Manna or Quail?
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit within every believer inaugurated a new era of “widespread revelation” (ref: 1 Samuel 3:1; Acts 2:1-21) wherein prophets now function within the church Body of Christ less as Old Testament mouthpieces of God and more as “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1) who “understand the times” (1 Chronicles 12:32) and exhort Jesus’ truth, particularly concerning His headship of and vision for the universal and local church in a fallen world.
But truly, the world is presently influencing the Western Church more than the Western Church is influencing the world…
The Sifting of the Church
Western church culture has become a cracked cistern that cannot hold the Living Water of Christ, for such is deliberately channeled and filtered into impotent libations for today’s spiritual consumer. Fearing man more than God and cowering behind the infernal ideas of “seeker-friendly” and being “politically correct,” church leaders are castrating the Gospel by avoiding the conviction of unfiltered truth the Holy Spirit would supernaturally utilize toward revealing God’s love and judgment. It is this lack of spiritual courage that has rendered too many church leaders as cowardly peddlers of a fruitless faith!
Jesus claimed that as the end of the age approached, lawlessness and wickedness would be so rampant that most people’s love would grow cold (Matthew 24:12). Only God is love (1 John 4:8); therefore Jesus is speaking of many in the Church whose love will grow cold, for apart from Him one cannot have love (1 John 4:20). This is a sobering revelation that clarifies why so many are leaving the church or demanding to serve God on their own terms and not His. The hard truth is: Most souls in the Western Church are not saved.
Jesus warned that the way to life is narrow and few would find it, yet wide is the well-trod path to death (Matthew 7:13-14). Counterfeit disciples and weak Christians who resist growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ and who take pleasure in comfort and unrighteousness are now falling prey to the strong delusion God is sending upon the world. They are believing lies and twisting God’s truth into more lies (2 Peter 3:18; 2 Thess 2:11-12). They attempt to “gain heaven” by delighting in false humility, mixing New Age spirituality with churchianity, convincing themselves and others of their salvation with a vain fleshly mind, and not truly holding fast to Christ (Colossians 2:18-19).
As Peter was sifted by Satan at Jesus’ permission, so the Church is now being sifted in like manner (Luke 22:31-32).
A Famine of the Word
The prophetic hour grows late and the need for divinely appointed stewards and exhorters escalates daily, for the days are upon us of which the Lord God spoke:
“I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord…” (Amos 8:11).
The pitiable irony here is that this famine of scriptural illiteracy spreads despite the surplus of Bibles and biblical resources in our land! Hosts of churchgoers are not “hearing the words of the Lord” because the tepid tares and putrid fruit of false gospels have choked out the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30).
People have grown slothful and happily hang their cloaks of discipleship on their shepherds, content to eat crumbs that drop from the pulpit or facilitator’s table. Many leaders (and thus their followers) are erring in their faith as they strive to make a name for themselves; yet they become foolish and vapid in their narcissism (1 Tim. 1:6-7). The Bible is forsaken and traded for easy reading/listening about the Bible that tickles the ear and draws nods of leisurely agreement (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Genuine worship is forsaken for entertainingly emotive weekend concerts that subtly edify self more than Christ while conditioning seekers and believers to equate “worship” with music alone and leaving the idea of a Holy Spirit-empowered “living sacrifice” comfortably disregarded (Romans 12:1).
Church culture and leadership is fast becoming Christian in name only! Indeed, a growing number of professing Christians reject the Manna (Word/Spirit) and gorge themselves on quail (religion/works) for their own satisfaction, not God’s. Recall the book of Numbers, chapter 11.
Manna & Quail
The Israelites were in the wilderness after God had delivered them from Egyptian bondage. To spare them the hardship of farming in the desert, which allowed for greater devotion to God, He provided daily “bread from heaven,” manna, for the people to eat. After some time, many Israelites grew tired of the manna and demanded meat while lamenting, “O that we were in Egypt! We crave the fish, fruits, and vegetables… now there is nothing but this manna to look at!”
This faction of people had lost reverence for God, discounted His provision, and believed themselves entitled to more. Moses became displeased and sought God’s counsel. In response to the peoples’ grumbling the Lord’s anger flared hot and He alleviated the problem by equipping Moses with spiritual insight on leadership and by answering the famished faction’s complaint with shrewd judgment:
“You desire meat? Then you shall eat meat… not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month until it comes out your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you!” (Numbers 11:18-20)
Then the Lord sent a wind that brought hordes of quail to within a day’s journey all around the Israelite camp. Two days were spent gathering, distributing, and preparing the quail for those who craved it. But then as the first bites of meat were being taken, God’s wrath kindled further and He struck the factious dissenters with a great plague so that all who had grown bored with God’s provision died and were buried.
Today, the hedonistic “quail-cravers” in the church seek to escape convicting truth, just as those who turned from God in Isaiah’s day begged the prophets to “speak of easy things, and prophesy lies” (Isaiah 30:10). These grumblers would also have God serve them, as would the thousands that Jesus miraculously fed with bread and fish.
In a parallel to Numbers 11, John 6 records that after the miracle of loaves and fish, the multitude sought Jesus the next day desiring that He feed them again. He refuses, calls out their flesh-drivenness and lack of spiritual understanding, and directly refers to Himself as God’s Manna–the Bread from heaven (John 6:31-58). This of course startles and disappoints the entire multitude. They promptly disperse, leaving Jesus with only the Twelve who truly desired His fellowship and wisdom.
Throughout the Gospels, and contrary to modern church paradigms, we see Jesus purposefully thinning the crowds and challenging individuals, unapologetically clarifying that following Him is not about notoriety, numbers, or niceness but that it entails a difficult, though rewarding, way of life. If only today’s shepherds were willing to forsake speaking to the multitudes and being “liked” for investing in the few.
Hidden With Christ or Exposed With the Flesh?
Concerning discipleship, studying the Old Testamet prophets encourages us to cultivate a genuine and severe relationship with Jesus Christ, for their connection to Him was painfully and joyfully evident. Likewise with the New Testament prophets, which includes Jesus Himself. John, James, and Peter were the closest of the Twelve to Jesus; the personal and prophetic nature of their writing starkly reflects this.[1]
Then there is Paul whose depth of discipline, revelation, and instruction unveils a “philosophy of prophecy” that is the natural byproduct of the Christian experience as one strives to become ever more Christlike. In other words, as one experiences greater intimacy with God, one’s own biblical and philosophical perspective concerning their life-purpose and Christian ethic will innately trend toward a prophetic nature (Ephesians 1:16-19). And a prophetic perspective promotes purpose, bringing joy!
However, Paul warns of the dangerous appeal offered by doctrine and the traditions of men that fuel counterfeit discipleship, replacing intimacy with the Spirit for knowledge-based religion:
“If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations–‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle’ which all concern things which perish with their using–according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 2:20-3:3).
Is your life hidden with Christ in God? Are Christ and His blood enough? Or are knowledge and works your barometer for spirituality? How well do you know the Holy Spirit? How discerning are you of the spirit realm, dark and light? Do you find yourself critiquing individuals and ministries more often than worshiping Jesus in prayerful solitude? Do you cling tighter to doctrine than to Christ Himself? Is your faith or ego shaken whenever someone challenges your biblical understanding or interpretation? Do you have an unteachable spirit that takes offense at sincere counsel or prayerful rebuke?
These are tough questions indeed, and many fear them for what the answers reveal. Yet Paul admonished us to examine ourselves and our faith toward discerning who it is we follow, Christ or self (2 Cor. 13:5). Even true believers can be more full of themselves than of the Holy Spirit. As such, fewer and fewer Christians profess or practice a deeply intimate and robust bond with Christ and the Holy Spirit, often settling for a less invasive discipleship of the flesh that is comfortably manageable and not so convicting or unpredictable (John 3:8).
What would Jesus say to such a pretentious spirituality?
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven… Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 7:21-23; 10:38).
The Pride of Diotrephes
Diotrephes was an early church “leader” that John exposed as one who loved to have preeminence above others and slandered those with whom he disagreed or feared (3 John 9-10). The existence of false and wayward teachers is nothing new in church leadership, but the outbreak of such wolves among the sheep has now reached pandemic proportions in the West. Such souls promise liberty but are themselves in bondage to corruption, or even to sound doctrine (2 Peter 2:19-21).
An unhealthy rise in heresy hunting in the church has coincided with unprecedented numbers of Christians waging war on other Christians! Souls involved in this infighting generally lack a deep spirituality and are hiding behind ultra-orthodoxy flavored by whichever doctrinal conventions hold the most personal appeal (to the mind more often than spirit). What are they hiding from exactly? Souls who overemphasize and passionately debate doctrine are hiding from (or ignorant of) the rigors of real discipleship that is driven by a vigorously fulfilling and revelatory life in the Spirit. Rather than enjoying sustained fellowship with the Spirit and the delight of “iron sharpening iron” (Proverbs 27:17) among fellow believers, they place their identity in what they know and fear being proven wrong more than they fear God. And though unintentional, doctrine is often edified over Christ.
Many factors contribute to this “religious spirit” of designer discipleship that is ravaging the church. A few are: false humility that secretly covets the gifts of others and hijacks God’s name for personal gain; personal vanity that seeks prestige and influence; an entitlement spirit that seeks recognition by climbing the spiritual ladder (habitually based on vague or false notions of one’s spiritual gifting); pride born of flesh-based knowledge; an unteachable spirit born of pretentious pride; an assumptive spirit that believes to have everything and everyone “figured out”; spiritual and emotional immaturity; a lack of invested discipleship (particularly to Christ and the Holy Spirit) that includes routine fellowship with mature mentors/believers; inexperience in waging sustained spiritual warfare, bearing spiritual burdens with Christ, or discerning prophetic truth (personal and church-wide); loneliness, boredom, and impatience in spiritually maturing; unnecessary stress; and besetting sin that has not been overcome due to a lack of mature discipleship.
A Second Wave of Quail For Today
In response to this climate of self-focused heresy hunting and church infighting God has sent a second wave of quail: an explosion of unhealthy McChurches founded on unhealthy personalities, entertainment draw, business models, marketing trends, cults of convenience, and flesh-based entrepreneuralism devoid of any call of God whatsoever. Lacking mature disciples within leadership, lacking the Holy Spirit’s prevalent influence, and lacking Jesus Christ’s authentic Headship, such “churches” are exactly what Jesus warned of in Revelation 3:1–“You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.” Of course, the same can be said of individuals.
Church culture is growing tired of the Manna because the truth of Christ is hard to bear, real discipleship is perceived as tedious, and God’s loving grace covers our sin anyway, so why strive so hard? Thus God has allowed an increasingly diverse and distracting buffet from which to hop, sip, and sample. Truly, for those who partake of this feast, Jesus Christ is not enough! Though God can work in any church circumstance (traditional, house, cafe, or any other public/personal setting), it is the spiritual foundation that invites or vexes His presence. And it is concerning the difference between the invitation and the vexing that the Lord God has called and commissioned me to prophesy and clarify.
Proximity and Discipline Are Key
For over two decades I have been privileged to disciple and instruct many people–seekers, new believers, and long-time believers desiring to mature in faith and discipleship. In just the past twelve years I have seen many believers assailed by a critical spirit as they “police” and condemn every whiff of unorthodoxy. I am all for calling out and avoiding heresy and pretentiousness, but such must be done shrewdly and in-step with the Spirit, not while ignoring the plank in one’s own eye (Matthew 7:3-5). I have also noted a spirit of offense on the rise among believers, primarily when they encounter someone gifted in areas of their own deficiency.
What then must we do? We must recover the church practices of the first century as seen in Acts 2:42-47. Accompanying our accountability in fellowship, individual humility before Christ in the solace of worship is where our personal faith, spirit, and character are sorely tested by spiritual cross-examination. Yet this involves personal discipline toward practicing spiritual discipline, which if neglected draws Jesus’ chastisement (Hebrews 12:3-11).
Western Christians reject or struggle with this idea because they often have a wrong view of Jesus and discipleship (Matthew 10:38). Hebrews 12 reminds us that our fleshly desires for ease and comfort in following Christ are an unacceptable insult to a God who sacrificed His Son for us and who is a consuming fire! God is not a gentle Judge dispensing favors and blessing to the tune of kumbaya. Laziness, ignorance, self-deception, and pretentiousness are judged by Jesus in this life for the purpose of pruning toward Christlikeness. So let us willingly and without fear draw near to God, placing ourselves in proximity to Him so that His Spirit receives our humble worship as an invitation to begin the true spiritual work of transformation that yields the fruit of righteousness:
“For you are the temple of the living God… Come out from among them [unbelievers] and be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters” (2 Cor 6:16-18).
As Christ’s return draws nearer still, His chastisement of the church will commonly be mistaken for blessing by the undiscerning. It is folly to assume that an increase in number of attendees, souls “saved,” programs added, or real estate developed is evidence of God’s favor, particularly in a climate rife with secular and spiritual counterfeit. Understand that the profusion of splinter churches and further splintering of Christian denominations and ministries is a necessary part of the sifting of the Church so as to purify Jesus’ Bride before He arrives to take her back to His Father’s house (Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Thess 5:23).
The separation of the wheat and tares has begun! Therefore, as members of His beloved Church, let us each one draw near to our Great King and seek His perfect counsel, call, commission, and clarity!
Thus Says the Lord God?
Each prophet in Scripture was called by the Lord into his/her function as “mouthpiece of God,” which demanded a direct and tangible relationship with Him. Today, the indwelling Spirit of God makes this relationship even more profound!
Then, as now, when the Lord God called individuals into His service, He put forth the choice to accept or refuse the call. Sadly, today there are many well-intentioned Christians who assume a particular call without ever having divinely received such a call.
This is the premise of designer discipleship in the spirit of “Thus says the individual.” The result is debilitating frustration if not remedied by humble appeal to the Holy Spirit, for He has created each of us for a specific purpose that can only be discovered when we personally present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God so that we may receive our measure of faith (Romans 12:1-9).
Upon the acceptance of a call, a commissioning takes place–sometimes right away and other times after a season.[2] The following passages offer great examples of divine calls, choices, and commissioning. Be encouraged as you consider any similarities in your own life:
Genesis 12:1-4, 7-8; Genesis 22; Genesis 32:24-31
Exodus 3:2-10
1 Samuel 3
Isaiah 6:1-8
Jeremiah 1:4-14
Ezekiel 1:28-3:3
Acts 9:1-22
Revelation 1:9-19
Notes:
1. This trio routinely received greater insight than the others in proportion to their greater hunger for truth. This is not God showing partiality, for He never does (Luke 20:21; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11). He is simply rewarding deep faithfulness with deeper revelation (1 Cor. 2:13-14; Ephesians 1:16-18).
2. I received salvation at seven years of age but received my call and commissioning in November 1996 at twenty years of age. Another specific commissioning took place in May 1999. Each instance occurred via prayer and prophetic vision by the Holy Spirit.
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