Lance's Stack Of Stuff
What does the Bible say?
(Originally posted on Facebook)
OH BOY!
Here’s what I do on vacation. Read your comments.
I just finished reading all of them. It has been quite an experience. I am not surprised that some agree and some disagree. What does surprise me is the rationale behind many comments. How do you know who’s right? Let’s examine them.
Paul said we grow up into Him (Christ) when we “speak the truth in love.” Some only want “truth,” but truth alone will just depress you. Others only want “love.” But love without truth will leave you in perpetual adolescence.
We need both TRUTH and LOVE.
Let’s all agree with Jesus, “thy Word is truth,” and make that Word the final authority in all matters, yes?
The question is always: what does the Bible say?
Many that didn’t like Mario’s post rejected it because they think he is talking about or against the practices of a ministry they like. Again this surprised me because there was such little objectivity regarding the content of his critique. Forget for the moment the visions of heaven. Celebrities here may be celebrities there; who knows? But is the teaching part actually scriptural? I’d at least ask, is Mario factually correct? It seemed to me that this didn’t matter to some. The reader had already made up their mind, and doctrinal truth was irrelevant. They think the person has a good heart and therefore should be given a pass. This is dangerous. In these last days, the spirit of AntiChrist will be a spirit of “deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 Th 2:10). The secret to avoiding the great deception is to avoid the little ones. The only answer to deception is to cultivate a love of the truth.
This leads me to caution everyone – “beware of subjectivity and soulish preferences in spiritual matters.” You test something by the Word, not by your affinity.
Others viewed Mario’s blog as divisive rather than unifying. Destructive rather than edifying. The assumption is that a good minister should never judge or point out the erroneous teaching or prophecy of some other minister.
Our only recourse is to ask, “What does the Bible say?” Do ministers ever correct each other?
1. Paul had a controversy with Peter, which is described in (Galatians 2:11) “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;” Paul had no problem writing about Peter’s behavior and the rebuke. And evidently, Peter accepted the correction! The book of Acts is replete with Paul’s confrontations. He also had a conflict with Barnabas, circumcisers, and public officials in Philippi. It’s not my style or yours, but confrontation is Biblical.
2. It was this same Paul who said, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; REPROVE, REBUKE, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” If you are never rebuked, you are not hearing the Word. I think we’ve gotten soft on some of these verses.
3. The Bible tells us that we who publicly teach, “will be judged more strictly” than others. It goes with the territory. It’s healthy, actually. My mentor, Dr. Peter Wagner, was always ready to correct my teaching and grammar. He was even harder on Cindy Jacobs.
Some comments I read indicate that people think prophets are somehow in a special gift class and shouldn’t be judged.
What does the Bible say?
1. “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others JUDGE” (1 Corinthians 14:29). Notice that New Testament Prophets had their prophecies judged. And they were usually a team Ministry. Often Apostles and Prophets worked together. It was common to have more than one speak, and others weigh (judge) what was said. Why? We all hear in part. Or we may hear right but interpret wrong.
2. Beware of any minister that makes you afraid to question a prophecy that didn’t work out. You are commanded to “try the spirits” to see if they be of God. Be respectful but don’t be intimidated. If a Prophet warns you of harm that will come to you if you question them – head for the hills.
3. As Mario is dealing with the subject of deception and discernment, let me go where he didn’t in the matter of Trump prophecies and predictions. We should note that many of the Trump prophecies regarding dates for his return to office did not work out as prophesied. This isn’t because of a failure of intercessors to “stand with the prophets,” it is because prophets can miss it. The only thing we can say is that God is answering our prayers in a way we didn’t see coming.
God has weighed America (and perhaps the church) in the balance and decided the best way forward was to expose our condition, lay an ax to the root and expose the fruit. Better divine discipline than divine judgment.
I credit the Trump prophets with being pro-Trump. That is why I never joined a chorus of critics when they kept calling for Trump’s return “any day.” I understand them. They said that with all that prayer, a ripped-off election had to be reversed! Justice required it. I stood with them till I heard the Lord say on Jan 20th what He said to Peter: “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”(John 13:7). Given the intensity of the battle, the yearning desires of our audience, the injustice of the election outcome and the hell that would be unleashed under a lawless regime I understood the pressure to prophesy Trump’s return before 2024. Fortunately, I wrote all my concerns in a book before it happened, including what would occur if Trump was denied a victory, even predicting the role of illegal ballots, news blackouts, and three states that would participate Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Even so, I was wrong in believing the courts would have the courage to hear evidence. Even I could not accept a Trump defeat.
When asked by sincere people “what happened,” some Prophets got defensive and warned folks to back off under the threat of divine judgment. Most doubled down on Trump’s return.
Now, let’s be honest if that doesn’t happen till the next election in 2024, what will happen next? I can prophesy it. They will claim that Trump’s return is what they said all along and that they stood “alone” (with the faithful) in the face of opposition to make it happen. Though this is NOT what they prophesied, it won’t matter because by then, their followers will not care. They had to suspend critical thinking and discernment half a dozen times between 2020 and 2024 and won’t be able to discern the truth from error anymore. They will move on to new revelations and prophecies. And somewhere in that two-year process, a spirit of error or deception will gain access, and that’s why this is important.
3. I like this Living Bible translation: “Do not scoff at prophecies, but TEST everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.”
(1 Thess 5:21)
Many are concerned that Mario’s writing works against unity. Indeed we are exhorted to walk in unity, but nowhere do we sacrifice truth or discerning on the altar of “getting along.” Again, that is why Paul rebuked Peter.
1. I always found this verse challenging when I was a Pastor. Did you know that God said there must be divisions from time to time? “For there MUST also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.” (2 Cor 11:19). God somehow uses divisions to reveal who is serving Him. They test and reveal our maturity.
2. After reading Mario’s blog last night, I listened to a Derek Prince video about “deception.” He pointed out that Paul warned the Corinthians that they needed to be careful what they listened to because a different gospel would open them up to a counterfeit or “other” spirit and connect them to a “different” Jesus than the Biblical Jesus. Shocking. Check it out in 2 Cor 11:4 – “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”
This applies to all people you listen to – including me. Follow me as I follow Christ. If I depart from the simplicity of the gospel into visions and mysteries, pull me back on track. In this regard, Mario is solid as a rock. He is Christ-centered, proof-producing, and winning souls. He’s been in moves of God since the ’70s and has a read on America that’s deadly accurate. Don’t be too quick to dismiss him because you don’t agree.
In these last days, we need UNITY combined with DISCERNING and the WORD at the center of it all. If we can “speak the truth in love” and stay connected, we’ll GROW up into Him.