“Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.…” Psalm 127:1 (NIV)
Recently I had a very unsettling dream. My dog Jade was chasing a squirrel that ran across the street to a herd of sheep, which as I looked closer had a wolf standing right in their midst. This wolf was not disguised as a sheep, but the herd of sheep had been deceived into believing he was good! Then suddenly the sheep came charging toward us, attacking my wife and a number of other women who were in an enclosed area like a tennis court. They bit at the legs. Interestingly, the wolf didn’t attack, but it was the hypnotized sheep doing the attacking! These sheep were able to get inside where the wolf couldn’t! These sheep were attacking my bride!
It is a costly thing when a leader falls. But it is even worse when the leader is deceived to believe they’re ok! And it is even worse when the leader is intentionally deceptive! Yes, there are wolves in churches today! Jesus and Paul clearly warned us about this reality (Matthew 7:15-20, Acts 20:29). Many, yes you read that right, many churches have not been built on prayer, holiness and spiritual warfare! When the enemy finds compromised but gifted, even anointed individuals, I believe he will have his evil cohorts back off from them. He allows their church to grow and prosper without the normal spiritual dynamics required such as prayer, warfare, repentance, holiness, etc. Then ultimately, the house built by compromised man collapses, impacting multitudes and shipwrecking the faith among thousands. This damages the body and causes many to turn away from the faith! If a church is not built upon the Rock, upon the full word of God, without the Holy Spirit, without intentional prayer, something is wrong! When the floods come it will crumble, revealing the compromised state of those leading it! The church without the Holy Spirit is dead. A church cannot exist without the breath, nor can it prosper without prayer!
But you may ask, why does God allow this? Why does He permit churches to grow and prosper if they are built upon the sand, or lead by compromised pastors? Good questions! Matthew 13 gives us some insight into it. In this chapter, Jesus shares a parable of tares (weeds) being planted among wheat. The one who planted the wheat is the Son of Man, but the one who planted the weeds was the devil. To pull up the weeds would damage the wheat harvest. The seeds sown by the devil are the sons of the evil one, while the seeds planted by the Son of Man represent the sons of the Kingdom, true followers of Jesus Christ. In other words, there are seeds of the evil one sown in the church! There is lawlessness, immorality, greed, perversion, pride, etc. sown into the church along with the seeds of God’s kids. Just because the ‘seeds of the evil one’ have gotten away with it for this long, doesn’t mean it will continue. Just ask Samson. He operated in sin and anointing at the same time! The cup of iniquity is full and it is about to be poured out! The wheat and the tares are ripe for harvest. We are about to witness judgment and awakening, wrath and revival, as the angels reap the harvest what has been sown!
Pastors/leaders don’t think you’re going to get away with it. The seed you have sown will be revealed. Harvest is coming. There will be much shock by what is revealed. There is a removal coming. The Bible is not kidding when it says, judgment begins in the house of the Lord (1 Peter 4:17)! It is real and it will be severe! Many who have been trusted will be seen as fraudulent, causing the faith of many to be tested.
Please prayerfully consider these questions… Does your church make room for the Holy Spirit? Is prayer a priority? Is your congregation equipped to engage in the spiritual battle occurring around us? Is your church more concern on how it performed than how it created space for the Holy Spirit in the services? Is immorality, perversion and lust tolerated among the leadership? Is homosexuality, gender confusion accepted, ignored or tolerated? Is there a clear path to holiness taught for disciples to walk on? The the sheep doing the wolf’s bidding?
Ask God to give you clarity as to what you should do about this. Ask God to expose and remove the wolves in our city, and if they are there, starting in your church! Ask Him to remove the deception off the sheep who have somehow believed what these wolves have been saying. Ask God to awaken these sheep before they begin attacking Jesus’ bride! Ask God to protect the true wheat that has been planted as many will be tested in this coming season as the tares are removed!
