Released February 6, 2014 – Download PDF:  02.06.14.Church Leaders Conspiring Against the Holy Spirit in the Hands of an Angry God

Many leaders in the church pray and cry out for revival. They are like men in a desert without water and no oasis in sight, but they will not heed the voice of the Spirit who is the water they need. They cry out for the deliverance of their congregations, their communities and the nation but they will not listen to the voice of the Spirit. They are those that Isaiah prophesied about in Isaiah 29:13–16 (NASB95):

  13         Then the Lord said,

“Because this people draw near with their words

And honor Me with their lip service,

But they remove their hearts far from Me,

And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

  14         Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;

And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,

And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

  15         Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord,

And whose deeds are done in a dark place,

And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

  16         You turn things around!

Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay,

That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;

Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding?

They are those that will not allow the Holy Spirit do what He wants to do in their service and they are nothing but conspirators against the Holy One of Israel. They truly are those that praise the Lord with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. They have long left the path of humility and have chosen to follow the devices of their pride-filled heart and the futile, vain thinking of their mind. They will come to ruin!

Those leaders that will not heed the Spirit of God and diligently resist Him are in rebellion! What should the penalty be for those that are willingly disobedient and will not humble themselves under the mighty hand of the Lord! They are faithless and wicked servants and yet boldly and proudly proclaim to be faithful stewards. How incredible! How deceived they are!

In Jeremiah 11: 3-4, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant which I commanded your forefathers…saying, ‘Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you…”’ These are leaders that study the Scripture, searching for answers for the flock of God, but they will not follow the One that inspired the men to write the Bible.

Again, in verses 7-10:

Jeremiah 11:7–10 (NASB95)

    7   ‘For I solemnly warned your fathers in the day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning persistently, saying, “Listen to My voice.”

    8   ‘Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’ ”

    9   Then the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

  10   “They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”

Christian leaders that will not allow the Holy Spirit to enter their services in the fullness of His power to demonstrate who He is and to reveal His glory are CONSPIRATORS! If this is you, then you are who the Lord is speaking about! Why do you choose to disobey and why to you refuse to incline your ear! You can’t remember the last time you heard the voice of the Spirit! You walk with an evil heart, yet you proclaim to be serving the Lord, preaching dead sermons, propagating programs to make it look like you are busy in the Lord. You prop up your so-called accomplishments and proudly tout the number of people in your congregation, you fight for position with the ranks of your associations and your denomination, but you will be stripped of the flock the Lord has entrusted your with if you do not heed and repent!

Unfaithful leaders who do not follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit will find themselves in the hands of an angry God and will see their strategic plans come to nothing. Unfaithful stewards will have even what they think they have, NOT what they have, but what they think they have, taken from them and given to those that have trained themselves to hear the Spirit of God and to obey!

When we do not listen to the Spirit of God, when we will not heed His promptings, we are judged as conspirators against the Lord and against His Christ! Why then would we expect the abundance of revival! No, we will not see the abundance, but we will be judged and that which we have will be taken away unless we repent and turn our hearts back to the living God! His sheep know His voice. Do you?

You that lead the Lord’s people around in circles, week after week, month after month, year after year, attempting to assure the flock that they are actually going somewhere, focusing on the endless and tiresome services filled with the agenda of man, stand condemned! You do not walk in life and yet you expect tired, thirsty and ill-fed sheep to follow you while they moan under the burden of sickness and utter despair, bearing the heat of the hot sun and burned-out pasture, while proclaiming to them, “This is good!”. What should the Lord do with such leaders!? I tell you He will strip them of their authority and He himself, THE Great Shepherd, will lead the flock to green pastures and streams of life-giving water. He will do it!

Jesus is The Green Pasture! Jesus is The Living Water! Leaders are called to lead the flock to Jesus no matter what it costs them personally. That is their charge and they can only fulfill the ministry that they have been given when they follow the Holy Spirit. But how can you follow the Lord when you no longer have eyes that see what He is doing. You no longer have ears to hear what He is saying, yet you say you are His disciple. True disciples do what their Master tells them to do, yet you cannot and you will not hear. You cannot and you will not see.

The Lord proclaims in Jeremiah 11:11 (NASB95) the following:

  11   Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.

And here you stand “man of God,” condemned before the Lord whom you claim to serve. You stand condemned and you must change. You MUST change or you will surely perish!

In 1997 I saw in a vision a mighty rushing river coming at a 45 degree angle to the front door of a beautiful church. Immediately I saw a pastor and the church leaders conspiring against the move of the Holy Spirit. They decided that they did not want the rushing Mighty River and they would not allow the Holy Spirit to come in to their church! How evil conspiracy against the Lord is!

When they made that decision, immediately the rushing Mighty River changed course and ran straight along the side wall of the church building causing it to collapse, exposing the leaders who had gathered. Suddenly the pastor was caught in the current of the river. Terrified, the pastor attempted to hold on to the other leaders to keep from being swept away, but the current was too swift.

He was then caught in the current, swept backward, away from the church, away from the leaders, his face filled with terror. It was then that I heard the voice of the Spirit proclaim, “Change or perish”. It is a clear and simple message.

These are sobering words to heed and contemplate and they are true! The Spirit of the Lord is coming to settle accounts with unfaithful servants! They will be stripped of everything they THINK they have.

In the days that Jesus walked the earth, the leaders refused to hear. Now that the Father has sent the promised Holy Spirit, present day leaders refuse to listen to Him and dishonor Him on a consistent basis. You cannot dishonor the Third Person of the Godhead on an ongoing basis and get away with it! The Lord sent Him to bring life to His flock, yet you will not honor Him. What should the penalty be for those that have been entrusted with the Master’s business, yet do not want Him to rule over them? Terrible judgment awaits and it is certain!

We must repent and turn for we HAVE NOTHING! We must align ourselves with the truth of Revelation 3:17–19 (NASB95):

  17   ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,

  18   I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

  19   ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.

We must REPENT OF OUR CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST and be leaders that will follow, and not resist or grieve the Holy Spirit. The programs of men will never, and can never, compete with the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Align with Him and He will align with you. Conspire against Him and He will bring calamity upon you. Make the decision today and turn from your wickedness and your conspiracy against the Lord! The decision is life or death. Oh that you would choose life!

If we resist the move of the Holy Spirit in our services…if we do not allow the gifts to operate in us or the people of God…if we do not step out of our boats of comfort and preach expecting signs and wonders to be released and pray expecting the sick to be healed…if we do not preach the power that is the Gospel…if we are ashamed of the power of the Holy Spirit, then we will be stripped of our authority and with it our responsibility and both will be given to those that have been found both humble and faithful. He has humble and faithful servants in reserve. They have been prepared for this day. The sheep will receive their commands from their Shepherd. They will run to Him and another voice they will not follow! (Jn 10:4-5)

But, if we turn, confess our sins and repent, welcoming and waiting upon the Holy Spirit and surrender ourselves to His plan and purpose…turning back to The One that called us, then He will restore us and honor us with His presence. How deep, broad, wide and high is the love of God! When we repent, He rushes toward us bringing deliverance and healing, fresh bread and fresh water, not only for us but for those that He gave us responsibility for!

Turn now and see how quickly He will respond to you and for you. Experience the suddenlies of God and the wind of His Spirit and see true life come into His Church.

Mark C. Biteler