Download PDF version: We Can No Longer Turn a Blind Eye.04.26.16
Originally released April 26, 2016
During a recent prayer and ministry gathering in my home where a number of leaders were present, the Holy Spirit prompted me to say something that was very profound. It was simply that those gathered could no longer turn a blind eye to what they were seeing within their church.
Clearly this call from the Holy Spirit was a command to seek His face for the precise action He was requiring from each of them. The Lord was announcing that a change had a come and He was calling these leaders to face the issues that were identical to what I write and preach about.
It was a definitive moment for me. I had been praying for years concerning the decisions that would be required by millions of Christians around the world because of the changes the Lord was bringing. He has revealed a great deal over the past 20 years which all boils down to people making decisions to follow Christ at an entirely new level. The Holy Spirit is forcing change both inside and outside the Church for the purpose of winning the lost and accomplishing the Great Commission. He never called us to do it alone, but rather to do it by Him, in Him and through Him.
So what am I saying? Simply this – you and I cannot operate as if there is nothing wrong within the local church when the Holy Spirit is demanding that we look at it squarely. Each situation is certainly different, the players are different, the circumstances are different but in the end the Holy Spirit is The One who gives not only revelation but direction for each of us that will bring forth the Kingdom of God. That is the goal isn’t it? If you are wavering, let me assure you that it is. The goal of the Holy Spirit is not necessarily that the so-called church establishment on the corner of 1st & Main continue. No, His goal is to make the Bride of Jesus Christ ready and He will do whatever is necessary to accomplish His mission.
The goal of the Holy Spirit is not to keep us from making tough decisions; especially concerning areas of compromise to the scriptures He inspired. Jesus not only set the bar, He is the bar, the standard by which we measure our lives. You may notice in the Gospels that Jesus had little tolerance for mechanical religion; His Spirit has the same intolerance; He is calling us to be intolerant and to hate evil that He has and is exposing. Evil, in whatever form it exists within His Church, must be confronted in love and the truth. In many cases, new foundations must be re-established.
The Lord is calling upon leaders to make decisions and I for one am grateful. The middle-ground is quickly evaporating if indeed it ever existed in the land of the lukewarm.
Mark Biteler
