Editorial Summer 2007
A Sleeping Giant
It was 90 degrees in the shade at the Denver zoo that day in May. Many of the animals hid inside their compounds instead of brave the searing heat outside. One pooped out polar bear took a position half way in between. He snored through hundreds of onlookers, intent on keeping his nap time intact no matter what went on around him. But I assure you, had something poked this mighty bear, there would have been a loud awakening, even a deadly one.
The Church, the Bride of Christ in America, has been asleep for a very long time, completely intent on keeping its comfortable place intact. As if in a coma, people throw money at ministries they do not know and ignore the struggles on their home turf. They contentedly pray at service and go home to ignore God most of the rest of the week. They sing in a frenzy as performers of great talent electrify auditoriums full of people, but never allow the worship of Almighty God to seep into their souls. That day is about to end in a cataclysm of awakening.
The Holy Spirit has released a new fire into His Church. Those who embrace it will become the fulfillment of God's plan for their lives. Those who reject it will be left to the dead church, the one without God forever. God is the God of the Living, not the dead. Jesus is a Life-Changer, not a dead concept in the pages of an old book. He is the resurrection and the life and no man will see the Father without Him.
What is the fire? It is the place where people tear each other apart over stupid ideas and bad attitudes. It is the place where your personal agendas rise up and beat the crap out of your neighbors and your friends. You think you know more than everyone else. You condemn others because of what you think you know. And suddenly everyone is tearing at each other like a school of barracuda. Friends separate. Churches break up. You are in trouble at work. THAT'S the fire- it is the place where flesh fights against the Spirit of God, and the only way out is repentance. Because the purpose of fire is purification...the changed heart with the Mind of Christ. And if you haven't learned it yet, Christ's mind is nowhere near yours or mine.
The Bride of Christ is a sleeping giant. When she awakens, and that day is imminent, she will awaken in the purity of God and the power of His Name. She won't be a mega-church filled with lukewarm, compromised Christians. She will be a remnant, a Bride of power and Love, functioning together in grace and strength. And she will be the Life-Changer, the Nation-Changer that she was called to be. No man shall stop her. So beware those who say she is sleeping and will not wake up. Like the napping polar bear above, the awakening will come and the God-given power will manifest. "Upon this rock I have built My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."