(via Wikipedia)

The times we are in remind me of the old Byrd’s hit song- ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ (Based on Eccl. 3:1).

The first line is particularly poignant:

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”

We are in a time of transition in the natural with fall in our midst and Winter on the way.  Actually out here in So. California, September is usually an extension of Summer when it comes to hot weather. Now with October, the change is finally happening and cooler weather and rain is on the way.

On the Spiritual front, we are in the midst of the Biblical (Jewish) holy week with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) coming on Saturday. It is a week of transition from the old year to the new. In the older covenant, believers would consider their lives over the last 12 months and seek God’s forgiveness for any shortcomings and dedicate themselves to improvement for the year ahead.

Lot’s of Christians over the years have noticed that changes in their ministry seem to take place usually around this time of the year. I can see that pattern in my own life and ministry. In fact, several that I know in prophetic ministry specifically believe that during this week they ‘go under the Shepherd’s rod’ and are evaluated by The Master.

When you look at what is happening around the world it is easy to see that we are in a time of transition and no one seems to really know how it is all going to play out in the next year or so. Is America going down like so many seem to think and is China really going to replace us as the new ‘super power’?

In the Middle East, everything has been thrown up in the air following the so-called ‘Arab Spring’.  Iran wants to destroy Israel and they will probably have nuclear weapons sometime in the next year or two. The Iranian Supreme leader says that the 12th Imam is appearing to him and is coming soon to lead the Muslims to world domination. Turkey is now styling itself as a new ‘Islamic power’ on the rise and their leaders are talking about establishing a new Muslim Caliphate. Their goal is to dominate the World and bring on one world religion –Islam.

Notice that no one wants to be friends with Israel anymore. Even the USA seems to be turning it’s back on the Holy Land. Are we entering the end of the ‘end-times’?

The nations are in turmoil, natural calamities have risen to Biblical levels. The world economy is in shambles. The whole world is looking for a leader or some group to rise up and solve all of these impossible problems both politically and economically.

Look at the current state of the American Church. The mainline churches have turned their back on Biblical teaching –even now the Presbyterians. The Southern Baptists have been losing members and are now considering a name change. A week doesn’t seem to go by without a new scandal rising up concerning one Charismatic or Pentecostal preacher or another.

We are definitely in a time of transition. Old leaders and denominations are falling and new ones will rise up to take their place. God is setting his church in order.

Right now is a good time for all of us in the ministry to get down on our knees and seek a clear understanding and vision of where we are right now and where the lord wants to take us. If changes need to take place in our lives- now is the time to make them.

Now is the time to repent of past failures and seek a closer relationship with the Master. it is His church after all. We keep praying –”thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done” -It is now time to really mean it and truly understand what we are asking for. Now is the season to Turn, Turn, Turn.            *Top

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(by hickory hardscrabble via Flickr)

According to Jamie Work, pastor of Candies Creek Baptist Church in Charleston, Tenn.:

God turned an “11-day summit into a six-week revival” at Candies Creek, and the revival is continuing.
“As a result of corporate prayer and repentance, God is birthing us into a brand-new church.”

In his testimony before the SBC Executive Committee, Pastor Work told how Candies Creek spent weeks in prayer before the initial April 10-20 revival meetings at the church. As a result, the Holy Spirit birthed a move of God that resulted in over 25 hours of public confession of sin:

“We are still dealing with what God has been saying to us. Our world has been turned upside down.”

Also the church itself ended up confessing its corporate sin.  The following were some of the sins covered:

prayerlessness; superficiality with God and one another; failure to practice biblical, redemptive church discipline; lukewarmness (a lack of commitment); preoccupation with mammon (money and stuff); and programmatic worship (non-Spirit led).

Though the revival meetings officially ended after six weeks, regular prayer meetings continue to be well attended by the members. Pastor Work says that as a result of the move:

Candies Creek will “push all ministries off the table and put prayer in the center. Then, we will rebuild our ministries around prayer.”

We need to take people deeper into their walk with the Lord in order to get them into a deeper relationship with each other.”

As a result of their experience, Pastor work put forth a resolution before the recent SBC conference in Phoenix,Arizona seeking revival across all of America beginning with prayer and repentance.

See the following resolution adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention:

WHEREAS, Both the Old and New Testaments, as well as church history, attest to the reality that God works powerfully and manifests His presence among His people through authentic God-seeking prayer and repentance; and

WHEREAS, Jesus expressed deep grief and righteous anger when He came to the temple and found it to be something other than a “house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17); and

WHEREAS, The book of Acts teaches through the birth of the church that what is birthed in prayer is of necessity sustained by prayer (e.g., Acts 1:14; 2:1, 42; 4:31); and

WHEREAS, The common corporate sins of many churches include, but are not limited to, prayerlessness, lukewarmness, neglect of biblical church discipline, and shallow relationships with God and with one another; and

WHEREAS, In our preoccupation with Mammon, we have too often embraced unbiblical priorities in our spending, our giving, our response to the poor, and our allocation of resources, assuming by our actions, contrary to our Lord’s explicit teaching, that our lives consist in the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15); and

WHEREAS, For the past fifty years wickedness and family collapse have been increasing rapidly, and at the same time we have seen that programs and strategies alone cannot revive lagging baptism rates or anemic discipleship; and

WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention adopted the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report in 2010, a part of which called for pastors to lead their churches in Solemn Assemblies “for the purpose of calling Christ’s people to return to God, to repentance, and to humility in service to a renewed commitment to Christ and the Great Commission”; and

WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention adopted the addition to the Convention Calendar of Activities a focused Day of Prayer for the SBC in 2011 and for the years to follow; and

WHEREAS, God has already promised that He will not despise a “broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17); now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, June 14-15, 2011, do hereby beseech all pastors, congregations, ministry leaders, and denominational workers to seek the Lord in the manner of 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Joel 2:12-17, and to repent corporately in their various churches of all sins which God’s Spirit reveals; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on all Southern Baptist churches to renew their first-love devotion to Jesus Christ through full confession of and repentance from all revealed sin, and that they humbly declare their utter dependence upon, and glad surrender to, His grace; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage all Southern Baptists to pursue a life of genuine repentance, Kingdom-focused prayer times for sweeping revival and spiritual awakening, and consistent prayer for specific lost people, missions, and ministry; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptist churches to embrace corporate prayer and repentance for revival in the hope that God would be merciful to our churches, the Southern Baptist Convention, the United States of America, and the peoples of the world for the glory of His great Name.

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Wow. Ted Haggard is in the midst of starting a new church. Here is one of the comments he made to his new congregation:

"Tiger Woods needs to golf. Michael Vick needs to be playing football.  Ted Haggard needs to be leading a church”

Really?

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal that has since gone ‘viral’ on the Internet he said:

“I over-repented”

-For his extra-marital relationship with male escort Mike Jones and using drugs?

Exactly what does that mean? Does that mean that he should have kept on pastoring anyway? Seems to be implying that. What about the Biblical requirements for Christian leaders?

I truly believe that grace trumps judgment when repentance is present. But ‘over-repentance’? –never heard of it.

What do you think out there? Does Ted belong back in the pulpit? The four pastors who were supervising Haggard’s recovery do not think so:

"we cannot endorse his return to vocational ministry."

Also, it seems rather lame to me to start a new church in the same community where his old church is. Particularly after he agreed to leave the area and his old church supported him and his family with that stipulation for a couple of years. Why not start over some place else where a new church and pastor are actually needed?  

I know that in the dominate American culture today sin is no longer recognized. However this doesn’t even pass the ‘smell test’ among unbelievers. It isn’t the sin that bothers most of those folks but the hypocrisy of it all.

But what ever happened to an understanding of sin in the church? Sadly in the American church today so many seem to be going the way of the culture with the only caveat being that everyone makes mistakes but Grace covers it all and once saved always saved? Now this applies to a fallen pastor also? 200 folks in his new congregation seem to think so.            *Top

Here’s A prophetic call for repentance across America but particularly for LA and Southern California from Rob Winters of Phoenix, Arizona:

“A Call for Repentance”

Some quotes from the article:

Although the “big one” has not yet struck the southern California coast, recent earthquakes that have devastated Haiti, Chile and other countries along the “ring of fire” have set off an alarm in my spirit. …

Therefore, I am issuing a call to repentance to Christians throughout America, especially those in greater Los Angeles. You may be wondering why Los Angeles is ripe for judgment. For the past century, through music and media, Hollywood has become the headquarters for the propagation of pornography, violence, greed, alcoholism, the drug culture, New Age practices, homosexual and pro-choice agendas, and a host of other anti-Christ views that have poisoned the lives of millions throughout the world.

Although repentance and intercession will lessen the number of deaths and degree of destruction, the Los Angeles earthquake will be formidable and is inevitable. However, we need to take action and mobilize prayer now.

<<Read the rest>>

Response: Repentance is definitely in order and a major component of any revival. Living in So. California myself, I would rather have revival instead. There is already a major stirring among the young people out here particularly on college and university campuses. I am hoping for another ‘Jesus People’ type move.

Southern California is already going through some major economic difficulties. The state of California is nearly bankrupt and increasing taxes right and left mostly through new fees for everything. Many businesses have left California and have relocated in Las Vegas and in Phoenix because of the excessive costs of doing business in the state due to taxes, business fees, and new ‘global warming’ environmental regulations.

The unemployment rate is officially over 10% but in reality it is closer to 20%. Those who has been unemployed for over 6 months are dropped from the official list. This doesn’t even begin to cover underemployment.

Some of the things that Rob Winters looks for have already happened. A major earthquake- ‘The Big One’ is long over due in Southern California and many Christians have had dreams and visions of it. It is a matter of time and God’s timing.

Major intercession and prayers among the Christian community in So. California have held back God’s judgment. I am still praying for major Revival instead. There are thousands of others out here who are doing the same.            *Top

(Ted Haggard by feastoffun via Flickr)

Here’s an interview that J. Lee Grady did with Ted and Gayle Haggard: Words of Repentance From Ted Haggard

Response: This was a devastating episode for many Christians, particularly for their church in Colorado. I have always been unhappy with the way that many in the church ‘shoot our wounded’, but also with how little consistency there seems to be in the American church when it comes to Biblical procedures of discipline and restoration to ministry.

I will admit that I have been extremely unhappy with how Ted Haggard and Gayle have handled their ‘exile’. Their choice of forums for airing their situation and grievances have been down right unscriptural. The appearances on ‘Oprah’, dozens of TV news shows, and particularly the HBO documentary The Trials of Ted Haggard have not been very helpful from my perspective. In fact, I believe that they have been used by the enemy to embarrass and belittle the church.

Nevertheless, our Lord offers repentance and grace for all who have fallen short, if repentance it is indeed. What do you think?  

(-Picture by WorldIslandInfo.com via Flickr)

US out of wedlock births now exceed 40%. A real indicator that the nation and the dominant culture is headed at full steam away from Biblical Christianity or so it would seem. Unfortunately, I would imagine that the statistics for the American Church are only slightly better.

It is amazing to me how many supposed Christians follow the dominant culture and live together before marriage. I’m sure that many of you Pastors out there have seen this trend.

The super abundant grace taught in so many churches has opened the door to immorality without fear of any judgment from other Christians or from God. Worse yet, so many Christian leaders have jumped the ship and live contrary to Christian Biblical standards and yet brazenly expect to continue in the ministry.

Many see no reason why they should change. A homosexual Bishop continues to live with his same-sex partner and causes schism and division among a 70 million member association but preaches that the Bible is wrong and everyone that opposes him must change?

A former president of an Assoc. of Evangelicals has an affair with a homosexual prostitute but says that now he is ready to minister again but the Church is treating him rather badly and he airs all his dirty linen and attitudes on TV–obviously being used by enemies of the church.

A well known mega-church pastoring couple separate, keep on ministering, and try to split up their huge ministry like it is some kind of multi-million $ business.

A major prophetic minister falls into homosexuality and alcohol but rejects the plan for a supervised recovery, goes his own way, finds a group that extends fellowship to him and now says he is ready to return.

Then the latest, a major healing evangelist falls into adultery, divorces his wife and leaves his children, but now is ready to begin restoration? Because he will never do that one again since he is now married to his sin and intents to continue in it?  More shocking, several major leaders seem to be on board with it all?

The fastest growing religious category in America is “none”. Why not, the church has become just like everyone else.

But it is now time for the faithful church to stand up and walk a different path–with signs following but also expect the beginning of real persecution from a rapidly departing dominant culture.            *Top 

QUOTE: “I feel like I was born again. I will live my life, fixing my eyes only on Jesus on the cross.”—70-year-old Lee Keun-ahn

Lee Keun-ahn who was known as the “Torture Master” in the 1980s because of the inhumane ways he used in extracting information for the North Korean military regime.

Lee went into hiding for 12 years during which he became a Christian and later turned himself in to South Korean authorities and spent seven years in prison where he enrolled in a correspondence seminary school. Now Lee serves as an ordained pastor in South Korea. [koreatimes.co.kr, 11/1/08]            *Top

Senior pastor Steve Gray said that he began to know that something was different in his congregation when lots of folks began to testify of miraculous healing, but also they began to flock to the altar and become changed:

“They’re becoming different people, we see the fruit of it. The commitment and desire to love Jesus and to serve Jesus more … than they ever had in their entire life. They have obviously been revived.”

“A lot of the children are receiving as powerful a touch as anyone, if [the Holy Spirit] doesn’t hit the children then, to me, it’s not a revival.”

“We have these tremendous powerful moves of God, then we sit down and we listen to the Word and we let the Word of God do its work in us.”

Response: It is my expectation that major revival will spread across all of North America in 100′s and maybe even 1000′s of churches, but that the form it takes will be somewhat different at every location, church, and denomination. There is healing here, but it is somewhat different than the Lakeland outpouring.

The Jena revival earlier this year, in Feb. and March, was different still in that repentance and cross-racial forgiveness and unity seemed to be the dominate features.

What is truly remarkable about the outpouring in KC Mo., is that this church was the home of the 1996 Smithton Outpouring, which lasted more than five years and drew 225,000 people from every U.S. state and 60 countries worldwide. Who says that lighting can’t strike twice in one place?  Especially if the Holy Spirit is directing it!            *Top