Baseline

Can You See Our Baseline Is Shifting?

  For decades in many circles of Christianity, a leader in the prophetic would say something like, “Get ready, a time is coming.” This would often get people excited and you could sell more books and stuff. But those days are shifting into our rearview mirror. This is because so much has now happened that it is far more accurate to say, “The time has come, do you see it?”

  I did not follow the now-dethroned Mike Bickle, but I do remember one word he said that just might be the only true prophetic word he ever said, “The expression of Christianity will change in one generation.” Who knew that Mike himself would be the tipping point in our Charismatic culture for change? His legacy of deception, evil, and victimization would be at the very heart of the explosion now fueling a major, and growing grassroots movement for justice. 

  For those of us who had already detached from the Babylonian church system years ago. We watch as a new batch of believers get pulled away from the idols they unknowingly served. We watch, with care as we now see online people walking through the process of waking up. First the shock, and now we are seeing the anger stage. But all these things will eventually pass, allowing people to move on to more healthy thinking. 

  Most likely one of the best examples of this came from a well-known pastor and author by the name of Joel Richardson. Building a reputation for defending the victims, Joel recently defended them in a tweet against worship leader Sean Feucht. Not that what he was saying was inaccurate, it’s just the fire in which he said it when he called Sean a “Manipulative little twit.” This is because the Zeal for the Lord’s house is building, and people who still hold firm to the old system are going to get run over.

  What we are seeing happening now, is that our baseline of understanding is shifting as major shifts are taking place in Charismatic thinking. The former lifts up accomplishments in ministry to be admired before the people. The new thinking is lifting up the victim over ministry systems to Christ. The second view is far closer to Jesus’s calling on Earth. Luke 4:17-21

  There was a time I would have called my former boss, Rick Joyner something like a “Self-serving deceptive Klingon Targ.” I even posted this video on his personal page that day I left the ministry. But of course, it was deleted within hours of posting. 

Click to listen on Spotify

Other parts of this Shift.

  Once upon a time, a well-known writer by the name of Solomon penned the now-famous words in scripture, “There is nothing new under the sun,” Ecclesiastes 1:9. As much as we would like to think all the stuff we are now seeing happening in the Body of Christ is new, it’s not. The devil hardly ever changes his tactics and the different types of spiritual warfare we see are the same stuff, just with a different twist for each location.

  I’ve watched patterns all my life and sometimes they are easy to spot, other times it takes something to happen for you to see it for you to act on it. Case in point, all this stuff happening with Bickle is now growing and expanding into other places like a ripple in a pond. It has caused me to think of older things that I know of, other patterns.

  Many years ago I was in a meeting here in North Idaho. We were talking with a person who was a local prophetic minister about some of her experiences in the area. I heard the story of her interaction with a local pastor in Spirit Lake. Something was seriously off about this pastor and the Holy Spirit eventually showed the person I talked with that this person was a Satanist, a wolf in sheep’s clothing on assignment. 

  He brought a lot of people to faith in Christ and then turned around and deliberately destroyed their faith. Leaving them hurt, wounded, and unwilling to ever have anything to do with Christ again. Eventually, the Lord showed the woman how to deal with him, and all this turned into a major confrontation before the congregation. Long story short, the church closed that day, the pastor left and they even tore the steps off the front of the building so no one could get in. I often reflect on this story, especially since for years I have driven past this building, and only recently have the steps been rebuilt. A prophetic sign?

  In pondering this I have watched things unfold in places like IHOP, MorningStar, Bethel, and other smaller ministries. And now I can’t help but to wonder, is the same things happening here? Did we have pretenders in the pulpits or well-meaning believers who got deceived and off track? It may yet be too early to tell, as each ministry is different, but it is something to watch for. Regardless some of these ministries are now getting exposed as fortresses of Charismatic witchcraft. 

 Right now our assumptions, concepts, values, and practices about the Body of Christ are changing. Our baseline way of viewing spiritual reality is now living in a blender as more and more “facts” get tossed in. Every major prophetic word spoken by the big names is now on trial. Will what comes out of this be of value?

  It is well known that the prophetic history of IHOP was a sham, propaganda invented for the masses to believe. Many are now questioning MorningStar’s prophetic history that Rick wrote for the same reason. Influential leaders in the Body are starting to take a closer look at the actions of Bethel/Bill Johnson. I know people who have been given dreams with prophetic clues to investigate other ministries like Jesse Duplantis. 

 

The Body has Prayed

  “The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.” Exodus 3:7-9

  The lost, hurt, and wounded have been crying out to the Lord for some time, mostly in silence against the religious structure in the land, but the Lord has heard them. This is why so much is happening right now. What is it we have been praying?  “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:9-13

  This guideline prayer has been calling the realities of heaven into our world. The bread of Justice, honor, holiness, and other spiritual qualities has been marching forward, exposing deception, greed, and lust. This is one of the ways the Kingdom is coming. In the Charismatic, our leaders have trained us to only look at certain gifting like prophetic, apostolic, and healing. All though these are good gifts, our hyper-focus has dulled our spiritual senses to the full range of what the Holy Spirit is bringing forth.

  As we zero in on the presence of the Lord in this moment of history and participate in his ways. The pretenders who sit in leadership roles will get exposed and lose influence over the wounded. Jesus is our biblical model to follow on earth to the best of our current abilities. This truth is well established in scripture and can be proven over and over again. Jesus's basic mission or calling on earth was laid out as, “and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:17-19

   When you read this, what do you hear the most? Is it his desire for a miraculous healing? Or his heart to the oppressed? Let what you hear guide your future actions.

The Body has Decided.

  Various leaders like Mike Bickle have been teaching a distorted view of Matthew 18 that benefits themselves. The reality is the process of Matthew 18 is one of increasing exposure until the whole Body is informed. This is exactly what is happening now with IHOP and was prevented with Todd Bentley. All the evidence is coming forth before the eyes of the Body. Why must this be so public you might wonder? 

  Remember I said we are praying “on earth as it is in heaven?” So is there a heavenly parallel to all this…yes there is. First of all we know that a great multitude is being assembled in heaven, these are all the saints of the past. They watch, observe, and participate in everything happening in heaven. So in this, we can understand nothing is hidden before the throne, everything is seen.

  But let’s open the window and look in for a moment. “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9-10

  So it’s clear that when the Body in Heaven is assembled, the King holds the court and makes his judgments. Now I know some people will argue but that’s Jesus and we should hold off on judgements because only he can judge. Well if that’s your thinking then you're either not going to like what I say next or your eyes are about to get opened.

  In John 9 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Then in Matthew 5  he told his followers that, “You are the light of the world.” That means he transferred authority to his family on earth. This totally backs up “The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to mankind.” Psalm 115:16. We have authority when we assemble as one in the Lord to make decisions and judgments. This is why Matthew 18 must expand to the public arena so that all see it and understand. Do you need more evidence?

  In the Corinthian assembly, there was a case of incest taking place and the Apostle Paul called on the believers to pass judgment on this man. Read this…”It is actually reported that there is SEXUAL IMMORALITY among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I HAVE ALREADY PASSED JUDGEMENT in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, HAND THIS MAN OVER TO SATAN for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 5:1-5

  There is nothing new under the sun, and what is happening in places like IHOP is no different than what happened in the Corinthian assembly. There are many other scriptures, even from Jesus that make it clear that judgment is not only possible but encouraged.

  As Judgements are being rendered, our baseline understanding is shifting and we are starting to see evidence in some ministries that are becoming smaller. Keep praying for full exposure, this wave of justice needs to go the full distance it was intended for. This is one of the necessary steps that must take place before seeing the day of the spotless bride.