If they can silence us, we lose.
“But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.” (John 7:13)
Courage/ Fear/ Leaders. I see 3 main elements in that scripture, and we have the same 3 today. I see a scripture saying there was a “lack” of courage, an “abundance” of fear, and a group of “evil” leaders. Human nature never changes, therefore, history always repeats. But where is wisdom in this? It is strangely missing.
I keep hearing a phrase today: “Good Trouble”. Has anyone written up the boundary lines of just exactly what that is? When someone puts a Pro-Trump sticker on their bumper and then their car is mysteriously beaten with a baseball bat, or keyed, is that good trouble? When a simple man stands outside his own store and preaches Jesus, but he is suddenly shot dead, is that good trouble? When stores are “looted” by protesters/ rioters, is that called good trouble? It use to be called “criminal”! When buildings are set fire it use to be called “arson”. But now it’s good trouble? When media constantly twist the truth, in other words, they lie. Is that the new good? When churches are set fire, statues violently torn down, people cursed out and threatened, guns pulled on people setting in their car, or risking a nation’s election for the sake of your personal gain, is that good trouble?
Followers of Christ, it is not wrong to be afraid because the threat is very real, but we must not be silent! Silence crucified our Lord!
The evil leaders used lies, money, and threats to stir up an illusion of HATE, because people of dishonor can be manipulated. Hate then causes fear because the “HATERS” will attack you, whether by word/tongue, or even physically attack you or your possessions. The threat is very real, and the fear too, but what of courage? Please allow me to point out, we are not called to courage alone… but to courage & wisdom!
“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” (Matt. 10:16)
In warfare it is well said, “Know thy enemy”. The snake is our enemy. Do you know how to stop a snake? Be the eagle! They that wait upon the Lord! The Anointing!
Here’s some spiritual wisdom. It is very foolish to have departed from the ways of our Lord. Somehow, while asking the question: What Would Jesus Do?”, we forgot to ask “What DID Jesus do?” Our modern church system is not what Jesus, nor the Apostles, nor the early church fathers DID, and we have lost the Anointing. Lets get it back! If not in mass, then in micro! If not as a whole, then as a person! As in personally! It can start with you and I.
I believe Jesus is taking his church back to the beginning, back to Pre-Constantine time, and that is why the gates of hell will not prevail against her! And in the book of Acts you see the very large church of Jerusalem being shaken like a salt shaker and people going forth! Going forth to saturate the land! Fill the communities! And become HARD TO TARGET!
Eagles are hard for snakes to target. Eagles live in the high places, not the low. Eagles have the advantage of the high ground, even unto the sky. They swoop down from above and then disappear. They live in pairs, and raise their children to also be eagles. They work as a team.
Elijah was an eagle. The Bible says Elijah will show up again, in the last days. He was hard to target! He would sweep in, declare a thing, or do a thing, and disappear! He was a man just like us, but also a man of great prayer, and he was Anointed! He had a mantle, a covering from God! We must be of great prayer too!
The snake uses silence to attack their enemy with that forked tongue. The snake creeps up on its prey by way of silence, flipping that forked tongue all the way, smelling its way along. Once they are close enough, then comes the fangs and poison. They know that words truly are mightier than any man-made sword or gun or bomb. They must frighten us into silence in order to win. It is basic snake strategy. The scriptures show they did it to Jesus. The enemy does not change his tactics because he knows this works! We see it all over the world, evil leaders using fear to maintain their power, or gain power. They sensor the airwaves. They control speech. No freedom of speech. SILENT! Or else.
The Jerusalem church was very easy to target. That church was God’s launching pad for his Gospel rocket, but was never meant to be the plan once space was achieved. It was a launching pad of great power and force to go forth and saturate the earth, but it also took persecution to get the people to see God’s big picture. Have we lost sight of the big picture? It is human nature. So God shook the shaker sending them forth, and they were not silent!
Jesus kept it simple and real. Why have we turned church into a “building” and a repeating “program”? But if we learn from the wolves we as sheep have been sent into, we would know that a wolf pack is small enough to be hard to target, and yet big enough to still be deadly in its effect.
I truly believe Micro church is the new wine and new wine skin. The persecution is coming and it’s just a matter of time. The sooner each of us get back to doing what Jesus actually DID, the better off we will be. The sooner each of us get back to simply “following Jesus”, the better off each of us will be. For we will receive a wisdom of how to be truly effective in our day.
Elisha had asked for a double-portion of the Anointing. Elijah said he had asked for a hard thing, but when Elisha took up Elijah’s mantle, he shouted, Where is the God of Elijah? And God answered!
Jesus said, “Follow Me.”
Path Without End 