The Lord of Now?

Preachers today tell us that God is about to do something. All that is necessary is that we make an adjustment—sometimes little ones. Or even, all we should do is stand up and shout, or maybe if we just say the right things, that "something" that God is about to do will happen to us. Apparently, what God is about to do is "something" we should desire. It is the thing we have always wanted. Of course, for these preachers, God is no longer a God of judgment; or at least, he is not the God who would judge the house of God first (1 Peter 4:17). On the contrary, we are supposed to witness the inevitable move of God for a blessing in our lives. He has been waiting to pour out these blessings from the time of the church's beginning until now, and since we have the resources we know our time has come. The Lord is about to finally bring the release. Our breakthrough has come; we can no longer be the same. "Something" the preacher says "is about to happen!" We need to get ready to receive it! Brothers and sisters, this message is a lie. "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 1:6-7). If Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then why is he just NOW about to release this blessing upon his people? Did we not need it before now? Have we been suffering without it? In fact, what is it? The answer to this question is whatever we need in whatever avenue of our lives that we need it to be applicable. It may be MY prosperity, job, car, house, wife or husband. Whatever we think we need NOW is what God is going to give us. Yet, this reflects the danger of itching-ear preaching because it falls right into the category of an Antichrist worldview, forgetting about God and being concerned with oneself.

The Gospel of "Now"

Our culture can be best described as existentialist. We live for the present. We like instantaneous "everything." That is why we like microwaves, fast food, and instant grits. We desire all things to take less time so we can have them faster. The focus on the present disables us from being too concerned about the future, and we surely are not worried about the past. In fact, we rarely look at the past for what it was. We have to remake the past to fit what we want our present to be. This is how meaningless traditions start. They lose connection with their initial purposes and become actions that feed our sense of purpose. They are forms without any real power. But this is how the world works; the church should be different. Yet, it is not. The church has made every effort to get away from the New Testament. We have gone to the Old Testament, other gospels (Gnostic etc.), and even other religions. We do all of this in an effort to distance ourselves from the prescriptions that the Bible makes for our lives. The New Testament shows us what the people of God are supposed to be like. But we have chosen not to look at it for guidance on such questions. We would rather formulate our own doctrine of what it means to be the people of God based on our experience, based on what we want presently. God is not involved in this process for we are too consumed with ourselves. Churches are simply preaching a message that is not the gospel. "Mainline," Liberal Protestant Churches, teach a modernized message, a message that distances Jesus from any belief in his divinity. Modern conservatives are concerned with teaching a de-spiritualized Christianity absent from any inclination that we need to manifest God to anyone today (signs, wonders, etc). But this happens because we are concerned about Christianity's present and not its past. Word of Faith ministers teach that God needs to be manifested today but he needs to do so in a way that is much different than before. We need a God of prosperity—much unlike the God of Paul. We need a God who keeps us from persecution and death—much unlike the God of James who was killed by Herod. Our God has to make sure we are healthy—much to the chagrin of someone like Timothy who had stomach problems and was sick often.

Our focus is on things that brings significance to our "now." This is why we desire to see our "breakthrough" even though our "breakthrough" has already come. When Jesus came, so did our "breakthrough." But our lack of faith in what God has done through Christ causes our disengagement with God through his word. We are left with the "now" attempting to create an environment in the present that satisfies our desires. Christ is the only one able to satisfy all of our needs, and we reject him for what we want at the moment. This is why true prophecy has been rejected for the general prophecy of today's church. They prophesy that God is about to take you out of bondage "NOW!" As Christians, God has already taken us out of bondage. And true prophecy would speak to the specific needs of the petitioner, as to why they have not received the power and salvation that God has wrought through Christ, instead of claiming that Christ has not done it in the first place. Because we only see "now" we can never see or even remember the things the Lord has done for us.

Focusing on the "Now" Evidence

There are many examples that evince our focus on the present and our desire to distance ourselves from scripture. But the most obvious are the relics of our church buildings. The dilemma is that most folks would not notice this as a problem. The problem of which we speak is the preacher's chair. In another place, we speak about the problems inherent in having a preacher's garments; however, the preacher's chair is just as problematic. Have you ever noticed that in many churches that the preacher's chair looks different from everyone else? Usually, his chair is the largest chair in the church. Generally, it seems to be the most comfortable chair. Most often, it is somewhere in front of the church for all people to see. At times, it looks like a throne. Jesus has somewhat against this:

The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues. (Matthew 23:2-6)

Jesus warned his disciples not to take on the works of the Pharisees. The Pharisees chose to be known by their "hoopla" more than their teaching. Their desire was to have a holy image as confirmed by their desire to sit in seats that looked like they had power. But Jesus wanted his disciples to acknowledge their own humanity by submitting to him and not exalting themselves over other people. Their power separated them, not their fixation on looking holy. Yet, this is what modern church is about. We distance ourselves from Jesus' warnings believing that making ourselves look powerful is just as important as being powerful. Have you ever noticed that pastors attempt to sit at the head of the tables? They want the highest and best rooms. They are even able to walk into the church anytime they want, even while prayer or reading of scripture is happening, because they are the pastors. No one else is afforded this right; so why are we letting them do it? Looking at the present—how it looks in now as opposed to the preparation to get there or even the after effects—is the reason why we allow it. We even see this happening in the children of Israel:

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein, Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers ... Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. (Jeremiah 44:1-3, 15-18)

This is an amazing account of how foolish we can be. We reinterpret the past through the present. Due to their present circumstances, the people rejected the commandments of God to worship other gods because they believed the God of Israel was not God at all. To them, he was less powerful than other gods. In order for them to believe that, they had to completely forget the fact that their forbearers were destroyed for the same thing. They had to forget the recent occurrence that Jeremiah foretold, the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. They had to have spiritual amnesia. What is worse is that we have not learned from scripture; we do the same things. We tend to forget what salvation is all about so that we may pursue worldly things through covetousness. We love the things of this world and "connect" God to them to make our love for those things holy. And whatever "works" for us "now" we believe, claiming that it is from God. In fact, that happens to be the mantra of people who attend a church that preaches prosperity. They, like the Jews, claim that they believe the message, no matter how idolatrous, because it works for them. In fact, the preacher of one church said that he "would never be broke again." To justify this disposition (a.k.a. strong hold), he attempts to go throughout the scripture to prove to people that God wants them to be wealthy. Most of his teaching is based on the presupposition that he does not deserve to be poor; that his state always has to be one of financial prosperity. Paul begs to differ,

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:11-13)

Oftentimes, we separate the last verse from the previous two. Paul says that he can do all things through Christ which strengthens him so that he can be both hungry and full. He is able to trust God, whatever his current circumstance. His disposition never changes for he always trusts in God. The new theology of the church says that this is bad. We need to be moving with the times. God needs to do something new because the times have changed. We need a new message (this is a Hip Hop/Rock & Roll generation), a new method (people do not like the church anymore), a new understanding (we have oppressed too many people; we need to include the gays and others into the pastorate). Currently, a popular preacher is pushing this doctrine of change. He claims that God has given him a special revelation that "repositioning" is the solution for the modern Christian. All he or she needs to do is make "minor" adjustments so that one may enter the "new" thing God has for him or her. He has written this message in a book and plans to utilize this book to bring change to the body of Christ. There are major errors, however, in the theology he is proposing in his book. We do not need to go far to see them. One of the biggest is on the first page of his book. He recounts that if anyone would have asked him as a child what he would do, he would have never said he would be an influential preacher. But this is how he defined his influence: by meeting celebrities, leaders of state, and other famous people. What about that makes one influential? Socialite Paris Hilton has probably done as much. She has probably met many heads of state. She surely knows several celebrities. But would we commend her for this? Jesus told us the things in the world we highly esteem are abominable to God. So why do Christians keep esteeming these kinds of things? This preacher will fail to bring the change he desires because he is focused on the present more than Jesus Christ. He reinterpreted God's message and made it his own. Why would we promote the theology of repositioning when it is clear that the Word of God does not? "They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever" (Psalm 125:1). "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1Corinthians 15:58).

Our situations change but our faith must be steadfast. This is why we must always be headed towards the same goal, Jesus. Of course, we all need to make adjustments; but that only happens when we get off from the place where we were supposed to begin in the first place. If God was our focus in the beginning, we need to come back to him. There is no new revelation beyond the gospel; it is God's message to us: Jesus is our salvation. Anticipating God to do something else is idolatrous. But that is exactly the message of books like the one we mentioned from this preacher. It is not attempting to show us how we misunderstood the gospel and how he can better understand it. It is showing us a new method of getting what "God" has for us. It, in effect, is another gospel. Even though this man is preaching another gospel, he is correct in his sentiment that the body of Christ has to reposition itself. We need to position ourselves under God through Christ—righteousness—because that is not the position popular Christianity is trying to maintain at this moment.

Conclusion: Believe

If you hear in your church, "God is calling for a new thing" or something like that, you're probably involved in a church that is not teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a church that does not believe the gospel. The new thing that God told Israel about in the Old Testament was Jesus. He has come. And now he is on his way back. We look to what he has done and then what he will complete. Our gospel has to be focused also on what he is doing now based on those two events in the past and future. We do not need a new thing. We need to look at what was done before in order to receive what the Lord is bringing in the future. There is no need for a new outpouring of God's Spirit. We just need to believe that he is already here with us through Jesus. We cannot define the Lord and his work on the "now"; rather, we need to understand the totality of who he is through all aspects of time. Who he is cannot be understood without getting at who he was and who he will be: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8). Our lives depend on this basis: we cannot live without knowing what his plans for us are. But we can only know those plans when we recognize who he is. That only happens when we believe him. In order to believe, we must accept all of what he says in the scripture. We must be willing to discard our own beliefs and accept his. To truly receive God's promises this is what it takes: faith. [For] without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6). God admonishes, "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise" (Hebrews 6:12-15). Having patience now—believing God for who he is—helps us to remember what he has done in the past; thereby, opening us up for the promise we are to receive in the future.

DRAFT V2010-08-13T12:18:24 PM