Changed by the Glory

But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as from the Lord, the Spirit (II Corinthians 3:18).

As this Scripture declares, we are changed as we behold the glory of the Lord. Almost every Christian knows this, but it is remarkable how many get it backward in practice. Instead of seeking to see His glory so that they can be changed, they think that they have to change in order to see His glory.

As we have observed previously, when Adam and Eve first sinned they took the course that is a natural reaction to sin—they tried to hide from God. They also tried to cover up their own nakedness exposed by the sin. When the Lord called them out, they tried to blame shift to put the responsibility for their own failure on someone else. This is also a natural reaction to sin—hide, and then when exposed, blame shift. This is the path to darkness and further corruption.

However, the way of escape from both sin and the consequences of sin is to resist doing what seems natural. We must learn to run to God instead of away from Him. We must also seek to take responsibility for the sin, and not try to blame someone else. The Lord will forgive our sins, but He does not forgive excuses. When we make excuses for our sin it is obvious that we have not really repented of them. As we are told in Hebrews 4:16:

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.

If you take the first two chapters of the Bible, and the last two, you have a complete story. Everything between those four chapters deal with one essential subject—redemption. The Lord is in the redemption business. He seeks to take every failure and turn it into a victory for us. That is why the failure of the first creation led to the establishment of a new creation that was even greater than the first, enabling man to partake of the heavenly nature through Christ. However, the way we do this is through the cross. We must die to all that we are in order to partake of the new and greater life. We die in order to live; we lay down our lives in order to be raised up.

That is why we must learn to boldly turn to the throne of grace when we stumble, instead of trying to hide or blame shift. We do not have to wait to become perfect in order to enter into His presence, but rather entering into His presence perfects us. In all things, even our sin and failures, we must learn to turn to the Lord and seek to behold His glory. Then we will be changed. When we behold His glory we will begin to reflect His glory, because we will be changed into His same image. This is our ultimate calling—to be like Him and do the works that He did.

When we think of seeing His glory we think of everything from beautiful colors to some perception of His nature. The story about Moses when he asked to see His glory gives us some insight into what we will see when we behold His glory.

Then Moses said, "I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!"
And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you,
and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you;
and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,
and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion." But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"
Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me,
and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about,
while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock
and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
"Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back,
but My face shall not be seen" (Exodus 33:18-23).

When Moses saw the Lord's back, what did he see? I believe that he prophetically saw the stripes that were on His back. Remember, the Lord was crucified from the beginning. When He created the world He knew that He would also have to suffer and even die for it, yet He continued. There is nothing else that will ever more fully reveal His glory. When we truly behold what He did for us we will be changed.

MorningStar Ministries

Wake up Grandfather!

As I look out my window I can see Grandfather Mountain. It was named that because it looks like a man lying on his back sleeping. That is the perception that many have of their grandfathers. I have heard it said a number of times by the elderly that they just could not sleep during the daytime until they reached that age. The older we get we probably do need more sleep, but spiritually it is the most important time of all to wake up. We are in our greatest time of need for the wisdom and leadership of our grandfathers and grandmothers.

First, I believe we need to have the wisdom to be "spiritual grandfathers and grandmothers." This was a mandate for the Levites under the Old Covenant. They were prepared for ministry in the tabernacle or temple from birth. They then performed this ministry from the age of thirty until they were fifty. Then they retired from ministry in the temple, but entered into what may have been their most fruitful years serving as elders. As elders they sat in the gates as judges, and they discipled the younger Levites who were preparing for service. Let's take a moment to ponder the wisdom of this system, and how the church could desperately need it today.

In I Corinthians 6:5 Paul wrote, "I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren." In the previous four verses he admonishes the Corinthians because they were called to judge angels, but could not even decide minor matters in this life. It seems that possibly the greatest cause of the shame that repeatedly comes upon the church in our time is because we lack elders who will take their authority as judges.

As we read in Psalm 89:14, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne." It is right to emphasize righteousness, but we will never be able to walk in the full authority that we are called to, representing the throne of the Lord, until we also give an equal emphasis to justice. Presently the church is filled with unrighteous judgment. Because those who are called to be judges in the church have not taken their responsibility in this area, some have assumed the position of being a judge in the church without the calling from God.

Most of the people who I have heard referred to as spiritual fathers were in fact spiritual grandfathers. We tend to think of men as spiritual fathers when they are old, but like in the natural, most men become fathers when they are young. Almost all of the leaders of truly dynamic churches that are still on the cutting edge of advancement, and are involved in further church planting, are led by those who are under the age of fifty. There are exceptions, but not that many. Just as most men start becoming grandfathers at around the age of fifty, if we have done our job well, those we have raised up should be the most dynamic producers in the church by the time they get to that age. Why not let them take over then? Most likely, there is nowhere for us to go.

When I inquired of the Lord about how to start a movement that would not stop moving, His reply was that I must use the wisdom of the geese. Geese fly in "V" formation for aerodynamic reasons. The geese that draft behind the lead bird use 20-35 percent less energy than the lead bird. Therefore, the lead bird can only stay in the lead for a short period of time before it will need to let another bird take its place, or the whole flock will start slowing down as the lead bird tires. This is why most churches and movements start losing their momentum so quickly. We do not know how to change leaders gracefully. Neither do we have a place for those who move out of being the point man in a congregation or movement. This one thing does bog down the momentum of a huge portion of the church.

For the church to make a place for its true elders we must also recover and fulfill the commandment to honor our fathers and mothers. This was the commandment that contained the promise "that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives to you" (Deuteronomy 5:16). Not doing this is why many churches and movements do not remain long as a vibrant, relevant force in the earth. Most effectively die with the death of their founder, or before, as they become a bottleneck to future advancement. If we will learn to transfer responsibility in the right way and at the right time, our churches and movements will keep growing in strength and spiritual authority.

The last days of a person's life should be their best and most fruitful. To do this we must know the time to turn over the reigns of the day-to-day ministry in the church, and give ourselves to a higher calling. Just as Paul the Apostle wrote most of his letters near the end of his life, that is the time when the wine of wisdom is the best. As Alex Haley once said, "Every time an old person dies it is like a library burning down." We should not be letting any of the great saints pass until they have left us all that they have to give.

We should also make a place for the true elders of the church in teaching and training of the youth and children. These are the most important ministries in any church. We will not be bearing fruit that remains unless we are imparting our vision and our values to the next generation. Like the patriarchs of Scripture, we should not depart until we have prophesied over the coming generation, imparting destiny and vision for their future. Those who attain the promises will also be those who esteem the prophetic blessing of their parents enough to do whatever it takes to get it.

MorningStar Ministries

Where is Justice?

Because I have something of a prophetic reputation I am continually asked my opinion about current events. This is a serious problem because I can give my opinion and it is often related as being a prophecy even when I make it clear that it is an opinion and not a prophecy. I do not presume to know the Lord's perspective on everything, or even many things that relate to current events. I used to take His silence as rejection, but now I feel that there may be a message in it.

The last time He would not speak to me on a matter that I earnestly sought Him about was the Y2K matter. For months I inquired of Him with no response. Finally, when He did speak to me about it, He merely said that He was not speaking about it because it was not going to be anything. That, of course, turned out to be exactly right.

I have learned that many things in my personal life that I can be consumed with usually turn out to be insignificant, and therefore just a waste of my worries. I have also learned many things that capture the interest and concern of the world do not even cause a ripple in heaven. Usually it is for the same reason; these matters turn out to be unimportant. Because of this, I try to pray every day to see with His eyes, hear with His ears, and understand with His heart. I do not claim to be anywhere close to this now, but I believe that this is the calling of every Christian, not just those who are called prophetically.

I also like to watch the news, and follow politics and business because they can reveal the heart of the people that we are called to reach. However, it is crucial that we are able to separate what the people are saying from what God is saying. These two are often not only different but in opposition to each other. Even so, we can be thankful for democracy, as it is obviously the best form of government on earth. We can have the most perfect form of government but it will be no better than the men and women who are in it.

Democracy is supposed to be the rule of the people. In such a form of government there will always be dissent. But if those who are in dissent are the minority, they must work to be more convincing to take their position before they have their way. This is how it is supposed to work. The courts have an enormous authority to dictate the actual application of the laws passed by the majority of people. Many shrewd people who understand this try to dictate policy by setting legal precedents. Precedent law is one of the widest open doors for injustice that can tragically pervert justice and the will of the people. Even so, our system of justice usually does remarkably well considering that it is run by people. All people are fallible, even the best Christians.

We must understand that the practice of law is an art, not a science. One can be dead wrong but still win in court by being able to articulate a more persuasive argument, or by seizing a technicality. Because it seems that the entire presidential election was really decided by the Supreme Court, what should be our response to this as Christians?

First, we must keep in mind that even the most perfect government of man will not be perfect. The United States is not the kingdom of God, and will have its flaws until the King returns. Half of the people in America not only felt that their man lost the election, but that they were cheated out of it. We were thrust into a situation in which either way it was decided would not be fair to the other side. We were simply caught in that terrible place where perfect justice was humanly impossible. It is time that we wake up to the fact that we have always been there. Perfect justice and perfect government are not humanly possible. Even so, because I have traveled much of the world and have seen the alternatives with all of their flaws, I am profoundly thankful to be an American and to live in a democracy.

I was once astonished as I watched the former owner of the Washington Redskins football team make a statement after his team lost a playoff game by what the cameras clearly showed was a bad call by the officials. He said simply, "The world is not fair. We should not expect to be treated fairly." He then talked about how it was their job to come back next year and play well enough so that the game would not be decided by officials.

I was personally thankful for the outcome of the election, but I also know if the good people in this country do not determine that they are going to work hard enough next time so that the outcome is not in danger of being decided by the officials, we are likely to find ourselves in the same situation again. If we are not happy about the outcome of this election, and feel that it was stolen from us by a bad call, let us not become bitter, let us determine to work harder next time.

Let us also realize that even the greatest works of man are fragile, but we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. As Isaiah 33:22 states, "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." Here we see that the Lord Himself will fulfill all three branches of government: the judicial (judge), the legislative (lawgiver), and the executive (king). He is not sitting in the heavens and wringing His hands in worry over any election. He cannot lose—He always wins. He has also given us this great promise:

Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war (Isaiah 2:2-4).

MorningStar Ministries

Hesitating Between Opinions

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word (I Kings 18:21).

Our recent presidential election dilemma seems to be an accurate depiction of the spiritual state of the country. We are divided almost exactly right down the middle. Like the Mississippi River that divides the nation, and continually drifts from one side to the other, public opinion is generally so centrist that the extremes on either side can push it a little to one side or the other. It will then resist the pressure and swing back toward the middle. Is this good or bad?

The economic interests of this country consider it a good thing. Wall Street leaders stated that their hope for the election was "continued gridlock in Washington." Wall Street is doing fine just the way things are, so they do not want the boat rocked in either direction. They prospered when one party controlled the White House and the other one controlled Congress. They like the huge budget surpluses, they want them to keep piling up, and they do not want anyone to come with enough influence to start spending it.

For the moral interests of America, gridlock seems to be a bad thing, but is it? It can be either a great tragedy, or a great opportunity. It will be a tragedy if the good people of this nation continue to sit back and wait for the government to do what they are called to do. It can be a great opportunity if the good people arise and take the moral and spiritual leadership that they are called to take.

My prayers will always be for the Lord to give us leaders who will stand for righteousness, truth, and justice. However, I do not believe that the destiny of this nation, or any nation, is found in its civil government, but in the church. Prayer can accomplish more than any election. One little prayer meeting can have more power than the United States Congress and United Nations Assembly combined. Prayer can move the hand of God in a way that no one can resist.

The world has been shocked by just how fragile the government of the greatest democracy in the world has proven to be. The whole nation voted, but it seemed for a while that it would be just a few people who lived in a single county, or even a single local judge who would decide who would sit in the most powerful political office on earth. Circumstances set the stage so that when either one prevailed one half of the nation would feel that they were cheated. That set the stage for one to potentially sit in the most powerful office in the world, without much power. Wall Street may have liked it for a while, but even their prosperity is based on the faith of the people in the system, and that faith was close to being seriously eroded. The result of this shaking was an economic decline.

It does seem that much of the remaining morality in America is based more on civic morality than a true faith in God and His standards. The stage is being set for the true heart of the nation to be revealed. We will not like what we see. Many who thought that they had been worshiping the true God will find that they have in fact only been worshiping the idols fashioned by our culture. We are in desperate need for the church to arise with the prophetic resolution of Elijah to stand for the one and only true God, and have the power to demonstrate it. This is not the power of the vote, but the power of the Holy Spirit. As we are told in I Corinthians 4:20, "For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power." Before the church will be released with this desperately needed power, we too must stop hesitating between all of the worldly opinions.

The Lord is not a Republican or a Democrat. He is not coming to take sides, but to take over. He is not going to come back because of the will of the people, but because of the will of the Father. The church in America does not need the ability to win votes, what we need is a return to our true Source of power. Then, as the great apostle declared in I Corinthians 2:4, we too will be able to say "And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." We need the ability to supernaturally demonstrate His power to men so that all who worship other gods can come to clearly understand that He alone is the one true God.

My main concern is not the indecisiveness of the American people as much as it is the indecisiveness of the church in America. If the church in America had voted for moral truth rather than their idols, and their pocket books, this election would not have even been close. The last church that the Lord Himself warned in the Book of Revelation, represents the last day church. "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16).

As a citizen I was concerned about the outcome of the election. I am thankful to be an American. I believe in voting and praying for my country, but I am far more concerned about the general lack of prophetic resolution on the part of the church in America. My first citizenship is to another kingdom, of which I have been made an ambassador. I am more concerned about those who are called to be a part of the "holy nation" than I am this nation. Even so, I know that when the church awakens from her own moral depravity and spiritual stupor, there will be a witness of the one and only true God. Then the "prophets of Baal" will be silenced.

MorningStar Ministries

The Beauty of Holiness

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in
your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all
your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (I Peter 1:14-16).

Holiness has almost become a bad word among many Christians in our time. This is usually because it is associated with movements and teachings that are legalistic in their approach to holiness. Even so, not only is holiness fundamental to true Christianity, we are exhorted in Hebrews 12:14: "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord." Sanctification is a word that is often interchangeable with holiness, which means to be set apart, purified, etc. As this Scripture declares, we must be holy if we expect to see the Lord.

Recent studies indicate that there is no longer a measurable difference between the morality of those who claim to be born again Christians and non-Christians. Christians are now sliding into debauchery so fast that soon Christians will, when measured as a whole, be less moral, and have less integrity than unbelievers! What is even more shocking is that there are not alarms being sounded from every pulpit and meeting place in the land!

There are now grounds to justify calling Christians hypocrites. A hypocrite is someone who claims to believe or do one thing, but does another. Let us also not forget that Jesus Himself reserved His most fierce denunciations for hypocrites. If we are going to church and claiming to be Christians, but are doing the things that we know the Scriptures condemn, we are the ones that He was talking about. We are the ones who are bringing shame to His most glorious name.

However, the Lord is full of grace and mercy to those who humble themselves and repent of their iniquity. Even when King Ahab, one of Israel's most evil and idolatrous kings, repented near the end of his life, the Lord immediately responded to him with mercy (see I Kings 21:20-29). If we have been caught in the snares of evil, we must run to the Lord, not away from Him. He will have mercy and help us.

The Holy Spirit, who is the personification of the holiness of God by His very name, is also the Helper. God does not require us to do anything that He will not also empower us to do by His Holy Spirit. However, we must understand that this is His name for a reason. If we want the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we too must be holy.

The true key to living a holy life is not just determining that we are going to stop doing what we know is wrong, but to simply return to our first love, God. That is why the Lord summed up the entire Law of Moses with the two commandments: to love the Lord, and to love our neighbors. If we love God, we will not worship idols or do the things that offend Him because we are the temple of His Holy Spirit. If we love our neighbors, we will not murder, steal, or even envy them. If we live a life devoted to loving God and our neighbors, we will not do wrong things, and will therefore fulfill the Law. True holiness is not motivated by fear, but love.

The true holiness to which the church is called is not that of a bride who is afraid that if she is not perfect her bridegroom will punish her. True holiness is that of a bride who is so passionately in love with her Bridegroom that she wants to be perfect for Him in every way. Therefore, the first step in recovering any spiritual ground that we have lost by falling into sin is to pray for God to have mercy on us and restore to us our first love. To then stay on the path is a simple devotion to growing in love for Him and our neighbors.

MorningStar Ministries