“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies. (from “Loving Your Enemies”)”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

“No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they’d die for.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., I Have A Dream

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

Reconciliation and Restoration Continues from Benny Hinn Ministries on Vimeo.

After his wife filed for divorce over two years ago it seemed that Benny Hinn was far more interested in his ministry than in the restoration of his marriage.  I was concerned that Benny Hinn would continue doing ministry while completely disregard his marriage covenant. This has been the case for far to many in ministry.  Ministers, who after marital failure pointed to the success of their ministry as justification for the failure at home.

Among the well known of charismatic preachers this has been a common theme.  From Jimmy Swaggert, Randy and Paula White, Clarence McClendon, Juanita Bynum and others; far too many have had major marital break downs without the hope of reconciliation.

Though other denominations and christian subcultures are not exempt, for those within the charismatic world, the importance of the marriage covenant has taken a hit.  This is why the reconciliation of Benny and Suzanne Hinn is such a wonderful thing.

I must applaud the recent events which have happened between the couple. I am happy that God worked a miracle on their behalf and I’m am glad that they allowed God to bring them back together.

Observing this situation gives us a great example of what humility within a marriage can do. The humility displayed by the Hinn’s to say, “We were wrong. . . ” is momentous.  As leaders within the Charismatic world their model of humility is to be applauded and taken to heart.

This week’s rallies and protests surrounding Chick-fil-A and owner Dan Cathy paint a picture of the current cultural landscape in America. It reveals the great cultural divide happening amongst Americans. It’s a divide that seems to be deepening with each passing day.

The battle being waged is not so much about free speech and gay marriage but of worldview. The significance of a worldview which drives the outer decisions we make cannot be overlooked. From the accusation of bigotry to the accusation of intolerance, these ideas are fueled by an underlying worldview. Specifically for Christians, the use of the worldview is key. While the world’s worldview will ultimately seek pleasure, the Christian’s worldview should ultimately seek the glory of God.

In my heart is a word of caution. A worldview isn’t changed by political victory, but by a change of the heart. Likewise, the actions of people are rarely changed by a political argument. Rather, people will change based on significant emotional, psychological, or spiritual events that form the way they view the world.

It’s the reason why Jesus often avoided political debate in favor of the revelation of the kingdom of God. In Jewish thought, the Messiah would be the king of the Jews, a political leader who would defeat their enemies and bring in a golden era of peace and prosperity. Yet, Jesus came as a spiritual deliverer to deliver people from sin and death (Matt. 1:21). The Jews were worried about winning the current political battle; while Jesus was ready to preach that another kingdom was now at hand (Matt. 10:7).

There is no spiritual victory in winning political battles. The victory comes when through the clear, effective, loving presentation of the gospel people come to know Christ . . . and view the world differently. We must be mindful as Christians to understand the political implications within culture, but remain determined to do the will of God. His kingdom must take priority over winning political arguments or debates.

If the events at Chick-fil-A restaurants this week teach us anything it’s that worldviews matter. Christians should be responsible citizens (which means we may engage in politics as necessary), but we are first God’s ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20). We must be prepared to clearly communicate the gospel in truth, power, and love. In the days to come I pray that the church takes care to fight the right battles and be sure that our message is truly not laced with hate.

On July 12, 2012, Louis Freeh and his law firm released the findings of their independent investigation into the child sex abuse scandal of Penn State University. According to “The Freeh Report”, the most saddening of the findings was the total and consistent disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s victims.

Taking into account the available witnesses and evidence, the investigation found that the most powerful leaders at the University – Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz, Joe Paterno, and Tim Curley – repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse from the authorities in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity.

May 3, 1998, Sandusky assaults Victim 6 in Lasch Building Shower. His mother reports to the University Police Department that Sandusky showered with her 11-year old son. University Police and officials ultimately did nothing.

October 29, 2011, Sandusky attends Penn State home football game and sits in the Nittany Lion Club seating at Beaver Stadium.

According to the Freeh report – this failure by many to do nothing or not enough – contributed to the fall of Joe Paterno, the disgrace of a University, and the disregard for children in danger. It was deemed that there was a problem with “The Penn State Culture.” A culture where avoiding negative publicity was more important than rescuing a child and where the reputation of a man was placed at a greater significance than the welfare of young children.

The Freeh report brings to life the reality that a latent cowardice and self-preservation deeply influence our culture. The fear of backlash, what people will say, and what may happen if we stand up for our convictions . . . its a brand of fear that lies in the heart of too many a man and too many a Christian.

So being mindful of this, we should ask God for courage. Courage to act in the presence of evil, to stand in the face of conflict, and to rise above the influences of our day. The culture which allowed a predator to roam free screams to us the importance of being vigilant over our children and the importance of being courageous for our God.

We all search for and crave a sense of contentedness in life. It’s why we work, serve, play, and sacrifice; so that at the end of our day we can lay our heads on a pillow and feel a sense of significance and a sense of worth. It is the foundation for social sanity and general happiness.

Though being content in life is a healthy form of mental wellness, it also has its setbacks. When we are content we tend to rest all other goals and pursuits. Contentment seems to come with an off switch. It turns off the inner drive inside of us that pursues something worth the chase.

Contentment can actually give us a false sense of security when unmonitored. When we feel that we’ve attained enough, pursued enough, and prayed enough, the sense of spiritual accomplishment can set in. That sense of spiritual accomplishment can cause us to ignore the world around us in order to keep our perceived contentment.

But there is a holy discontent. A discontent that a believer feels when he or she is unsatisfied with their current spiritual condition. It’s not the grit of our own frustration which drives us, but God the Holy Spirit who convicts and prods us.

A holy discontent is valuable to the Christian life. It’s what drove Jesus to Samaria (John 4:4) and drove the disciples to the upper room (Acts 2:1-4). Holy dis-contentment drives the believer to press in to all that God has in store for them and contend for spiritual renewal. A holy discontent is only found in the nudge of the Holy Spirit. It’s the God driven frustration concerning the emptiness in our hearts and the fullness of His presence.

His presence in our lives is really what makes all the difference. I’m asking God to increase this kind of holy discontent in my life. The greater my passion is for God, the greater I’ll become unsatisfied with anything less than His purposes for my life. I want to be so effected by His nudge and call that I become neglectful to my fear and worries. I want to see the heavenly . . . big picture. The big picture is that something is going on in God’s kingdom and he wants you and I to be a part of it.

His presence and love are the only things that can truly provide for us . . . a Holy contentment.

Hemant Mehta, “The Friendly Atheist,” wrote last week concerning his disagreement with Pastor Craig Gross of XXXchurch.com on whether gays will be in heaven. Gross suggested that Christians make far too big of a deal regarding homosexuality and that Christians should accept homosexuals as fellow sinners needing Christ. Gross makes the point that Christians should not ignore perceived smaller sins (like gluttony) in favor of combating homosexuality. You can read Gross’s article here. Hemant Mehta, however, disagrees with Gross suggesting that the Bible (which he believes is untrue) speaks more harshly of homosexuality.

I believe Hemant Mehta, an Atheist, has a point. For Mehta, Christians who try to support gays with scripture are fooling themselves. He responds to Gross saying,

Gross didn’t say this in the piece, but he actually quoted 1 Corinthians 6:13. Maybe he didn’t get that specific because only a few sentences prior to that, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, the Bible talks about how gay men (who don’t change their ways) will most certainly NOT go to Heaven, directly contradicting what Gross writes in the rest of his essay:

… Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

It’s hard to believe Gross missed that passage when he was writing this piece… but, you know, why include it when it goes against his narrative? That would be too honest.

Mehta, even as an atheist, understands the harshness of the penalty of sin and doesn’t like Christians trying to butter people up. Mehta’s prescription is to reject the scriptures as false, while Christians ought to, as Mehta notes, be more honest. I agree with Pastor Gross on the premise that homosexuality is sin just as any other and that Christians should in fact love all people. However, what Mehta points out is the tendency on the part of believers to try to lessen the blow of scriptures and the consequences of sin. He’s right.

What God calls an abomination, we cannot call a mere mishap. As Christians, we should be aware of our inclination to soften the verdict and be ashamed of the gospel. Not that we are ashamed of saying, “I am a Christian”, but that we are ashamed of what the Bible says takes place when individuals do not repent. Remember the gospel breaks before it mends, cuts before it heals, and brings low before it lifts up (Heb. 4:12). Though sin is eternally damaging, salvation has been assured in Christ.

When it comes to how Christians should treat homosexuals . . . showing love requires truth telling. Compassionate, loving, truth telling. Every Christian’s sexuality is to be submitted to God (Rom. 12:1). Yes, we struggle, we all do, but if you believe that your sexuality is not to be submitted . . . maybe you don’t understand the scriptures or perhaps Jesus is not your God.

So will there be gays in heaven? The answer is this . . . the blood bought will be in heaven (1 Peter 1:18-21). Those who have surrendered their lives to Christ through repentance will be in heaven. The journey of sanctification which begins after that is another topic. So then, it’s not about being gay or lesbian, it’s about having Jesus or not having Jesus – that is the question.

While updating and reforming my blog site I realized that I had not blogged in nearly two years. . . It’s been quite some time, so I feel I need to explain my absence.

The last two years have been an undertaking. I worked the toughest job of my life, lamented the absence of ministry opportunities, finished my degree, and gave birth (I mean my wife gave birth) to our beautiful daughter Zarah. In fact, I’ve been too busy to blog.

But in many ways, Sarai and I are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This season of my life has been challenging in many ways. From my ministry and professional aspirations to thoughts concerning the future and my family; every area of my life has been tested. Tested by the fact that sometimes the way you want your life to be is eclipsed by the way your life really is. I’m tired of being ordinary. I’m tired of not effecting change. I’m tired of not making a difference.

However, I’m blessed even so. . . My faith is strong. My focus is clear. My steps are ordered and I was born to shape history through the preaching of the gospel of God. I’ve found that sometimes in every theoretical step backwards in life it may actually become a step forward. No time in preparation is wasted time and I’m glad for the work of Christ in my heart and my life.

I know some of you feel the same way. The burden of the Lord weighs on your heart while the pressures of life take sips from your cup. But you too have a call to fulfill, a dream to make come true, and a spirit-filled life to lead. God’s counting on you.

And so, I’ll try to commit to posting more often. Not to self promote, but to simply share my heart on God, the culture, and ministry. Hopefully, some of you are encouraged by my thoughts and find comfort in Christ. Feel free to comment or reconnect with me if we haven’t spoken in a while. Be blessed.

“People don’t like to hear this, but we’re headed for perilous times—just a few years away from a collapse like the world has never known. When that happens, all who preached prosperity are going to disappear because the people will say, “Your gospel has failed me.” When that time comes, I want to grasp onto Jesus, and I want everyone I’ve preached to to have faith in the keeping power of Jesus Christ. I want them to know Him in His fullness. I want to know that I’ve done it in love, in grace, that they would know the difference between the holy and the profane.”

The Dangers of The Gospel of Accommodation

A sermon given by David Wilkerson at an Assemblies of God headquarters chapel service.

By David Wilkerson

I am not coming to you as a pastor but with a prophetic word. God so shook me recently with this message that I should bring it somewhere, sometime in Springfield. This morning the Lord, by His Spirit, spoke to my heart that this is the time. He has called me to be one of His watchmen, and I have wept over this and prayed that He will help me deliver the message in a spirit of love. This is not a chastisement but a warning for the Assemblies of God.

A New Gospel

Accommodate means to adapt, to make suitable and acceptable, to make convenient. A gospel of accommodation is creeping into the United States. It’s an American cultural invention to appease the lifestyle of luxury and pleasure. Primarily a Caucasian, suburban gospel, it’s also in our major cities and is sweeping the nation, influencing ministers of every denomination, and giving birth to megachurches with thousands who come to hear a nonconfronting message. It’s an adaptable gospel that is spoon-fed through humorous skits, drama, and short, nonabrasive sermonettes on how to cope—called a seeker-friendly or sinner-friendly gospel.

To begin with, those terms are unscriptural. The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been confronting—there is no such thing as a friendly gospel but a friendly grace.

This new gospel is being propagated by bright, young, talented ministers. They have come upon a formula which states you can go into any town or city; and if you have the right formula, within a short time you can raise a megachurch.

If you are a young man and have certain skills, you find those skills and a part of the city that would best suit you. You move into that area, poll it, and find out what the nonchurchgoers want:

“You don’t like choirs. Well, would you go to a church that didn’t have a choir?” Yes.

“You don’t like to wear suits. Would you go where it’s informal?” Yes.

Then you go to your computer and design a gospel that will not confront but will shoot out the desires and the needs of the people. After you have gathered a handful of people, you keep interviewing them to find out what they want; then you design your message to help people cope with their needs. The program you design is intended to make the church comfortable and friendly for all sinners who wish to attend.

This gospel is fast becoming the most prosperous and flourishing of all religious movements. Thousands attend these churches. The pastor is the CEO, and it becomes a business. They make no bones about it: They are following Madison Avenue tactics and can make a success of it. Their formula for quick church growth is cleverly packaged and is being sold especially to young ministers—those who want to be a part of the big boys and what’s happening on a fast track. They want it to happen quickly.

Paul’s Warning

Paul warned of the coming of another gospel and another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4). He warned the church that it’s really not another gospel but a perversion of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. If you hear any other gospel, he said, let that preacher be accursed. In other words, no matter how pleasant, how pious, or how sincere, if the message is not the death of sin through the cross of Jesus Christ, let it be accursed.

I tremble when I read in the Scriptures that in the last days Satan is going to come right into the church posing as an angel of light. He’s going to take ministers who, at one time, had the touch of God, and he’s going to transform them into angels of light to become his tool of deception. That’s frightening. It causes me to fall on my face before God for such false, deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. No marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it’s no great thing if ministers also are transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works.

Paul said they are going to glory in the flesh, in their bigness, their numbers, their influence, and their contemporariness. They will boast they are contemporary, that there is a gospel that is out of style that doesn’t reach human need anymore. They will glory in the world’s acceptance. Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). The context of that warning was: “Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it” (verse 14).

His warning was to beware of the wolves who are going to say it’s really not that narrow and straight—they are going to come posing as submissive sheep. Jesus put His finger on the cause: ambition—ambitious ravening wolves. In the Greek it means “starved for recognition and quick gratification, quick growth.”

Jesus left no doubt about His meaning. For example, He was addressing a struggling pastor who has worked for years and hasn’t seen the kind of growth he wants to see. A young man with an accommodating gospel moves into town and and within a very short time has a megachurch. People are flocking there because there is entertainment; it’s a gospel of fun. I’ve been in some of them. It’s the gospel of entertainment that has no conviction whatsoever. There is very little in their gospel that speaks to sinners of repentance, brokenness, and cross-bearing. A Christ is preached, Jesus’ name is mentioned, but Paul said their’s is another gospel, another Jesus.

Paul warned that if you are caught in this trap, if you want that hook of entertainment, that hook of sudden growth, this is the hook: The enemy will put in your path a teaching.

I have two preacher sons. One of them confessed to me, “Dad, I was that close to being sucked in because I fasted and prayed and didn’t see the growth I wanted to see, and I saw these others grow. That hook was there, and I almost bought it.”

That is something this Movement and every movement is going to have to look at and deal with: It is possible, through unholy ambition, to be transformed from a man of God, who has been seeking God and getting a word from heaven, to an unholy ambition and a tool of Satan. Let every pastor heed this warning: The moment you begin to consider the “competition,” seeds of accommodation will be planted in your heart. Suddenly, Satan will put in your path a wolf in sheep’s clothing—a man who will try to seduce you into ungodly ambition and achieving church growth at any cost. Yet the truth is, it could cost you your soul.

The Right Formula

If you find the right formula, according to the accommodation gospel, you can succeed in any field of endeavor.

An editorial in the New York Times (March 1, 1998) was entitled, How To Manufacture a Best-Seller. It told the story of John Baldwin, a 53-year-old carpenter and a would-be writer, who had struggled for years to make a living from writing. He determined to become famous and rich overnight by writing a best-selling medical thriller. He studied five or six best thrillers. After 7 years’ research he found 10 steps to producing a best-selling medical novel. He honed it with some Hollywood writers and agents, and here is the 10-step formula he used:

1. The hero is an expert.
2. The villain is an expert.
3. You must watch all the villain’s activities over his shoulder.
4. The hero has a team of experts behind him, working in various fields.
5. Two or more on the team must fall in love.
6. Two or more on the team must die.
7. The villain must turn his attention from his initial goal to the team.
8. The villain and the hero must live to do battle again in the sequel.
9. All deaths must proceed from the individual to the group.
10. If the story bogs down, just kill somebody.

John Baldwin had the formula but no story, so he read of research by John Marr who was studying the epidemiological causes of the 10 plagues, hoping to explain their causes scientifically. The two men formed a partnership, and using Baldwin’s 10–step formula, together wrote a 640 page manuscript called The Eleventh Plague. Harper Collins bought it for almost $2 million.

Baldwin, who has no passion for writing, said, “If I get the formula, I’m going to be a multimillionaire and famous.” Well, he’s going to make another $3 million on the movie rights, and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. His philosophy: “If you have the right formula, you can be a success at anything.”

You see, this is the gospel of accommodation—the formula. You get the formula, you get what people want, and you can be a success. I am here to tell you that a formula-based, accommodating gospel is contrary to everything in the Scriptures.

God’s Method

Certain men of God met at Antioch to send out men to preach the gospel and establish churches (Acts 13). Here is God’s method:

1. They ministered to the Lord and fasted. This was their planning session—worshiping, fasting, waiting on the Lord, and calling for direction from the Holy Ghost. They did not move until the Holy Ghost spoke. There were no formulas, no surveys, no door-to-door asking people what they wanted and then serving it to them.

2. They prayed—no strategizing, no network, and not one step until the Holy Ghost spoke His mind. Then and only then did they lay hands upon them, anoint them, and send them out in the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost.

Paul lived his whole religious life on religious formulas, and he said they didn’t work. He gave up on formulas and said, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul boasted unashamedly, “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). He was saying, “Gentlemen (he was talking to his peers), they want us to accommodate. The Jews are looking for signs in our gospel. The Greeks want the wisdom. They want to know how to cope, but I’m not compromising. There’s only one message. Our gospel has been and will be the Cross and its demands as well as its victories. As for me, I’m determined to preach nothing among you but Christ and Him crucified.”

I see three things in the gospel of accommodation:

1. It is the accommodation of man’s love for pleasure.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers…of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1–4). The Greek for pleasure is “sensuous, lustful, voluptuous, exciting, gratifying, sensual pleasure.” If you move toward this gospel of accommodation, you are going to have to accommodate the people’s lust because they are not going to give up their love for excitement. They’ve made gods of sports, pleasure, and lust. Unless that is confronted by the gospel of Jesus Christ, unless there is a truth that comes forth, you have to accommodate this lust that is in the American lifestyle.

I was shocked by an article in the New York Times.1 Philip Wogaman, President Clinton’s pastor, said, “Sexual misconduct does not automatically render a leader immoral. Morality should also be judged by indicators like courage, concern for the poor, fostering world peace, running the economy responsibly, and furthering racial equality. Heterosexuality and homosexuality are merely cultural expressions.” In other words, Mr. Clinton has been told that he has enough good indicators to overrule another that would be immoral in his life.

God said that men who preach doctrines like these resist the truth; they are men of corrupt minds counterfeiting the faith.

In disbelief I watched a televised Sunday night service of a seeker-friendly church—seeker-friendly by its own admission. To a packed church where thousands attend, the pastor said, “This is fun night, a David Letterman night.” The youth pastor came out and did his monologue as David Letterman. Then they showed 10 of the most boring things teenagers do during preaching. Three of the 10 were throwing spitballs, yawning, and picking their noses. The crowd went crazy. After the service, the pastor brazenly announced, “We’re not here to offend people, but to make church comfortable for everyone.” I wept.

I ask you, how long do you think that audience would stay in church if the pastor was gripped by the Holy Ghost, convicted for “entertaining” people toward hell, and suddenly preached a message entitled, “Be sure your sins will find you out”? How long would people keep coming back if a gospel of holy living and separation from the world was preached? Two things would happen: (1) Those who are misguided, hungry, and didn’t know any better would weep and run to the altar. (2) Those who are judiciously blinded by their pleasures in madness would flee from the church and never come again. The church doors would close.

I keep this foremost in my mind and before my eyes, because every minister of the gospel one day has to face it when he stands before the Lord. He will say, “Son of man, I made thee a watchman. You were to hear the words of My mouth and give them warnings from Me. You were to tell the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die.’ And you gave them no warning nor spoke to warn the wicked to turn from their wicked ways to save their lives. These same wicked men died in their sins, but their blood I’ll require at your hands.”

2. This gospel of accommodation accommodates all man’s aversion to self-denial.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is one of self-denial. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Self-denial is not something you give. It’s someone you give up—the giving up of yourself, giving up everything you are. It’s a living sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ to present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. God has every right to say to His church, “If you expect to give Me your body, your resurrected body, all through eternity, I have every right—it’s only reasonable of Me and your reasonable service—to ask your body why you’re here on earth. I want every part of you. I want you to be spiritually minded. I want to possess you.”

The gospel we preach must bring people under the total possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, it’s a gospel of accommodation.

The seeker-friendly gospel accommodates the body. The human body belongs to Him. What we see in America is a neognosticism where you take your physical body on one side and do as you please as long as your spirit is right with God. This is coming even out of the White House, this dividing of personality. No, we are one personality, and it all belongs to Jesus Christ. This neognosticism is destroying the faith of many throughout the nation.

3. There is an accommodation of man’s offense to the gospel.

The Scriptures state, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumblingstone and rock of offense.” Paul spoke of the offense of the Cross. This is the heart of God’s anger. We’re not called to the Cross but to go through the Cross—to experience the same thing Jesus did, not only coming to the Cross but dying and going into the grave with Jesus Christ and then being raised from the dead to a newness of life.

It’s cruel, pastor, to lead sinners to the Cross, tell them they are forgiven by faith, and then allow them to go back to their habits and lusts of the flesh, unchanged and still in the devil’s shackles. If the preaching of grace doesn’t have as its goal the producing of a walk of righteousness, then it’s another gospel, another Jesus.

I listened in horror to a man, who attended one of the largest seeker-friendly churches, being interviewed by CBS. He said, “I come to this church because I’m comfortable. I’m never made to feel uneasy. I bring my Jewish friends and my business friends, and I know nothing will ever be said that will offend them. The best part of it is, the whole thing only lasts an hour.”

Take it from me: You can get your big church and be one of the big boys, but it’s going to cost you your soul if you preach with a focus only on earthly things, rather than on the things of God.

I’ve lived in New York City 35 years. We have 103 nationalities from all walks of life—from the poorest to the richest. Probably 300 or more from the United Nations live there. But I look over a congregation (so does my dear friend, Jim Cymbala, in Brooklyn) and see men who have just walked in from the porno shops and are wild animals. I see a businessman friend who was CEO of a multimillion–dollar company, but he started snorting coke, lost everything, and is now a bum on the street. He sits in the congregation. A little 14-year-old girl with AIDS is up on 8th Avenue performing lewd acts before dirty old men. She comes to church and keeps saying, “Pastor Dave, I’ve got to get out. I’ve got to get help.”

I’m not about to put up a silly skit and preach a 15-minute message on how to cope to a multitude of people who are dying and going to hell. I tremble at the thought.

People don’t like to hear this, but we’re headed for perilous times—just a few years away from a collapse like the world has never known. When that happens, all who preached prosperity are going to disappear because the people will say, “Your gospel has failed me.” When that time comes, I want to grasp onto Jesus, and I want everyone I’ve preached to to have faith in the keeping power of Jesus Christ. I want them to know Him in His fullness. I want to know that I’ve done it in love, in grace, that they would know the difference between the holy and the profane.

May God, in Jesus’ name, spare the Assemblies of God forever. If I have ever given a prophetic message in my lifetime that God intended for a purpose, it is now.

Many are being deceived. If they are not awakened, what I warn you about will happen.

I pray that God will keep the Assemblies of God in its original purposes. In New York City, He has proved that the people come to hear a straight gospel, and thousands will come where the Word of God is being preached without compromise and yet with grace. May the young men who are discouraged in the Movement not try for a shortcut but be broken and on their faces before the Lord.

May we get our eyes off growth and onto a new revelation of who Jesus is.

Ted Haggard, who was banished from his church in 2006 after a gay sex scandal, is back in his home town today announcing the start of a new church. Haggard made the announcement Wednesday during a news conference at his home with his wife and three sons standing with him three weeks after filing incorporation papers for a new church named St. James Church.

During the news conference, Haggard didn’t directly address the 2006 scandal, but said he had been broken and his church would be a place for broken people. He said his church would espouse that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but that he would stay out of public policy discussions. Haggard said that experience has made him more sympathetic to others and said he now feels better qualified to counsel people. Some may disagree, but I’m ok with the idea of Ted Haggard beginning a new ministry.

Some may disagree, but I’m ok with the idea of Ted Haggard beginning a new ministry.

Restoration was the end goal, wasn’t it? Haggard seemed to fail the restoration process he was to submit to under the leadership of pastors Tommy Barnett and others. He seemed to go off into a world of obscurity where no one really knew what he was doing. Yet, although ‘plan A’ of the restoration process seemed to be unsuccessful, it seems Ted Haggard did not run from the gospel but to it.

He has not renounced his Christian faith. He has not ignored the magnitude of his sin. He has not to my knowledge claimed that what he was involved in was not sin. My impression, though just an impression, is that Ted Haggard has run to the truth rather than away from truth in the wake of this scandal. He and Gayle were also able to salvage their marriage when others would have probably caved in. In my eyes that is what should be commended.

Will people trust him again? Maybe. He probably won’t experience the kind of popularity he did while pastoring New Life, but I think people will give him a second chance at their trust. His past may even give him a more keen edge to minister to people who are struggling with their sexuality.

As to whether or not he has the moral authority to preach, I believe he does, as long as he has applied the truth of the gospel afresh to his own heart and once again places himself under some kind of accountability to others.

The whole message of the gospel embraces the restoration of those who have sinned, fallen, and been broken to pieces. The gospels give us several accounts of Jesus forgiving people and then setting them on their way with a testimony. The body of Christ should be able to accept the restoration of those who have fallen, been broken, repented, and have now been restored.

Of the reasons the religious leaders sought to kill Jesus, one was His work on the Sabbath day. It seems far from a logical reason that one should seek death for an individual, but in Jesus’ day, breaking the Sabbath was an unpardonable offense. When confronted by the religious leaders concerning His work on the Sabbath Jesus makes three claims of deity to His defense. He claimed to be the equal of God; the equal with God the Father in power and authority (John 5:17-24). While the religious leaders sought to kill Him for these claims, to believe these claims is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Jesus claimed to be the equal of God

“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” John writes that “for this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God (John 5:17-18).”

Jesus spoke of God as His father. Though the term father is quite regularly used in our day, Jesus’ claim to God as ‘My Father’ indicated a unique relationship with God in nature. The expression ‘My Father’ was so unique the Jews sought to kill Jesus for blasphemy. Jesus was making the claim that because He is equal with the Father, He is free to work.” God never stops working, so Jesus was at work. Jesus’ claim to be the equal of God is one of His most clear statements of deity in scripture.

Jesus claimed to be equal with God in Power

“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Jesus went on to say, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives to whom He is pleased to give it (John 5:19-21).”

Jesus claimed to be equal with the Father in that they both simultaneously have the power to give life. It is the prerogative of God to raise the dead and grant life, both physically and spiritually. Jesus’ claim of equal power with God would have stood as an amazing claim to deity to His hearers. The same power that they had come to expect from God the Father in the scriptures (Old Testament), Jesus claimed that He in the flesh had the prerogative to work the miraculous. Jesus’ claim of ultimate power was yet another claim to His deity.

Jesus claimed to be equal with God in Authority

Jesus responded to the religious leaders even further by saying, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life (John 5:22-24).”

Jesus claimed to be ‘The Judge’, the only person who can truly judge and distinguish right from wrong. His statement of having been given all authority is a claim to be the final judge of every human life. As the final judge he has within Himself the power to declare an individual righteous or unrighteous. He held the power to judge an unlawful act from a noble act. His claim in defense of His work on the Sabbath, then, was that He was the judge of right and wrong, not only on the Sabbath, but on the actions of every human being. In the authority of the final judge, Jesus declared, “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.”

Christ’s claims to deity are the foundation and bedrock of Christianity. If one of these claims are not true, then we have no Christianity. These claims are the required belief of the believer. To believe these claims is what it means to be a Christian. Christians believe that Jesus was who He claimed to be — the Son of God. While Jesus’ claims of deity caused the religious leaders to want him dead, to believe and trust in these same claims today is to be saved from death and delivered into life. Christians are given the life of God, not at some later date, but now, because God the final judge has decreed it.

Why is this important? The exclusivity of the Christian faith is staked in these claims. To believe these claims sets the Christian apart from the followers of any other major religion. Unlike religions such as Judaism and Islam, who consider Jesus to be merely a great teacher, Christians believe that Jesus is God and worthy of all worship and honor. Believing these claims sets the christian apart, because to believe these claims is what it means to trust only in Jesus for salvation. The Christian life is a daily belief in Jesus as God, and being God, the only one worthy of all worship, honor, and the utmost devotion.