read Confessions of a Recovering Scoffer, part 1 for the beginning of this tale.
The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does
not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matt 3:12
Once the IHOP dude got it together a little bit, he brought a powerful message based off of Matthew 3, where John the Baptist began his ministry. The Pharisees, the religious people of the day, the denominational leaders, if you will, came to where J.B. was baptizing and he totally called them out. “You brood of vipers!”, he said (v.7). Talk about not being “seeker friendly”. I don’t know why the Pharisees came out to the Jordan that day, but it was probably not to repent and be baptized. More than likely it was to see what this crazy guy that forsook his priestly lineage, ate bugs, wore camel hair, and yelled at everyone was up to. Making sure he wasn’t rocking the boat too much or saying too many crazy things. They were ready to shoot him down with their arsenal of religious history and theological know-how. The one who was destined from birth to prepare the way for Christ’s ministry on earth was before them. But they were too busy scoffing at him, plotting to get his head on a platter, to see who he really was. They couldn’t get past the externals that made them uncomfortable to see that God was using him. He wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t a fraud. Yes, he was beyond the scope of their experience. But that didn’t make it any less real.
The speaker then told us about a dream God gave him a couple of weeks ago. In it there was a faceless prophet, which apparently symbolizes the Holy Spirit a lot of the time. This prophet had periodicals and magazines in his hand that had headlines that told about the dismantling of structures. The prophet said to him, “The structures within the church that are inhibiting the move of my Spirit are going to be judged. I will not continue to allow them to squelch my Spirit any longer.”
As we began to pray and worship in response to this message, I was reminded of another verse in Matthew 21:
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”
Suddenly, I knew I was on the threshold of a critical moment in my spiritual life. Was I with Him or was I not? Did I want all of Him, despite how messy it was or how uncomfortable it made me? Or will I continue to sit in my little judgmental corner, missing His Kingdom coming to this earth?
It’s my choice. It’s your choice.
One of our AIM staff spoke to us on Friday and told us: Either you change or you die. John the Baptist said that Jesus already has the axe to the root of the trees. Those that do not produce His fruit will be cut off and thrown into the fire. This is all harsh stuff to hear, but I think it is the wake up call our Christian culture needs. He wants us to be with Him where He is. He aches for it. He has been so merciful. Do you sense the urgency of this hour? He is calling us to join Him. He won’t force us. But He also won’t let us keep His Spirit from pouring out on those sons and daughters that are crying out for it.
So, here I am. On my 12 step program to scoffer recovery. Sure, holy laughter still irritates me a little. I still can’t watch Todd Bentley bing, bang, boom for more than 15 mins at a time without needing a break. But, I also want Jesus more than I want to be comfortable. Or right. And only His grace has gotten me to this point.
So….what do you want?
