Lawlessness, Lies & Political Fires Reveal the Church's Weakness - Little Discernment!

I've not seen lawlessness, anarchy, lies and deception in my lifetime like I see it today.  I marvel at the response of many Christians for the very challenges introduced through the acts and words of those who practice lawlessness and lies.  These serve as a political fire that tries our faith. 1 Peter 1:5-7 reveals God's purpose in the fire and it is to test our faith such that Jesus will be revealed, glorified and honored. 

The recent trials introduced through the last few presidential elections combined with the current Supreme Court nomination of Judge Kavanaugh have revealed the immaturity of the Church at large.

Hebrews 5:12-14 says...

 "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

Maturity is determined by the believer's ability to discern......decide...... or judge between good and evil.  ​Now I can already hear some crying:

But Jesus said "don't judge"  
I marvel because even the unsaved seem to know Matthew 7:1 which says, "“Judge not, that you be not judged."

Everyone loves to quote it but so few understand it because they only read bits and pieces of the Bible occasionally or, usually not at all.  They just repeat what some minister tells them.  You see, if you read Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:16 and Matthew 7:5 you would understand Jesus taught us to not "pray" like the hypocrites, don't "fast" like the hypocrites and finally, don't "judge" like the hypocrites.  Why by Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus is teaching us how to judge a false prophet by examining their character.  

Why those who espouse "don't judge," are either ignorant or they just choose to ignore 1 Corinthians 2:15 which says "But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one."

We have to learn to discern! 
Why?  Because:

• Satan and his servants can present themselves as an angel of light - 2 Corinthians 11:14
• A false apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher can also speak the truth  - 2 Peter 2
• A righteous apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher can speak or teach something that is not true - Proverbs 12:17
• The best lies and deceit include the most truth - Psalm 10:7, 34:13 and 36:3
• A righteous, honest, man or woman can  find themselves in a tough situation and make a wrong decision and sin.
• We need to be able to discern between the motive of the person and the truth which is presented. Matthew 7:15-20
• The wicked seek to manipulate using deceit with emotions to hide or obscure truth

Spiritually mature people are called to judge "all things."  They don't judge people.  They just make decisions about words, actions and motives. Ultimately, God judges people.  But, they don't understand that because they don't know the foundational doctrines spoken of in Hebrews 6:1-2.  "​ Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."

Understanding the eternal judgment is critical. It's covered well in my book, Hebrews 6 Foundations. 

Snares & Demonic IEDs of the Devil
There is a concept in scripture of first the natural and then the spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46).  Using this concept I'd like to use the modern terrorist and their IEDs as an example.  IED stands for Improvised Explosive Device.  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that we are not ignorant of the enemies devices.  It's how Satan takes advantage of God's people and trips them up.

In this case I'm going to redefine IED and call it an "Improvised Evil Deception."  Satan uses half truths (half truths = a lie) to entrap a lot of people. The reason he is so effective at this is because of the ignorance of the truth and their lack of knowledge and understanding in applying the truth in different situations.  

For example because of people's ignorance of God's word and His ways they don't understand how:

• Balaam could be a false prophet yet every single word he prophesied that is recorded in scripture about Israel was accurate.  (Numbers 22-23, Jude 1:11, and 2 Peter 2:15). 
• To actually judge a word (1 Corinthians 14:29) and the fact that every one will give an account for every word they speak (Matt. 12:36-37). 
• King David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, a man after God's own heart could be called that when he murdered Uriah after he'd committed adultery with Bathsheba.  (2 Samuel 11 - 12) 
• It was the policies of King David's administration and of every reformer after him that made their administration righteous in-spite of individual moral failures or poor choices. 
• It was the unrighteous policies of kings like Jeroboam that enacted laws that encouraged the practices that encouraged the murder of children, sexual perversion and the undermining of God's design for the family.
• God can choose to work His will through flawed men and women. (ie. King Cyrus, Isaiah 45, and Jehu, 1 Kings 19:17 and 2 Kings 9).
• America's judicial system was founded upon, inspired and informed by the Mosaic law found in the Bible.  For example, this current fiasco and false accusations leveled by Ford against Judge Kavanaugh is addressed in Deuteronomy 19-22 which would never allow a 36 year old accusation to be leveled, there would have to be evidence combined with corroborating witnesses which agree.   In fact, a slanderer and false accuser would suffer the same punishment as Proverbs 6:16-19 reveals God hates lying, false accusations and those who sow discord.
• Lawlessness is a sign of the Devil's handiwork. (2 Thess. 2:7-11)
• The Greek word translated Devil literally means slanderer and false accuser (Proverbs 6:16-19)
• John 8:31-47 describes Satan as the father of liars and murders and he came to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). 
• God loves, esteems and actually is The Truth (John 8:31 & John 14:6)

Foundation for Discernment 
God's word is the foundation for discernment.  We are called to make decisions; to decide between good and evil.  In Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 God calls His people as "kings and priests."  Jesus is our King and the Apostle and High Priest of our profession (Revelation 19:11, Hebrews 3:1 & 7:1-25).  Kings are called to make decisions and then war for what is right while priests are called to pray and intercede.  Spiritual men and women judge words and actions.  This is accomplished by comparing a word, an action, a law or policy against God's word. For example:

• President Trump has enacted policies that supports and defends Israel and moved the embassy to Jerusalem.  The law was passed in 1995 but he was the 1st president to actually act upon it.  Click here for Jerusalem, Israel & the 70 Year Prophetic Sign.  The UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has taken many stands to defend Israel from unjust accusations from many nations who regularly violate the civil rights of their own citizens (ie. click here for 9 nations on UN Civil Rights Commission who have a terrible record of civil rights abuse.)
  • Genesis 12:2-3 - God will bless those who bless Israel
  • Evil attacks Israel and lies while good protects defends and blesses Israel. 
• President Trump has done more that the last 4 presidents to protect the unborn babies and sought to defund Planned Parenthood.  Click here for LifeNews report on Trump's efforts. 
  • John 8:44 - Satan is a liar, the father of lies and a murderer.
  • Deuteronomy 30:19 - choose life not death
  • Those who advocate for Planned Parenthood and abortion frequently say it is the mother's body.  That in an of itself is a lie for only the baby is murdered.  The mother does not have two hearts and four kidneys.  They ignore the fact that it has to do with sexual relations outside the bounds of marriage that God's word defines as abominations in Leviticus 18 and 20.  Abominations are acts that destroy people.  
• The Democrat Party Platform (2012 Platform click here) supports. abortion and homosexual marriage.  The Republican Party platform (2012 Platform click here) supported traditional marriage and protected the life of the unborn.  I have a pastor friend from Florida who his relative argued with him saying he could be in the Democrat party and still be a Christian.  Well, Christian means Christ-like and I don't know how anyone would be Christ-like advocating for the murder of innocent children and anything other than traditional marriage.  It's hypocritical.  Note that when I was young I was part of the Democrat party until I learned about the platform.  Then I switched to the Republican party because of their platform.  The Republican's platform is still the most God honoring, but I found the leadership of the Republican party saying one thing and then doing another.  Hypocrisy.  I did not leave them as much as they left me.  The truth is, I choose to stand with our Lord and on His side no matter what the issue.  That is where I want to be.  
  • The last Democratic Presidency for 8 years saw lower economic growth (below 2% GDP growth), higher unemployment, debt doubled to a record high of over 18 trillion and the war grew worse with ISIS growing.
  • Since Trump to office and the policies went into effect the US economic growth surged to more that 4% GDP, a rate double what Obama said would be the new normal, and there is record low unemployment in all sectors with the lowest unemployment rate records being set for minorities while the war on terror, well ISIS is almost non-existent now.  The US has just taken the lead in oil production in the world and Israel has just discovered the largest oil reserve in the world. 
  • To understand what is happening look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14.  It describes the blessings that come on a nation when they honor God's word while verses 15 to the end describe experiences (economic loss, growing creditor base, debt, loss of wars, etc.) that were magnified during the last administration. 
• President Trump's personal behavior at times is inexcusable such as the Stormy Daniels situation. The former FEC chairman notes that his payment to her was not illegal but there is no doubt  his actions were immoral.  As Dobson states, he is a baby Christian who I understand re-dedicated his life back to the Lord after Stormy Daniels. 
  • Does President Trump get a pass?  No more than King David got a pass when he committed adultery and murder.  He suffered the consequences of his sin though God did extend mercy because when confronted David humbled himself, acknowledged his failure and repented.  At the same time his policies did God's will.  It can be the same for President Trump.
  • This is why we are admonished to pray for our leaders.  1 Timothy 2:1-4
  • The spiritually mature will be able to discern between God's agenda and a person's word or action that is contrary to God's word.
  • In fact, the spiritually mature will seek the confront and restore with a spirit of meekness. Galatians 6:1
• When have you ever heard of witches and satanist banding together to curse and put a hex on a president or an administration in mass?  They've joined with the Democratic liberal left to do this.   Click here for witches cast a mass spell against Trump.  
  • They are not really against Trump as much as they are against the agenda God is working through Trump.  
  • Whenever we join in repeating what the witches, satanists and evil people say the righteous joins in cursing the leader of their nation.  James 3 teaches us that this ought not to be.  We must not lend our tongue to cursing.   Acts 23:5 and Exodus 22:8 teach us not to speak evil against a ruler and 1 Timothy 4 teaches us to pray for them.  
  • Like King Cyrus, an unbelieving king, was prophesied of and selected by God for a divine purpose, so God choose Trump in a like manner.  See Isaiah 45 and the Trump Prophecies. 
  • Many Christians have joined in standing against God's agenda and cursing God's choice to lead America at this time.  In 1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15 God says to not touch his anointed ones in an unholy manner. Doing so, sets the one who curses or opposes God's agenda for God to resist them.  That's not wise.

The Mature Christian
The mature Christian is able to discern between God's word, a law or a policy, and the personal actions of an individual.  They are able to discern the character of an evil impostor (Matt. 7:15-20) and a true or false word. 

God's word is the standard.  His Holy Spirit is our guide.  

How are you doing?  

Are you standing with the Republican Party, the Democrat Party, with Trump, with Clinton, Kavanaugh or.... with our Lord? 

Why Does This Matter?  
Bottom line, the United States, the Church in the United States has a role to play in our Father's end-time harvest strategy.  My interest and desire is to steward well the resources God has given us in this nation so we can completely fulfill our divine destiny in Christ. 

So, I personally seek to stand where our Lord stands on each issue, situation and person.  I pray we mature so that our Father receives from us a harvest of souls worthy of Christ's sacrifice. May  our Lord receive that which He prayed in John 17, that we would be one as He and the Father are one.  To Jesus Christ be all glory, honor and fame.  

Philippians 3:12-16 express my final thoughts well. 

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind."

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