Follow the Leader
Hi Friends,
I am writing about a three part vision today, which concerns discernment. We must have discernment in these days. Our government leaders have opinions, our co-workers and neighbors have opinions, and even we have opinions. But we must be careful and have great discernment to distinguish truth from falsehood, and decide from where and from whom we will receive information and teachings.
We want to receive teaching and instructions from people who are strong in faith, strong in word and strong in the demonstration of the Lord’s power. We must be careful how we listen, and what we accept into our hearts and minds as facts, or as the truth. So many writers in the New Testament warned the church of false teachers and false prophets that would come in among us and deceive many people. We cannot afford our faith to wander off course or ebb away. We must know the word of God and what it means, so that we can refute or refuse to accept teachings that are destructive.
This vision is in three parts:
First, I see a primate walking towards me and pass me on the right. He is not aware of me even though we are almost shoulder to shoulder as he passes. He walks on his back feet and front knuckles.
Next, I see that I have a desire to get up higher. So without turning around, I take a step back knowing there is a chair behind me. I lift my left leg and place it on the seat behind me and press down to lift myself up. I am still facing forward, looking straight ahead.
Next, I open a door in front of me and see a six foot diameter table that seats 8. There are people seated all around the table who I believe to be elders in a church. They look up and are surprised to see me. It was as if I was not supposed to know that they were meeting. One man leans forward to take a bite from the food on his plate. I see that he is eating mashed potatoes and green peas, both of which I dislike. I feel that I was not welcomed, and that I did not belong, yet I comforted myself with the idea, that it was just as well, because I really disliked what they were eating.
I received this vision this past Wednesday, and have prayed about it ever since. I thought I knew what it meant, but the message caused me more concern, so I continued to pray, so that I would not misinterpret it. This is what I believe the vision means:
The Primate
I would call a primate a beast. Some can of course be gentle and harmless, just like people. But some can tear you to pieces if their anger is aroused - yes - just like people! I know the Bible, uses beasts to referred to people when speaking of those who misrepresent themselves and their intentions to the people of God. They claim to be teachers, and prophets, leaders which correctly handle the Word of God, but in reality, they are deceived themselves, and teach false doctrine, or teach with the wrong motives. They prophesy out of their own imaginations, rather than hearing from God.
It says in the Bible “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the anti-Christ, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” 1 John 4:3
Some cults we can see easily falling into this category. Jehovah Witnesses are one such group, claiming that Jesus is not God. Nor is he part of a trinity. The Mormons also teach in error, claiming that salvation does not come from the perfect atoning sacrifice of Jesus, but from multiple ways. One of which is to lead a good life, and be in right standing with their church (The Church of the Latter Day Saints.) They have many outrageous teachings, one of which is the teaching that Satan and Jesus were brothers. They do not believe that Jesus is God, but somehow a “lesser god,” and with Satan having the same relative status. Their beliefs are diametrically opposed to the truth of Jesus as God, and that Satan was a created being, a fallen angel.
Some teachings are not so obvious, but are nonetheless false and give people a distorted view of the Lord and the kingdom of God. The Bible clearly describes these people as “having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” 2 Timothy 3:5
I have been praying for several people who have been seeing conflicts and divisive behavior, in their churches. I believe that the spirit of rebellion which seems to be in the world, is coming into our churches. We have to choose to walk in love and we must ask for wisdom and discernment. We need to be careful to not take on the bad attitudes of others or be lead astray by gossip and rebellious influences. “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.” Titus 1:15 - 2:1
We must be like the Bereans who Paul commended for their diligence in the study of the scripture, testing his claims for truthfulness. “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures everyday to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11
When a visiting pastor, or preacher, teacher or evangelist comes with a message that is unfamiliar to us, we need to not simply dismiss it as some might do, but to seek the Lord asking for wisdom and knowledge as we search the scriptures to verify the teaching.
Sometimes a passage that you have always thought of as meaning a particular thing, someone else may present altogether differently. We have to look at context, and whether there may be other scriptures that support this different view. If there are none, then we need to not accept the teaching. If this person continues to propose ideas that you question, with no real scriptures to support these ideas, then the person should not be allowed to teach in your church.
Sometimes a leader (teacher, pastor, evangelist, or prophet) compromises the Lord’s teachings through his choices and attitudes. We become like the company we keep. We should not sit under the instruction of someone that does not display the character of Jesus.
If I have been given this message, I must consider it important. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, and Jude warned us of false teachers, prophets, brothers, and shepherds who bring in destructive teachings. Some warned with tears: “Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Acts 20:30-31
The Chair
I believe that what God was showing me in this vision, that in order to go higher (which was my desire), I needed to take a step backward. My eyes did not look back, but somehow I knew there was a chair behind me. What I see are a couple of things. The first of which was the idea of going backward to go higher. In Revelations, Jesus found the church at Ephesus to have fallen away, so he commanded them to repent and do the things they did at first. “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.” Revelations 2:4-5
Notice, that I was standing on the floor, yet I wanted to go higher. It would probably have been safer to turn around and look at the chair as I was trying to get higher. But I kept my eyes forward, to not look back. This has to do with focus. Do you remember Elijah and Elisha? Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (God’s power and anointing). But Elijah said, “You have asked a difficult thing. Yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise, it will not.” 2 Kings 2:10
Elisha could not for a moment take his eyes off Elijah or he would not receive the double portion of his spirit. Years ago, I looked on a map of all the places that Elijah went that day. It seemed as if he were trying to “ditch him.” But as it turned out, Elisha saw Elijah go into heaven that day and he did receive the anointing and the power of Elijah.
What God is saying is if we want more of God - to go higher with him, then our eyes must remain on him and not allow our eyes to wander or to lose our focus. Or as the Church at Ephesus did when they had “forsaken their first love.”
When we are in love, our focus, our thoughts our excitement and our joy is found lavished upon one special individual. God wants that same devotion from his bride -- the church. We are his love and He is ours! To go higher with God is to fall in love with him all over again, and again, and again, and again.
The instruction from the Lord to Ephesus was to “repent and to do the things you did at first.” Repent means a change of heart and attitude towards sin. Having remorse for something you did, or failed to do, and choosing with self determination to never repeat the action. It means to turn away from a lifestyle of sin. Thank the Lord that when we fall away from him, the Holy Spirit is there to guide us to repent and turn back to God.
The second part is to do the things you did at first. For me, I rededicated my life to the Lord on a Friday night. I cried all day Saturday, every time there was a testimony, a song or a teaching about Jesus. Sunday I was Baptized in the Holy Spirit and was delivered of an oppressive demonic spirit. Sunday evening and all through the night until Monday morning, I prayed and interceded for hundreds of people which the Lord placed before me. Monday through Wednesday I prayed, and cried, read the Bible, and fought off (In the name of Jesus) the attempts of the wicked one to return to me. Then for the next year, I spent many hours praying, crying, interceding, worshiping, and reading my Bible. I was in love with the Lord. “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
In order to do as we did at first, we must remember our heart’s thankfulness, and the great love we had for him. For me, I don’t think this has changed. My desire was to be like Anna the prophetess who never left the temple, but prayed day and night. I know that we have to fight off distractions, and things which may be crying for our attention, but we must be like Mary and not like Martha. “‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed--or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:41-42
Choose the better thing!
The Elders
In the vision, the table represents a meeting place, a gathering, a place of sharing a meal and fellowship. Every person has the need to belong to a group. But as I mentioned before, we become like those with whom we spend time. In the vision, I was not included in the group of elders. I was in fact excluded. It was as if my presence startled them. Was my presence convicting them of something they were trying to keep “hush hush”?
We carry the Holy Spirit. These were elders in the church who were acting in secrecy. We have always prayed that whatever is hidden in darkness, be brought into the light. There should be no secrecy in the body of Christ. We are to be salt and light. We are to do nothing in darkness, nothing that would bring us shame. We are to do everything as if unto the Lord, so what were they hiding?
As I prayed for the interpretation to this three part vision, the Lord showed me this passage of scripture that speaks of the Lord’s instruction about the cost of following him.
My eyes first fell on this portion: “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 14:34
Again: “Do the things you did at first.” This passage of scripture, addresses the idea of falling away. Can we return to the Lord in repentance, and return to our first love for him? If we were salt at one time, and are just “going through the motions,” just “doing ministry,” instead of simply sitting at the feet of Jesus, can we regain that love, can we regain our saltiness?
Jesus, puts forth this question, which appears to have no solution: If we lose the salt we have within us, how can we be made salty again? Yet there were multiple times when he posed questions or made statements like this one: “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24
What was the Lord’s response to the disciple’s question, “Who then can be saved?” The Lord said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Therefore, the answer to the question “How can the salt be made salty again?” is the same response: “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” Thank you Jesus!
So the elders in the vision represents those who have lost their saltiness. Those who “honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Mark 7:6 How did this happen? How did they lose their salt? Well the answer to the question I believe the Lord showed me, was on the previous page. I had opened my Bible to the right hand page 1555, to read about the salt. The left hand page 1554 had this passage, which I believe answers the question: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me can not be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27
This is where the “rubber meets the road.” This is the true cost of being a disciple and of having salt within us. The Lord was showing me compromise. Compromising God’s ways, and God’s presence for the love or affection of or for a family member, or wanting respect and honor from the world, rather than God, offends the Lord and grieves the Holy Spirit. We cannot compromise for it leads to a divided heart and eventually apostasy. When we put the wishes and desires to please our children, our wives, our husbands, and our parents before the Lord, we diminish our love for him. He is made to take 2nd place in our hearts and perhaps even last place. At first we may try to fit him into our busy schedules, but as time goes by, without a change in heart, we become insensitive to the Holy Spirit, and our worship is nothing more than good intentions, or noble thoughts.
When we grieve the Holy Spirit we put out the Spirit’s fire within us. Our spirit begins to suffer, and we become uninterested in prayer, and lack intimacy with God. Soon, we make excuses as to why we weren’t in Church on Sunday. We become numb to the things of God and to his presence. Once we lose intimacy with the Lord, we become either apathetic or legalistic. We trade the genuine for the artificial.
Compromise is a spiritual disease. We must “nip it in the bud.” We must stand firm, and declare that nothing - Nothing will come between us and the Lord. I don’t think that the Lord could have said it any better, or with more emphasis, so I will repeat it: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me can not be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27
The elders were together, eating mashed potatoes and peas - common food. I wish I had opened the door to find them praying and eating with the Lord. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” Revelations 3:20
“‘My food,’ said Jesus ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34
“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” John 6:27
Summary
1. Be on your guard against false teachers, false prophets and false brothers, who “are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm -- shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted -- twice dead…...These people are grumblers and fault finders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” Jude 1:12 and 1:16
2. To go higher with the Lord, seek the Lord and give him all your love and devotion. Repent of any sin, and do what you did at first.
3. Do not compromise your time or devotion for the Lord, by placing family members or anything before the Lord. This is the very definition of idolatry. Compromise will cause your faith and love to wane, and perhaps to be lost. You will merely perform your ministry duties for yourself, or to impress others. The Lord will be grieved. In all your doing, all your ministry, your hard work will be in vain. It will have no value in the eyes of the Lord.
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
Please pray for our leaders, and all those in authority: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2
Be blessed and share this message with those you love and those who may benefit. Love you all!
