.K., You’re O.K. as long as you don’t take the Bible too serious, kind of Gospel.

Perry Noble, Mark Driscoll, and Rick Warren are the worst of the worst, but there are many others who exist on the fringes of their teachings and who have not ventured out of the closets yet, but they will come. They exist up and down Main Street, in your town and across the Nation, and have listened to these men and rehearsed their methods in their own Churches, and envy their success, and secretly desire their fame for themselves. They live and play on the edge of a dangerous cliff and promote the teaching of these men as if it were their own, and encourage their flock to graze ever closer to the edge, all the while saying it is good and healthy for their soul; Peace, Peace, but there is no Peace sayeth the Lord.

These men never blush for their wickedness, but encourage others to celebrate this new kind of freedom. The freedom they celebrate is freedom from the narrow way; it is freedom from the Cross, which is freedom from Christ.

Hag 2:12-14

“If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?”‘” Then the priests answered and said, “No.” And Haggai said, “If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?” So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.” Then Haggai answered and said, “‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the Lord , ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.”

These verses speak loudly to a nation caught in its sin, and it speaks loudly to these American Churches. Where did the mentality come from that says, that if we put a Christian in the midst of the world we can make it holy; that by a Christian presence we can spread holiness? Where did the mentality come from that says that a Christian can maintain their purity when simultaneously mingling with impurity? Who said that we could keep an open relationship with the world and come away unscathed? It is a lie, it cannot be done.

Haggai here declares the same; it cannot be done. The pure person cannot by being with impurity and mixing with them impart his purity to them. But, to the contrary, if a holy person touches an unclean thing the holy person becomes unclean. To say it plainly: corruption and sin are more easily transferred to the righteous than righteousness transferred to the unrighteous. So the rule seems to be plain enough. Don’t think that an evil person living in the midst of goodness will commend that goodness to the evil person. The Spirit has declared that it is not so, but this is exactly what we see, routinely, in the institutional Church. We advertise, we promote, we poll neighborhoods, we beg and we plead that the world would please come and be a part of us, and they have, and we have become corrupted and unclean, deluded, because we now see as the world sees, and we see that the world’s ways and means have great promise for the Church. We have become an unclean thing and we don’t know how to repent, so the Lord will come to us in our darkest hour, and we will see our nakedness and be ashamed.

Repentance and shame is not in the vocabulary of these men, they exalt there shame and draw ovations from their flatterers.

As we watch the world tumble and turn, and the organized church slip into apostasy, words start taking on new value, meaning, and understanding, both for the worldly Christian and for those enlightened souls who recognize the fulfillment of end time prophecy. We have witnessed, in our generation, the grand sermons of talented preachers, with their endless chatter, flowing like a fermented mash, to inebriated crowds, bellying up to the bar for a round of worldly religion, and seen them stumble home, and still manage to confess, in the face of their sin, their creedal and national allegiance, then fall for the umpteenth time while convinced, by their pastor, that they can live in the world and not be of it. They are not only in the world, they are awash in it; it covers them; they have become to the “world,” just, the “religious world,” no different than those outside, just more cocksure that’s all.

The words of Scripture are very clear today.

2 Cor 6:14-7:1

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

Steve Blackwell

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation,

-A.W. Tozer

John,

Every time I write you I tell myself that it will be the last time, but I am, at it again. I think if it were any one else I would have quit. As I write this I am praying that the Lord would give you the spirit of wisdom and understanding. This letter will be a longer one than normal, I hope you read it.

“For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:” Rom. 9:6. Just for a Jew to say that he is of the seed of Abraham means nothing in the final analysis. This truth is stated in different ways throughout the Bible: there is a separating of the sheep and the goats, wheat and tares, (Rom. 9:18, 2 Pet. 2:9, 1 Thes. 5:9, Mat. 11:25; 25:31-46) and there will be many Jews and worldly Christians among those goats and tares, but clearly the best illustration is when on that Day of Judgement the Lord declares, to all the deluded Christians who say Lord, Lord, “begone form Me, I never knew you.” This verse instills no fear in these worldly Christians to examine their lives, to be sure they are in the faith, because they don’t really believe it anyway. What I am trying to say is that not everyone who wears the label of Christian is a Christian. And furthermore, the Bible is plain, that most of those who claim the title of “Christian” are in reality deluded, they are walking in the “broad way” not the “narrow way,” as they think. To distinguish between the two we are told to look at the fruit, and the heart, and their words, and their deeds, and to look for the “old man,” because they will reveal who and what they really serve; so that is what I do, it is called discernment.

All these things mentioned will be different for the true “born from above” Christian than for the Christian born of the earth only. All these Christians of the earth have this kind of unwritten code of acceptance, honor amongst thieves, or brotherhood, that promotes universal tolerance, as long as it is done with what they claim is Christian love. As long as they do something good, it is Christian. They reason something like this: “Good comes from God; evil comes from the Devil; therefore, all good is from God.” That is overly simplified but it gets my point across. Using this example we look at the Freemasons, they build hospitals and help lots of kids, all very good things, so God must be pleased with them, right? We could say this about an endless list of good deed doing organizations also, churches included, all denominations, and lots of people, even the evil and the wicked do some good things, and God is pleased when they do good, right? It’s better to do good than it is to do evil, so God must be pleased, right? But, on the day of judgement they are rejected, their good deeds have purchased them nothing. Why? Because they have already been compensated in the flesh, while on earth, for what they have done. They were fleshly men working for fleshly benefits, hence the Lord’s words, “Be gone from me ye wicked, I never knew you, and I owe you nothing” (paraphrased). This is exactly where we find the Church, trying to win man’s admiration, and a little glory and respect for himself. They want to be approved for the deeds they do, and God allows them this reward in the here-and-now: a little respect from their peers, a little pride of accomplishment, a pay check, or recognition from the leaders, etc. Their great cross-platform ecumenical, unitarian, peace on earth programs will be their sole reward, and it is also the reason they hate the truth, and hate obedience to Jesus command to die to self and to live to God alone. They don’t understand truth nor can they obey truth, because they are creatures of this world only, and have never been born from above, and had the circumcision of their hearts. Their home is here on earth and only desire some better place here. Worldly Christians find no fault with these men or organizations because they think this is what being a Christian is all about.

The Bible tells us that we can know these false Christians by their fruits. It is because Christians can know these fruits that we are able to judge, and discern, and write, about men like Rick Warren and Richard Abanes, who you refer to, but there are many others. It is not that everything they do is bad, it is because they are evil men doing some good things, and convincing ignorant people that that is what it means to be a Christian. By doing this, they are leading many to eternal death. If they were not influential men and false teachers, I would not be sounding an alarm, and by so doing making myself the target of their godless chatter. Is this making any sense to you? I hope so.

I am going to say some things now that may offend you, that is not my intentions, but truth always offends our sensibilities. I will prove all my points by Scripture so you will not think I am just being rude. TRUTH, the word of God, always kills before it heals. I am going to say some things that will probably be painful, but as God is my witness, I will only speak the truth. I am going to take this last letter you wrote to me and examine it in the light of Scripture, where I want you to see that at the very least you lack a grasp of basic Christian teaching, and it may be at the worst that you have not been born from above, and are blind to what I am trying to communicate. I’ll take the time to go over this with you because I want you to see it. Honestly, this kind of sight is rare and most people do not see it, and do not accept what the Bible says when the light is revealing their true nature. So, here it goes.

Because of the differing natures of men of God and men of the world, meaning their DNA is different, they do things differently, like think, reason, believe, worship, and pray. Their difference is not like the difference between two differing breeds of dogs or cats, or like Europeans and Orientals, but more like Earthlings and Aliens, they are two completely different natures. Actually born again Christians have two opposing natures, they still have their old nature which is always in competition with their new nature, this old nature has to die. Those without the new nature have no choice but to obey the only nature they have, their conscience condemns them, which means life only on earth, and eternal death thereafter. Those without the new nature cannot obey God, it is impossible, and can not please God, regardless of their good works. Those with the old nature, who profess to be Christians, do not understand the Bible and think it is hard to grasp because of the conflict they have trying to get it to conform to their old nature. Jesus asked Paul at his conversion why he was kicking against the goad (a spiked stick used for driving cattle)? Before his conversion all his religious activity made so much sense, but afterwards he realized the futility and stupidity of what he was doing. The truth was that he could not have understood it even if he had wanted to, his nature was wrong; understanding is a product of a different life. The world does not understand God’s word and most of the Church is made up of the world. They do the best that they can, but only accomplish programs of men, or pretty buildings, or works, or idol worship.

Mark 8:31-33 “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men .’”

Luke 16:15 “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men , but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

Rom 1:18-25 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen.”

Gal 1:10-12 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men , or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”

Eph 4:11-15 “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”

1 Thess 2:13 “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men , but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

Rev 18:11-13 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more— cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.”

You will notice that in all of the verses above there is a common theme, and it is the things “of men.” When I said in the paragraphs above that there is a way to know men of the world, even those who call themselves Christian we only have to look at the heart of their motivation. What is the thing that moves them? Who is it that they want approval from? When, where, and how do they decide to imitate Christ? This thing “of men” is the thing I will focus on to show you that you are not where you should be, and definitely not where you think you are. The goal of this letter is let you know that you do not have to remain where you’re at, but you do have to recognize and know the truth, and that is the love that is spoken of in the Bible; it is to declare with boldness the truth “of men,” their pride, hatred of truth, love of self, and their rebellion against their Maker. Religious men are by far the hardest to reach, because their pride is bolstered by their presumed knowledge of God. Paul said that “through knowledge they knew not God.”

In your first paragraph you said:

“Thank you Steve I do mean well. I read that you have been challenged by a supporter of Mr. Warren to provide facts. This is your chance to quell any doubt that your ministry is a false one. You slapped them in the face and threw down the gauntlet with your statements, they picked it up and handed it back to you and said ” TEACH US THE TRUTH”. How can any one who leads a ministry turn away from a chance to teach where they have left the path?”

I do believe you mean well, but well from an earthly point of view. You make a few statements here that are very much the position that a man of the world would take to protect his ego or pride, or to get the advantage on an opponent. It is not as if I was lying in ambush waiting for some opportunity to destroy my opponent. On the contrary, I would like nothing more than to get word of a conversion in this camp. The ministry you speak of as being mine, I guess it could be called mine, because that is the way it looks to others, so I will not labor the point that it is the Lord’s and that I am merely His servant, trying to do it to the best of my ability. As far as trying to quell any doubt to this ministry, I will leave that in the hands of the Lord. You see, Jesus’ ministry was found, by the religious elite, to be a false, and He told me that if they hated Him, they would hate me also, “Is a student above His master?” Then you said I slapped them and threw down a gauntlet. You are speaking like a man; I did no such thing. I made no challenge to them, although the presentation of truth often looks like a challenge. I spoke to warn, by presenting facts. I neither challenged nor took up a challenge. I have no fear of these men, the Lord told me not to worry about men, only speak the truth, and be bold. 2 Cor 3:12-13 “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” These perverts of truth handed me nothing nor did I take it, and as far as teaching them truth, they never asked that. Their goal is to draw me away from doing the Lord’s work and get involved in defending my honor; sounds like a tactic of Satan. Neh 6:1-3 “Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it(though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, ‘Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.’ But they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?’” The men you speak of John have no desire to learn the truth; my ministry is not to them, and my honor is the Lord’s honor.

Next you said:

“I was in good spirits when I read that you took your comments (apology) and sent them to the proper people. Now you must follow thru and answer their questions. Do not ignore the attention that you have now. Provide the truth and it will set you free.”

I made a few errors in my documentation and admitted my mistakes, when it was brought to my attention I apologized, as a Christian should do; it was a minor thing, and happens all the time, and you just simply correct it. Christians should do the right thing, even when they are wrong. The apology was the follow through, nothing more is necessary. Their questions are unending and focus on trivial issues not relating to the problem, can’t you see that? I am not seeking some popularity contest by drawing attention to myself and entering into a verbal battle where the winner takes all. I am a winner already, and have been set free for some time now. The truth you speak of is directed toward them; it is them, who are bound by this world and Satan. These statements are men’s words; I have nothing to lose, but they have everything to lose; I have everything to gain, and they have nothing to gain, but fame and fortune, but only in this world, and that is a great loss.

Paragraph three:

“Steve you must accept the responsibility that comes along with your judging of others so openly. Your statements are public, on the net, here for everyone to read. You have the attention and been given a platform on which to stand. Do not turn your back on false teachers when they ask you to show them where they have gone wrong. How can you gain any respect as a teacher if you now “just brush them off.”

What is the Christian responsibility for speaking up against evil? Jesus spoke up against evil and was led away as a lamb, giving no defense. When Peter chopped off the ear of the High Priest, when they came to take Jesus in the Garden, what did Jesus do? He restored the ear and told Peter to put away his sword, then went to the cross. He had the platform, didn’t He? Did He give some great oratory on sin at that point? I’m not looking for a stage, I speak the truth as it comes to me and could care less about “respect.” I just brush them off, just like Jesus did. Here again the world has shown up in your words. You see, they love the darkness, and hate the truth. As you know, if you have read my pages, I have not turned my back on them; I have simply refused to answer them the way they wanted; the Devil is tricky.

This section was probably the most telling of all:

“As for your priest comment I do not understand. I know that to confess and ask for forgiveness is only as meaningful as the sincerity in which it is given. Therefore, a witness is not necessary. However, there is no testimony to the Christian act of repentance. A lesson well taught to me that good deeds are a by-product of being a Christian. Thus, since there is no one to testify of a persons words, actions, behavior of any kind “deeds” there is no reason to believe that a person is in fact a Christian, other than, of course, his unproven word in which he speaks of himself.”

I am very careful who I talk to about things that are private between the Lord and myself. If I have wronged a man, in private, I will ask for forgiveness, in private. If I have wronged publicly I will ask for forgiveness publicly. I will never take a wrong and go to a man (a priest) and have him, a mere man, go to my Father and plead my case. First I go to the man, who I sinned against, then I go to my Father and ask for His forgiveness, and accept any discipline I deserve. Why would I need some sort of testimony to my forgiveness or repentance, unless I was seeking the approval of some man? My Father knows, what more is necessary, unless I have the desire of men to get respect and honor? If we are doing things to be seen of men, we are not Christian. If we make sure that all of our deeds are logged and tallied they count for nothing, you have received your reward. A Christian acting in the world, will not be recognized as “Christian” by the world. If the world acknowledges your act as “Christian” it is very possible that it was being done for the wrong reason. Jesus said not to do “your alms before men to be seen, but do your good deeds in private where only God sees.” The world loves to put on a show. If the world does not see your deeds, you are correct, they will think you to be un-Christian, and we can’t have that, can we?

I will sum up the rest below:

“You commented that ” you don’t mean to be offensive but you get tired of others who do nothing, pretending to be great workers for the Kingdom, You wish I really was in His service.”

“You can tell all that from your desk? That I am not in God’s service? That I only pretend to be a Christian. Perhaps, if you did not separate yourself you also would be able to testify to my Christian walk. Again you judge without knowing any facts my brother. This lesson keeps coming back to you.”

“Well I pray that you are able to stand up like a man, and answer the challenge presented to you by the followers of R. Warren and the like. There is no respect to gain if you choose to hide under a rock on this one. Your ministry rides on your ability to present the facts as you claim. Answer the call Christian.”
in His service. John

I’m sure you are doing deeds, I’m just not too sure if they are the ones that are “good” as counted by the Lord. They may be, I can only go by what I read from your letters. What I see in your letters is a man centered religion. I can tell a lot sitting at my desk, reading other people’s writings. If a person means what they say, and they are not fibbing, then we can all draw conclusions. That is why people write things, to communicate a thought. As a Christian we are given the tools to discern peoples motives for doing what they do, and then directing them to the truth of Scripture for a heart transplant if needed. As far as standing up like a man, that is not a statement a Christian should make, because it is “man” that is the problem, shouldn’t I stand up like Christ? And, when Christ stood up before Pilate “He answered not a word.” Doesn’t that sound more like the Christian response? Again I want no respect from men, and the only Rock I will run to is Christ. My ministry does not ride on my ability at all, but it does ride on my obedience to Jesus. None of your writing is Christian John, I hope you can see that.

I have not said these things to be mean spirited or rude but to wake you up to the facts of the Christ life. You have it all wrong, and that is what stands between us, and it always will. I know you want to be a Christian, and I pray for you, but you must admit that you’re off course and are seeing as a man, and a man only.

I think this letter will either be the end or the beginning of something, we will see.

Steve B.

Steve Blackwell

Exposing Error: Is It Worthwhile?
Objection is often raised even by some sound in the faith-regarding the exposure of error as being entirely negative and of no real edification. Of late, the hue and cry has been against any and all negative teaching. But the brethren who assume this attitude forget that a large part of the New Testament, both of the teaching of our blessed Lord Himself and the writings of the apostles, is made up of this very character of ministry-namely, showing the Satanic origin and, therefore, the unsettling results of the propagation of erroneous systems which Peter, in his second epistle, so definitely refers to as “damnable heresies.”

Our Lord prophesied, “Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” Within our own day, how many false prophets have risen; and oh, how many are the deceived! Paul predicted, “I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch.” My own observation is that these “grievous wolves,” alone and in packs, are not sparing even the most favoured flocks. Undershepherds in these “perilous times” will do well to note the apostle’s warning: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.” It is as important in these days as in Paul’s-in fact, it is increasingly important-to expose the many types of false teaching that, on every hand, abound more and more.

[Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951), a godly Fundamentalist author and teacher for many years, who served as pastor of Chicago's Moody Memorial Church from 1930-1948.] ]]> http://www.indywatchman.com/2008/04/08/exposing-error-is-it-worthwhile/feed/ 0 http://www.indywatchman.com/2008/04/08/the-gift-of-prophetic-insight/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-gift-of-prophetic-insight http://www.indywatchman.com/2008/04/08/the-gift-of-prophetic-insight/#comments Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:27:27 +0000 indywatchman http://indywatchman.wordpress.com/?p=70

I love Tozer, he spoke direct and there were none who could not understand what he was saying. Today he would be called “rude,” brash, intolerant, unkind, unloving, and all the other words used by the Emergent New Age Church to stem the flow of truth. Even the CMA Church I left, Eagle Church in Whitestown, IN, who was quite fond of quoting the gentler Tozer, would never use the really stirring stuff the man wrote, the stuff Tozer is really known for, the stuff that got under men’s skin. Tozer, alive or dead, could/can, easily offend even famous men of the cloth. His reputation as a man of vision and discernment lives on, even though he died in 1963. His words have not faded, they have grown louder, and louder, as his visions of the future are fulfilled before our very eyes. WE need more men like A. W. Tozer, men who are unafraid to stand in the gaping hole of Christianity and speak the truth. Enjoy this little taste of Tozer.

Steve Blackwell

Excerpt from Of God and Men

A.W. Tozer

A prophet is one who knows his times and what God is trying to say to the people of his times.

What God says to His church at any given period depends altogether upon her moral and spiritual condition and upon the spiritual need of the hour. Religious leaders who continue mechanically to expound the Scriptures without regard to the current religious situation are no better than the scribes and lawyers of Jesus’ day who faithfully parroted the Law without the remotest notion of what was going on around them spiritually. They fed the same diet to all and seemed wholly unaware that there was such a thing as meat in due season. The prophets never made that mistake nor wasted their efforts in that manner. They invariably spoke to the condition of the people of their times.

Today we need prophetic preachers; not preachers of prophecy merely, but preachers with a gift of prophecy. The word of wisdom is missing. We need the gift of discernment again in our pulpits. It is not ability to predict that we need, but the anointed eye, the power of spiritual penetration and interpretation, the ability to appraise the religious scene as viewed from God’s position, and to tell us what is actually going on.

There has probably never been another time in the history of the world when so many people knew so much about religious happenings as they do today. The newspapers are eager to print religious news; the secular news magazines devote several pages of each issue to the doings of the church and the synagogue; a number of press associations gather church news and make it available to the religious journals at a small cost. Even the hiring of professional publicity men to plug one or another preacher or religious movement is no longer uncommon; the mails are stuffed with circulars and “releases,” while radio and television join to tell the listening public what religious people are doing throughout the world.

Greater publicity for religion may be well and I have no fault to find with it. Surely religion should be the most newsworthy thing on earth, and there may be some small encouragement in the thought that vast numbers of persons want to read about it. What disturbs me is that amidst all the religious hubbub hardly a voice is raised to tell us what God thinks about the whole thing.

Where is the man who can see through the ticker tape and confetti to discover which way the parade is headed, why it started in the first place and, particularly, who is riding up front in the seat of honor?

Not the fact that the churches are unusually active these days, not what religious people are doing, should engage our attention, but why these things are so. The big question is Why? And no one seems to have an answer for it. Not only is there no answer, but scarcely is there anyone to ask the question. It just never occurs to us that such a question remains to be asked. Christian people continue to gossip religious shoptalk with scarcely as much as a puzzled look. The soundness of current Christianity is assumed by the religious masses as was the soundness of Judaism when Christ appeared. People know they are seeing certain activity, but just what it means they do not know, nor have they the faintest idea of where God is or what relation He has toward the whole thing.

What is needed desperately today is prophetic insight. Scholars can interpret the past; it takes prophets to interpret the present. Learning will enable a man to pass judgment on our yesterdays, but it requires a gift of clear seeing to pass sentence on our own day. One hundred years from now historians will know what was taking place religiously in this year of our Lord; but that will be too late for us. We should know right now.

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation it must be by other means than any now being used. If the church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting.

Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many) he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the one and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath.

We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the church, and it is my belief that the one gift we need most now is the gift of prophecy. ]]> http://www.indywatchman.com/2008/04/08/the-gift-of-prophetic-insight/feed/ 1