As we studied last week, love is the essential foundation for all true discernment. This is why we teach our prophetically gifted people not to trust a negative revelation about anyone they have been hurt or rejected by, but rather resolve to pray for them, grow in love for them, and only accept positive revelation about them until they are healed of any rejection or resentment. Of course, this is a principle and not a law. Principles have exceptions, but we have found this to be one that rarely has an exception.
Likewise, some of the most diabolical doctrines in history originated from obvious wounds or rejection on the part of those who formulated them. The great Reformer, Luther, was convinced that the Jewish rabbis would embrace his Reformation theology, but they rejected him outright. He responded with such vile teachings about the Jews that many see them as the foundation upon which the Nazi holocaust was built. Though Luther may have been one of the most remarkable prophetic voices to arise in that period, and he is worthy of much honor, his life and legacy will always be tainted by those teachings that obviously were born out of rejection.
Many other destructive teachings have arisen out of rejection or wounds that have done much damage to the church, and Christians. For this reason, we must always keep in mind that the Lord came and laid down His life for the very ones who rejected Him. Rejection may be our greatest opportunity to grow in love, faith, and patience. Do not waste your trials. Embrace them as great doorways to the kingdom. Resolve to especially love those who have wounded you. In this way we overcome evil with good.
The very word "history" comes from the two words His-story. History cannot be really understood without understanding His work in man's affairs. He is to be found in every place, in every generation. He is continually working to reconcile the world to Himself so that it can be restored. His messengers are likewise doing the same.
It is also true that He is at work in everything that happens to us. In all things the overwhelming purpose is to draw us near to Him so that we can be conformed to His image. This is the reason for every trial. The quicker we can embrace this and respond rightly, the quicker the trials will usually pass, and we can go on to bigger ones!
This is true. In Christ, the reward for passing a trial is a bigger trial. To the immature or self-centered this is an unbearable thought, but to the wise and mature it is a great honor and privilege. This is why we are told in James 1:2-5:
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (NKJV).
This is why it was said concerning Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:22 that they went about "strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God'" (NKJV). This is true of us as individuals, but it is also true of the world. The tribulations have been preparing the world for the coming of the Lord. "The great tribulation" will be the final door to the kingdom that the world has to pass through. For this reason, we should always think of our trials as doors to the kingdom. Don't run from them. Go through them to enter the kingdom.
Our history, church history, and world history are all about Him. They cannot be really understood without seeing His works and His purpose in them. Presently, the history of the church and the world is marked mostly by catastrophes, crises, wars, and conflicts. After barely surviving one, another bigger one appears on the radar screen, just as "the war to end all wars" led to a bigger war that shook the very foundations of civilization. Since World War II, there have been many conflicts, but nothing on that scale, even though the ultimate destruction of the world hangs by the power of our modern weapons. The reason why this did not happen in the Cold War or since is a Divine restraint. There is a destiny and history taking place in the world that few see, and fewer still understand.
The Lord Jesus had the legal right to take dominion over the earth immediately after His resurrection. He didn't because this whole age has been about preparing a people who will rule and reign with Him as His bride, sons, and daughters, having been adopted into the very family of God Almighty. This has been the main purpose for His restraint, but He has also worked His will into the fabric of history in a way that will help the world transition into the age in which He reigns.
Just as the dangers of world conflicts have been raised dramatically over the last decades, likewise, the spiritual battle for the souls of men has escalated dramatically. Through the rest of this age, we will have conflict that increases and subsides like contractions that come upon a mother about to give birth, which is in fact what is happening.
Just as the world's weapons have advanced to the point of unprecedented destructive potential, so have the divinely powerful weapons that the Lord is entrusting to His people for unprecedented salvation. Understanding spiritual warfare and the divinely powerful weapons that we have been given is crucial for every Christian in these times, both to take advantage of the spiritual opportunities, and defend those who are His. Those who do not put their spiritual armor on and keep it on will be in continual and increasing jeopardy. This will continue to increase until the end of this age. Then the well-earned peace will be ours and the world's.
War is one of the biggest tests of our character and spiritual fabric that there is. In the intensity of conflict, when mistakes can lead to death or serious wounds, or the loss of our close friends, it tends to bring out what we are composed of very fast. The same is true of spiritual warfare. It was for this reason that the apostles and prophets used military and battle metaphors for many of their teachings. They do apply.
One principle of warfare that was devised by the British elite special forces, the SAS, and adopted by our own special operations units, was that those who were to go on a mission and do the fighting were the ones who would plan the mission. This brought a reality to the planning that those sitting in the comfort and safety of a command center may not have, preventing the "anything is possible" idealism that was not reality, and would get many people needlessly killed, if not jeopardize the mission itself.
How does this apply for us? As stated above, some of the worst doctrines and practices in church history were born out of spiritual wounds or rejection instead of the heart of God. The other tragic deceptions, bad doctrines, and bad practices have been born out of an idealism from those sitting in a safe place far removed from the place of having to implement them. Those in the trenches doing the real fighting, the pastors, leaders of real churches or ministries, and the people in them, often find that these not only lead to a useless waste of time and resources, but they can actually jeopardize the mission of preaching the gospel and raising up a victorious church. For this reason, I learned long ago not to trust many of the teachings, especially the eschatology of anyone who is not in a vital and real local church relationship, or actually engaged in a real and effective mission.
Studying history is crucial if we are to understand our own time and the future, but we must also understand how and where the lessons of history do not apply. For example, a general today can learn some very important general principles of warfare from studying Napoleon, but there is a limit to how they apply in our own time with modern weapons and conditions.
We stand where we are today because we are standing on the shoulders of all who have gone before us, and who are worthy of honor. But we also must understand that we have to do our own fighting, and we will have to fight differently in some ways than any who have gone before us. We must join the lessons and wisdom of our fathers and mothers with present wisdom and revelation that can only come from a present relationship with the Holy Spirit.
True faith in the Bible does not just believe that everything written in it is true, but believes in it to see it happen in our own lives. The name of the Lord is not "I Was," or "I Will Be," but it is "I Am." If we are going to really know Him, we must know Him in the present. We study history and prophecy to learn His ways, but that is not the same as knowing Him. That requires a present relationship.
