Are You Willing to Leave?

The other night I had a dream that I feel is important enough to publish in a public space. It was not a long dream. It was, however, a warning...and a challenge.

In the dream, I was at a rally for the Unborn. I was with friends that I loved well; one of the girls I thought I knew. I did not realize it was really her IDENTICAL TWIN. I thought that I was fighting FOR the Unborn, until I realized that the message I heard from my camp was AGAINST the Unborn. I was shocked and abhorred. I looked around at all my friends; those I had lived with, traveled with, ministered with and realized I was in the wrong camp. I stood up and I voiced what I was feeling. One of the girls told me that they found support for their stance in the Scriptures. In the dream, it was a passage about a garment being thrown off. I stood up and angrily replied, "A baby is not just a garment that you can THROW off." And I left.

I made my way to the OTHER camp, and within its numbers I found other friends that I have known over the years, including the TWIN sister of the girl in the first camp. As I stood and spoke with them, I could hear a friend from the first camp yelling after me, trying to defend her position. The way I heard it sounded as if she were passing by because her voice steadily grew fainter at I stood and listened. The dream ended.

When I awoke, I was confused. I went over the dream in my mind but could not see how it related to anything. None of those people in the first camp would EVER support Abortion...what was that about? Must have been a pizza dream.

I got up and prepared for the day. While I stirred my oatmeal, bubbling on the stove, the dream came back to my mind. I thought it through again, but still could not understand what it could mean, if anything. I ate breakfast and settled into a chair in the sitting room to read. Instead of reading, however, the Holy Spirit began talking to me about the dream and its meaning.

It was not about Abortion at all. The Lord's intention in utilizing that issue was to convey the weight and importance of the issue to my heart. It was about the NON-NEGOTIABLE issues in my life. The issues I just WON'T compromise...that CAN'T be compromised. In the Lord's heart, the issues that comprise our Faith - Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His shed blood for the remission and forgiveness of sin, complete and uncompromising obedience to the Word of God ALONE, which is my only source of truth and reality. These are NON-NEGOTIABLE.

Those in the dream represented those I am near to; those I know, respect, and love who are dear brothers and sisters in the faith. They had severely compromised a NON-NEGOTIABLE issue and justified it by twisting the Scriptures to fit their compromised belief. Not only that, but I had been led to believe that I was on the same side as they were; that we were fighting for the same thing...and we were NOT. This forced me into a place of decision. I had to be willing to leave those I loved and respected to join with those who were of the same mind and heart as me. When I joined the other camp I realized that even the CLOSEST kind of sibling had been divided over this issue. The dream was a warning and challenge from God that I need to take seriously. There may or...I have to be bold and honest...WILL be a time coming, or is here, when those you have called your friends: those you have lived with, traveled with, and ministered with will no longer place the same value on the NON-NEGOTIABLES of Scripture. In other words, they will SAY they believe in Jesus, but in practice they will contradict that belief. The Bible clearly says in I Timothy 4:1-3 that in the last days, some will depart from the faith "giving heed (paying attention) to seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God has created to be received with thanksgiving...". The specific false teachings mentioned here are simply two of the many teachings that began to infiltrate the Church in time. If you gave heed to these teachings it did not mean that you were immediately CUT OFF from the faith or the family of God, but giving heed (paying attention, listening, opening the door) to these sorts of doctrines opened you up to receive more and more false doctrine until you had completely abandoned the faith you once held to so tightly, having been LED ASTRAY.

There are many doctrines of demons that are currently being openly accepted and taught by mainstream Christianity that have the potential to shipwreck our faith. I don't believe that those teaching these doctrines are intentionally trying to lead people away from the Gospel, but the reality is that the messages being preached are so mixed, tainted, convoluted, and intertwined with subtle lies that it "seems" like the truth when it is NOT. Rather than expose the specific teachings being taught, I am just going to tell you how to escape the trap that is being laid for us by the devil.

1. Read, Study, and OBEY the Word of God
I can't stress the importance of this enough. This is how we keep ourselves in the love of God. Jesus tells us that when you hear His Word and obey it, you are like a wise man who builds his house upon a rock. Paul told Timothy to give time to study the scriptures in order to show himself to be an approved workman, able to divide the Word of Truth rightly. Jesus tells His disciples to ABIDE in HIM, the place from which we draw our life. To abide in His Word is to abide in Him. Jesus tells us that we cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth. The writer of Hebrews tells us that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword; it pierces even to the dividing of the soul and spirit; it discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. By staying close to and living in the Word of God, we stay close to and abide in the love of Jesus. The more we seek the Lord through His Word, the more He will direct our steps, and the more we will know what God thinks and feels. This is called discernment.

2. Don't be afraid to discern and judge the teachings of those in ministry
We are told by Jesus to be WISE. Part of wisdom is knowing and discerning the truth from the lie. Jesus praised the Bereans for their diligence in searching the Scriptures in order to discern and expose the false apostles that were trying to lead His beloved sheep astray. I know that there are many teachers who try to dissuade Christians from even TRYING to discern if something is from the Lord or not, but if Jesus Himself told us that we would know a tree by it's fruit, then He was giving us permission to discern. We cannot neglect this matter or relegate it to those who seem wiser than us. One of the key issues in the end times is DECEPTION. Jesus continually warned us "not to be deceived". This places a demand on us to be watchful and wise...and in fellowship with the Holy Spirit and those who are of the same mind and heart.

3. Cultivate relationships with others living their faith in spirit and truth.
Being a christian takes more than tagging your car with a fish or saying a prayer of salvation in a church service. It is HARD to be a christian. It costs you everything you have and everything you are. Jesus said that the way to eternal life was NARROW and STRAIGHT, full of tribulations and adversity, and FEW there be that find it. It is VERY important to have good, honest, and CLOSE relationships with those who are LIVING their faith, rather than TALKING their faith. James tells us that faith without works is dead. This means that those who simply TALK about having faith don't really have it. It is those who SHOW their faith by their actions that truly have it. Those who have REAL life-giving faith are those who seek to consistently obey the Word of God...even to their hurt; those who have the fruits of the Spirit evident in their lives, even in spite of hard circumstances. These are the sort of people you want on your side. These people have a living relationship with the Father and cultivating a relationship with these people will help to spur you on in your own faith because their lives reflect something that is "other worldly", and it's contagious.

4. Signs and wonders are NOT the stamp of approval from heaven
Some people wrongly assume that when signs and wonders occur, heaven is nodding in agreement and approval at the message being preached. This is not always the case. Yes, miracles follow them that believe. A demonstration of power often accompanies the preaching of the Gospel. However, this is not a prerequisite. Signs and wonders often happen in occult and new age gatherings. Does that mean that heaven is nodding in agreement to THAT sort of message? No, of course not. This is when discretion and discernment play a part. If you find it hard to discern the truth in the moment, then take time to seek the Lord and ask Him to show you what the truth is. He promised to give wisdom to those who ask. He loves to reveal the truth to our hearts. It's one of His favorite things to do. Don't be afraid that you're going to somehow "miss" God if you decide to restrain yourself because you are uncertain. Some will tell you that you are being silly or religious. However, I have been in enough meetings where spiritual phenomenon was happening to know that most of it served to distract my attention from loving Jesus with all my heart. People became seekers of the phenomenon or experience rather than seekers of Jesus. If all I get is a supernatural experience, then I got ripped off because the experience doesn't transform the heart. If, however, I receive a deeper understanding of the person of Jesus Christ, then I've hit the jackpot, because that kind of understanding will change a person.