One of the most important lessons I have learned, from years as a pastor and leader who works with other leaders, is to have a robust, full-orbed theological foundation that is practical enough to meet the challenges of ministry, cultural engagement and life.
By “theology” I am referring to the study of God, the scriptures and its application to every aspect of life.
We in the Charismatic expression of the Body of Christ have had much teaching on prophetic ministry since the 1980’s, including some good teaching that brought clarity and balance but also some other teachings that may have been extreme.
All in all, when examining Scripture I find one area of lack regarding prophetic emphasis has been the narrow focus of prophetic ministry to only the realm of the church. There has been some powerful prophetic ministry via preaching, exhortation and sharing what people have heard from God’s heart, either for individuals and/or for the nation. But most of it has only been heard by other church people and it rarely, if ever, goes outside the four walls of a church building or church-related functions.
A very important conversation occurred between an earthly governor and the Governor of the Universe that saliently disclosed the main purpose for the coming of the Messiah. In John 18:37 we find:
Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are you a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
As in most significant epochs in history (Luke 19:44), most people today are unaware that society has already crossed the most important threshold in over 100 years, since the advent of the airplane. The signs are already here.
Of course, what I am speaking of (based on the title) is the nature, essence and significance of humanity versus non-living machinations of humanity (the human/robot or humanoid narrative). What was mere science fiction a few years ago has already arrived. There are already numerous robot expos in several places of the world, as well as more and more science fiction movies depicting robot-human relations.
As someone who has been involved in teaching and implementing principles of the Kingdom of God since the mid-1990’s I have observed many ways Christian leaders do not expand the kingdom! The following are some of the most common ways we work without kingdom effectiveness.
The Supreme Court is made up of nine unelected justices who are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Once confirmed, they serve for life. These justices have been making so many landmark decisions the past several decades that many are saying our nation is no longer a republican democracy but rather an oligarchy (a nation run by a team or committee of people).
There is a seismic shift-taking place today in the marketplace and the church. We need to understand how to respond if we are going to bring systemic transformation. This article deals with how the church should apply the gospel in response to cultural shifts.
First of all, it is a mistake to believe that the culture will shift because of a church revival or a societal awakening. Often, we as believers think the key to societal transformation is to convert masses of people, but the truth is that everyone is led by the decisions of the approximately 3-5% of people who make up the cultural elite in a society. Thus, the only way to affect cultural change is to convert the elite who formulate culture in every sphere of society.
There is much confusion as to whether the law of God as found in the Ten Commandments and civic laws are still in use in this New Testament era. On the one side there are hyper-grace teachers who say that the law is no longer necessary and is only useful as shadows and types that point us to Christ. On the other hand there are people who overstate the role of the law and actually put Christians in bondage, similar to the way the Judaizes did to the church (read Galatians, Hebrews and Acts 15).
The greatest sin in the Bible by far is the sin of idolatry. Idolatry is when we violate the first of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), which is “You shall have no other gods before me.” It is when we put something or someone first in our lives before the living and true God. Idolatry is the root cause of all other sins, which is why the first two commandments deal with this.
