Introduction

There are many in the Body of Christ who believe they are called to be influencers within their local church, which they use for a legitimate excuse to stay.  They have been praying for the Lord to send revival, while being dissatisfied with the lack of supernatural power being manifested in their services, i.e., no one is being saved, healed, or delivered which should be troubling to anyone who is thirsty for Biblical Christianity.  They believe they are being faithful to the Lord; however, they continually  overlook serious issues that are in direct opposition to the Biblical standard of normal Christianity.  They see the truth of the situation, but they don’t know what to do about it.  They are witnesses to the reality that the Holy Spirit is not honored, and that Church leaders habitually grieve The One who called them.

The question we must ask is what is the Lord saying concerning this situation that many in the Body of Christ are facing?  Are many believers across the United States walking in the truth and or have they become guilty participants in Church leader’s sins?  This is without question a very serious issue and one which the Lord called me recently to focus on.  He said, “Allow me to open your mind to the truth of this matter.”  I submit the following to help many who are asking the question, “What am I to do?”

Where can we begin to drill down to bedrock truth regarding the concept of being an influencer?  Is it a legitimate calling?  To answer this and other associated questions, we must understand that the Lord is confronting His Church leaders with a core issue saying, “Allow My Spirit to move in power in My house; unconditionally surrender to My Spirit – Change or perish!”  The Lord recently commanded me to, “Continue to pound this message!”  This is the message to the Church from the Spirit of Jesus Christ, like it or not and we must accept it if we are going to get to the truth of the matter.  We must understand what the Holy Spirit is saying, within the framework of the Scriptures, to get to the root of whether He is calling anyone to be an influencer or not.

We must also explore fundamental assumptions and premises that many are using to base their decision on.  These are where our belief system can become entangled with half-truths which are nothing more than lies.  For example, many believers assume that the Lord will bring revival to their church as they continue to be faithful and pray, while lacking the understanding that the Lord has no intention to pour out new wine into old wineskins (Matt 9:17||Mk 2:22||Lk 5:37-38).  The truth of the matter is that the Lord is already bypassing churches where leadership has refused entry to the Holy Spirit, i.e., they will not allow Him to move in power in and through His people.  He will not entrust these churches or their leaders with an outpouring of His Holy Spirit.  Therefore, the Lord has already marked many churches for closure.  Nor is He willing to give poor stewards of His Spirit additional authority or power when they clearly don’t deserve it as it would be completely contrary to the Lord’s teaching on the judgment He will bring to unfaithful stewards (Matthew 25:14-30, Matthew 12:45-51 || Luke 12:42-48; Luke 16:10-12, 19:10-27).

Those who are faithful with what they have been given, the Lord will give them more.  To those who have been unfaithful stewards, even that which they have will be taken away and given to faithful stewards.  I would submit that being entrusted by the Lord with revival, an outpouring of His Spirit, is not a function of praying and faithfulness to what we think the Lord is going to do; it is a matter of hearing the voice of the Spirit of Jesus and obeying.

Even now, we begin to see the fallacy of the influencer argument.  In fact, the smell of deception is in the air.  Could it be that those who believe they are called to be influencers have simply settled into a powerless, disobedient lifestyle, without the courage to step out of their boat of comfort to follow Jesus?  Waiting for Church leadership to catch revival is not an excuse for not living in revival now.  However, what I think really isn’t important.  What is important is what the Lord wants to say to each believer regarding where He wants them to be.  Each of us must know definitively if we have been called by the Holy Spirit to be influencers or not within the local church we are attending.

As we continue to explore the concept of being an influencer in a local Church, there are several more foundational points of revelation that we must explore and either accept or reject; there is no middle ground.  I will continue to share the revelation that the Lord has released to me as we go forward.  The following summarizes the Lord’s perspective regarding the Church and what He intends to do soon.  This is the word of the Lord, not my conjecture or speculation developed by the reasoning of my mind.  These are sobering truths about the Church in general across the United States.

1. The Church is in ruins and operates far from the Biblical standard.

2. In many cases the Church stands as the enemy’s first line of defense against revival and the coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason for the Lord’s call to pastors and leaders to unconditionally surrender to the Holy Spirit.

3. The Church has become overrun by the enemy, where those who were never called to positions of authority in the Lord’s house have been installed as leaders. This has given room for the enemy to bring his influence through the reasoning of men.  The Church was not called to operate on the reasoning of man, but upon supernatural revelation that comes from Jesus Christ, by His Spirit.  Those who were never called directly by the Lord to take positions of leadership within the Church are to resign immediately or face the consequences of a direct confrontation with the Lord.

4. Leaders in the Church preach with persuasive words of man’s wisdom rather than in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, contradicting Paul’s teaching set forth in I Cor 2:4-5 & 4:18-20. The result is that many in the Church have built their faith on the wisdom of man, rather than on the power of God.  Many believers have accepted a powerless form of Christianity that isn’t Biblical.  Paul’s instruction to Timothy concerning those who had a form of godliness but denied the power was to stop following them (I Timothy 3:5).

5. The Lord intends to rebuild His Church starting at the foundation of the ministry offices set forth in Ephesians 4 which are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. His existing leaders that align with Him, along with the emerging leaders the Lord will bring to the front-line to the positions He has precisely crafted for them, will move in great power and authority.  The Glory of the Lord will return to His house.  As I have already stated, anyone who has not been called by the Lord directly to take a position of leadership within His Church must resign immediately or they will be confronted by the Lord.

6. Judgment begins in the house of the Lord and it has begun. Covid-19 is judgment released from the Lord and is clearly called out in Leviticus 26:14-43 and is named specifically in the first of five phases of judgment from the Lord set forth in this passage.  Leviticus 26:16 describes a “sudden terror, consumption and fever that shall waste away the eyes, etc.”  Consumption, the word used in the New American Standard Bible, is what we call tuberculosis, which is similar in many respects to Covid-19; it attacks the respiratory system as well as other organs leading to death.  Contrary to popular thought, judgment isn’t made in China, it is released from Heaven.  In this point, many leaders in the Church have missed the Lord’s message and His intent completely, refusing to believe the Biblical truth that the Lord moves in judgment today.

7. Many so-called “Christian” assemblies are nothing more than gatherings of those who worship false light and follow teachers of false light. These assemblies will be judged by the Lord and are not to be called churches.

8. The Lord has moved us from a time of relative peace to a time of war. War is coming to America.

9. The Lord will move in judgment in major cities across the United States. Because of the destruction, many will appear as a war zone.  The Lord will bring specific judgment to various states.  In some regions people will be forced to move because the Lord will strike their water supply.

10. We are coming soon to a fork in the road. Those who worship the idol of money, will come to poverty. Others, who know the voice of the Holy Spirit and follow Him, will be guided on the road of Glory where He will provide for their needs.  The Lord plans to destroy the currencies of the nations and there will come a day when the only currency that will be recognized will be the currency of Heaven – Faith.

With this prophetic revelation adding to our foundation, let us go further by admitting this foundational truth: “…for apart from Me you can do nothing.”(Jn 15:5b)  Our ongoing, complete dependence upon the Lord is without question and never comes to an end; He is the Vine, and we are the branches (Jn 15:1, 4-5).  Once we are in touch with this basic truth, we begin to understand Paul’s words from Acts 17:28, “… in Him we live, and move, and have our being.”  We are in a step by step, day by day, dependent relationship with the Lord which is a truth that cannot be over emphasized and must be part of the foundation we are using to uncover the truth of the influencer label.

To better understand the necessity of knowing whether one is called to a particular church fellowship as an influencer, the label can be placed in the light of what I have already shared and the additional issues below.

1. A Paradigm Shift: A term that is used for a dramatic set of changes could be referred to as a shift change or a paradigm shift.  In short, the Lord has instituted a complete reset in the parameters regarding how we live, move, and have our being.  We have entered a different time.  This requires that we recalibrate our hearts and minds to a new reality that the Lord instituted beginning in 2020.  This is no small challenge, because the way we have thought and the assumptions we believed were acceptable and normal in our walk with the Lord, are no longer valid; they act as an anchor as we walk into a future.

The Lord has reset the bar and He will no longer relate to us at the level where we are; He has called us to move to a higher level in Him.  The Lord is creating new wineskins, which is us, if we will allow Him to change us.  If we begin to get a sense of the magnitude of what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church now, we begin to get a sense of how much change He must bring to our lives to prepare us for where He is going.  We must have eyes to see, ears to see and a heart to perceive what the Lord is saying and doing, then we must align with this revelation.  We cannot be used in, or experience, the coming revival without first aligning with Him.  The change He is calling us to will be as painful as it will be dramatic, but we will come through emanating the Glory of God.  Revival will cost us everything.

2. Dangerous & Perilous Times: We have moved into an era of time where the Lord has made a definitive statement that has enormous ramifications.  What is this revelation?  It is that that “dangerous and perilous times are coming; stay in My Glory.”  When we couple this together with the revelation that, “in the days ahead, the sin of presumption (doing our own thing and moving in authority the Lord has not given to us), will be dangerous if not deadly,” we must stop and take stock.  The decisions we make going forward are critical and must be based upon this new reality.

3. We Must Stay in His Glory: This brings us to our next question which is what does it mean to stay in the Glory of the Lord?  As I have sought the Lord, studied, and meditated on this topic, it’s clear that it boils down to simple obedience.  We must be aligned with what the Lord is doing, rather than working in opposition to His plan.  We must live our lives in accordance with “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).  This can only be done if we are prepared and understand the necessity of receiving revelation from His Spirit in real time.  This requires humility.  We can know His will generally and the Bible gives us a great deal of understanding of what that looks like.  However, it isn’t enough.  For those that don’t believe that the Lord speaks to His people today, they will immediately dismiss this foundational, Biblical truth.  Any path other than the path the Holy Spirit has called us to take will be dangerous if not deadly.
4. We Must Recalibrate to His Revelation: Recalibration begins with two important questions.  First, what is the sin of presumption and second, what does it mean to stay in His Glory?  To answer the first question, the Bible makes it clear that our sin nature is geared to operate independently of the Lord.  It all started with Adam and Eve in the garden when they decided to make their own decision in direct contradiction to the Lord’s directive.  They heard the voice of the Lord.  There was no question what He said, but the enemy suggested otherwise, deceiving them, and causing them to fall by their choice to make their own decision independent of the Lord.  Independence from the Lord is rebellion, and it is as the sin of witchcraft (I Sam 15:22-23, KJV).

Moving in the sin of presumption is to take authority that has not been given to us, and then moving in our own path, not the Lord’s.  This is exactly what Adam and Eve did and if you follow what the Bible has to say about it, you will find that there is little that brings the wrath and the judgment of the Lord faster than those who move in the sin of presumption where a person, group, church, or nation moves in opposition to His will.  For more information on this topic, I invite you to watch and study the Sin of Presumption video series on our homepage.  It is an urgent message to the Church and deals directly with the topic at hand.

Jesus made it clear that His sheep know Him (Jn 10:14) and emphasized that His sheep know His voice (Jn 10:3,4, 5,16).  The Lord does speak, as Paul highlighted to the Corinthian church in I Cor 12:1-3 stating that formally they followed dumb idols that did not speak, but they have come into a relationship with the Lord where not only will they hear His voice, but they are called to speak His words.  This point is missed by those who teach the Cessationist heresy.  I do not have the time to discuss this at length in this article.  For additional insight regarding this and its relevance to the New Covenant of the Spirit, please refer to my teaching video series on the Gift of Prophecy on our website.

All this leads us to the conclusion that to stay in the Lord’s Glory we must hear His voice and do what He tells us to do.  Being in the Lord’s Glory provides us with His protection which is Himself; He is an ever-present help in time of trouble (Ps 46:1b) as well as our refuge and fortress (Ps 91:2).  This hearkens to the way in which the Lord protected the Israelites by sending the fourth plague of insects (Exodus 8:20-32) upon the Egyptians while protecting the Israelites (Exodus 8:23).  From this plague forward, the Lord protected His people, making a distinction between them and the Egyptians.

We then see the Passover feast and the protection that the Lord instituted as He killed the first born of every Egyptian while providing the shed blood of the lamb as a sign of His protection to be placed on the doorpost for the Israelites.  We then see how the Lord protected His people again as He led them out of Egypt where they were led by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Ex 13:21-22) which was the Lord, Himself (Ex 14:21).  Finally, He strategically destroyed Pharaoh and his army, while demonstrating His loving protection by leading His people through the parting of the Red Sea in a great deliverance from their enemies.  The way the Lord spoke with Moses and directed him is the way the Lord would speak to His people today.  This series of Biblical events are only the beginning in demonstrating what the Scriptures teach in this respect.

The leaders the Lord is raising up are those who know Him, His voice and they obey.  They have been trained by the Holy Spirit to move in His power and to speak His words.  These are those who will be commissioned to lead the sheep of Jesus Christ, His Church, forward into great victory.  No one else will have that privilege.  Only faithful stewards will be entrusted with the authority and power the Lord will release to His leaders and to His Church as a whole.  His army will be clothed in the Glory of the Lord as a witness to the nations (Is 60:1-3).

The Bible makes it clear that choosing to disobey the command of the Lord, moving in the sin of presumption, never fails to end in disaster.  How the Lord moved in precision throughout the Bible, He will do again in our day.  Therefore, we must move in step AND stay in step with Him, moving at the same pace He does.

We must also reflect upon Paul’s admonition to the Colossian’s –

“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.  For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.  Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.  See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.  For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,” (Colossians 2:1–9, NASB95, Emphasis mine)

The argument about being an influencer may at first glance sound credible, noble, and even persuasive, but as we shall soon see, it does not stand in light of the truth in the above verses.  Paul outlines the four walls of a spiritual prison:  (1) Philosophy, (2) Empty deception, (3) The tradition of men, and (4) The elementary principles of men.  These are in direct opposition to the “true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2b-3).  So, what do we have as choices?  We have two – one where we can choose to surrender to Christ and allow Him to be our wisdom and understanding and receive revelation from Him where we are to fellowship, or we can be entrapped within the four walls of a spiritual prison (See Illustration 1 – Please see PDF version).  The spiritual prison is designed by the enemy of our soul, which is more like a concentration camp where prisoners are ill-fed and served muddy water.  There is no Fresh Bread here, nor is there protection from the warden or the guards.  Darkness is the order of the day and it never changes until death comes or we choose to repent.

I can still hear the words of a couple, sitting in our home wrestling with the question they faced:  “We have been in many churches where they preach the Bible.  Why isn’t that enough?”  They knew something was wrong, but they couldn’t put their finger on it.  This is a simple, straightforward question that demands a straightforward answer.  Many are asking the same question.  In short, choosing an assembly of believers where the pastor preaches from the Bible is NOT ENOUGH.  The question really is what does the Bible teach?  Here the word is clear, and we have a decision as to whether we will align with the truth regarding a basic tenant of the kingdom of God.

Paul said it this way in I Corinthians 4:20:  “…the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power.”  It was this same group of believers where Paul taught that his “message and preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” (I Corinthians 2:4-5)  Preaching from the Bible is not enough.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is there are ongoing demonstrations of supernatural power where His people operate in His gifts; this was fundamental to the ministry of Christ, Peter, Paul not to mention others including Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.  Either we chose to live in that realm, or we will drift into powerless religion invented by man, which is death.  We must choose life and we must choose the truth; they go hand-in-hand.  As one theologian put it, miracles do not confirm the Gospel, they are the Gospel.[1]

We can live in the realm of the Spirit of Christ, where the supernatural power of the Lord is the normal order of the day, where people are saved, healed, and delivered and the Holy Spirit is welcome.  Where He moves in and through His people with great authority and power through the gifts of His Spirit as they march in His Glory, submitted to His leadership and His authority.  What do His followers, the soldiers of His kingdom want above all else?  They want Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God!

Our other choice is to choose to live in the prison where we are held captive by the persuasive arguments and philosophy of men, empty deception, the traditions of men as well as their rules for living.  This is what is served in the prison, that many call “church,” on an ongoing basis and it results in the definition of a living death.  It is not the Church – it is a facade from Hell devoid of the Lord’s power, His Glory and His Spirit.  We dare not call a gathering where the Spirit is not welcome or honored as a church.

This brings us to another point of revelation concerning running outside of the Glory.  To run ahead of the shield of the Lord, His Holy Spirit, is to risk unnecessary and serious harm.  Taking revelation and running with it can be as dangerous as moving in the wrong direction outside of the Lord’s will.  The Lord’s plan is to lead His flock and push the enemy back; therefore, we must give Him room to clear the path even as Joshua’s leaders warned the people to stay behind the ark of the covenant approxi-mately ten football fields) as they crossed over the Jordan into the promise land (Jos 3:4a).  We are being called to walk with the Lord and not get ahead of Him by making assumptions about what He will do; we must give Him room!  What was true for the Israelites as they entered the Promise Land, is true for us – we have not been this way before (Jos 3:4b).  We must follow the Lord at a distance.  This, too, requires us to recalibrate ourselves to the ways of the Lord going forward.

Jesus taught in Matthew 7 saying, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few.” (Mt 7:14, ESV).  Luke records Jesus elaborating on this point when He taught, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.  For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” (Lk 13:24, ESV)  The Lord is demanding that we find out what His will is and do it.  The word “strive” suggests that we will experience a battle and what the Lord is telling me is that it is a matter of life and death as to where He would have us fellowship.  This is the word of the Lord.

With all the above, I contend that we must know where He has called us to fellowship.  Nothing can be left to chance; we cannot, nor dare not, rest upon, “I think so,” we MUST know!  We must hear His voice and diligently follow His instructions concerning being in His Glory; He has no obligation to be in the presence of rebels who neither have eyes that see nor ears that hear.  Judgment will be their portion; this is what was revealed to the prophet Isaiah in Isa 6:9-12.  This will be true in our day.

The Spirit declares that when He opens our eyes to what is going on in His house, we must bring that revelation to Him.  We must not deny what we see, for the Lord does not walk in the paths of our denial; He walks in the truth for He is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6).  He will show us what to do.  We dare not move in our own wisdom.

We have laid a solid foundation upon basing the seriousness of the hour and the true weight of the decision that must be made.  If we are to be influencers, then we must know for certain that this is from the Lord and that we have not fallen into the trap of the enemy.  The Lord has made it clear to me that our decision is a matter of life and death.  We dare not lose sight of that reality as we move forward from here.

The Influencer Label

First, we should be clear about what an influencer is.  The formal definition is that it is a person or group that exerts influence; a person who inspires or guides the actions of others.[2]  From a worldly perspective, we could develop a rough measurement system to determine if we truly are an influencer in our local church or not.  If not, then we are confronted with the distinct possibility that we have had an inflated opinion of ourselves and our influence, or even worse, that we have not heard from the Lord and therefore we are not in His Glory.

I encourage all who think they are called to be influencers to seriously consider the following:

1. We could use one of Dale Carnegie’s best-selling books titled How to Win Friends and Influence People to develop a list of those behaviors that, if done consistently and systematically, would establish credibility for us to be formally classified as influencers. This might validate our position from a worldly position, but that and of itself would not be definitive proof.

2. One of the problems with labeling ourselves as an influencer is that the Bible never uses the term. I admit that there are Biblical accounts where one person’s perspective or recommendation is taken over another, but that has nothing to do with the main thrust of being a witness for Jesus Christ, preaching Bible truth and speaking by revelation from the Holy Spirit.  The term influencer wreaks of the same thinking that prefers the term coaching for discipling.  It’s a bad habit to water down the Bible and worse than that it is devilish.  From a Biblical perspective, the Lord never called us to be influencers; He called us to follow Him and say what He is saying and do what He is doing.  This is the model that Jesus lived and demonstrated.  To choose to do anything else is to succumb to Satan’s empty deception (see Colossians 2:4,8 & Illustration 1).

3. We should ask ourselves who in Church leadership is asking for our point of view, our wisdom and how often? Or should we?  The problem with this is that we should be preaching the truth of the Bible, relaying the Lord’s perspective and His wisdom and revelation, not what we think.  If we are preaching His counsel within the framework of the Scripture, then we are speaking with authority that comes in, by and through the Holy Spirit.  For the Church to secure the promise of the coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it must hear, “Thus says the Lord!”

4. How many levels down in the authority structure at the local church are we from a direct relationship with the senior pastor or the church elders? If we aren’t on staff (or related to them as an immediate family member), our estimates concerning how significant our level of influence is guaranteed to be grossly overestimated.

5. Do we think we are an influencer or are we just another person who is going to take a survey developed by the senior leadership team where we think our opinion matters? Surveys are taken by people who are anonymous.  They are used by pastors who, typically, no longer hear the voice of the Lord and are attempting to develop their own strategy.  In contrast, influencers are not anonymous; they are known, unlike those who participate in taking surveys.

6. When was the last time we spoke, “Thus saith the Lord!” and preached it with conviction? When was our message received by anyone in authority at the church?  If the answer is never, then the truth is that we are not an influencer, and any influence we may have is minimal at best.  Is it possible that we have lost our authority in Christ, preaching the traditions of men instead of the revelation that comes by the Holy Spirit?  Have we drifted so far that we have become parti-cipants in Satan’s prison building program (See Illustration 1) which is far from the Glory of the Lord?

7. Who on the ministry staff has changed their perspective or behavior based upon anything we have shared with them? None?  Then we are not an influencer.

8. How much time do we spend with those who are part of the ministry team? When have they asked our opinion or shared their deep heart issues?  If the answer is rarely or not at all, then we are not an influencer.

9. If we feel we are influencing others around us but are not on the same page as the ministry staff, we are not an influencer. It is likely we have already been marginalized by Church leadership because they believe we could be working division within the Body.  No one should be in that position.  If we are, then we have a choice to make.  Either we leave because we do not agree with the direction of Church leadership or we stay and are tempted to bring division.  If we choose the latter, the Lord will bring judgment to our doorstep without decisive repentance.  It is far better to leave a fellowship, staying in the path of peace.

10. Has the Holy Spirit told us that we are called to be an influencer? If not, and this is easy, we are not an influencer.  Chances are high that we have deceived ourselves and/or have been deceived by the enemy.  This is ironic given the fact that we haven’t heard from the Lord ourselves, but we think we can guide others in the truth and influence them as to what they should do.

Having worked through and carefully considered the list above, we must draw some truthful conclusions and submit them to the Lord.  If it turns out that we have had a grandiose view of our level of influence, then it may be time for us to repent of our pride.  We dare not be doing our own thing and calling it the ministry of the influencer – it doesn’t exist.  If the only reason we have to remain in a given church fellowship is because we think we have been an influencer and now realize we aren’t, it is time to get real before the Lord and stop denying the fact that we have no reason to stay.  We must  hear from the Lord as to what our next steps should be.

Once we have come to the realization that we aren’t an influencer, we must face an even deeper problem.  It is very possible that all the time we thought we were influencing, we became an enabler of those who are leading the flock of Jesus Christ away from Him and in direct opposition to His will.

The Enabler Label

What is an enabler?  It is one that enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior (such as substance abuse) by providing excuses or by making it possible to avoid the consequences of such behavior.  Enabling is giving misguided support to a person with a substance-abuse problem.[3]  A person who facilitates the self-destructive behavior of another is referred to as an enabler.

If we are actively turning away from what we see is wrong regarding Church leadership, closing our eyes to their sin and what it is doing to the Body, without taking it before the Lord and seeking His counsel, then we have become a significant part of the problem.  We have become an enabler.  This is a tough truth to swallow, but if we will face the truth then we, and everyone around us, will be better for it.

What this means is that we have been working in direct opposition to where the Lord wants to go.  He has revealed to us what direction He wants to go, but we are supporting those who are walking in rebellion to the Holy Spirit.  If we are enabling and supporting their rebellion, then the Lord views us as a willing participant in their rebellion and is calling us to repent immediately.

Here are some key indicators that we have become an enabler:

1. We are attempting to keep peace in the House of the Lord where both the leadership and the sheep are out of alignment with the Holy Spirit, in deep rebellion against Him and His will.  We want everything to be ok, but it’s not ok and we can’t face it.  Enablers just want to keep the peace without the presence of the Prince of Peace.
2. We refuse to confront the darkness because we have already convinced ourselves that we don’t have authority, so we never take righteous action, excusing ourselves from taking any responsibility because we have been under the impression that we are nothing but influencers.  The truth is that we are a willing participant in the work of the enemy.
3. Enablers attempt to make people who are miserable feel better, in the absence of the One who is true comfort, the Holy Spirit who was sent to comfort, but is not allowed in the Church.  For the most part, our solution, not the Lord’s, is to bring human wisdom to help people deal with a horrible situation, which is no solution.
4. Enablers only hope things will get better, but deep in their hearts they don’t have the courage to say, “NO!  This far and no further.  I’m not going to put up with it anymore.”
5. Enablers don’t or won’t stand up for the truth or stand against wickedness or rebellion against the Holy Spirit.  They can’t find the courage to leave the assembly and follow Jesus and allow Him to make a way.
6. Enablers do not walk as a prophetic voice in the Church or the world; they walk in compromise and cause others to walk in compromise.  Their very presence enables and encourages others to stay and walk in compromise.  They really don’t have to say anything at all.  Others watch their behavior and believe it is OK to put up with something less than Biblical Christianity when nothing could be further from the Truth or the Lord’s Glory.
7. Enablers have neither the faith nor the conviction to step out of a bad, sin-filled, situation.  They justify their motives based upon the partial truth that God is love, not realizing that He demands obedience to the truth and adherence to His word.
8. Enablers refuse to pay the price required to follow Jesus into the unknown.  They want the Lord to lay out every step of their exit before they leave a church, not realizing that before the second step is revealed the first step must be taken.

So, what can we take from the above?  We never want to be enabling those who stand opposed to the will of the Lord or His Holy Spirit.  To do otherwise is to risk being viewed as willing participants in rebellion against the Lord.  If we are guilty of such sin, it is time to fall on our knees and repent for straying from the truth and for participating in grave sin.  The Lord will be quick to forgive if we will relent and turn to Him, commit ourselves and our families to His will and listen to His voice.

Conclusion

We have covered a great deal of ground.  In the end, we must be desperate for Jesus if we are going to receive His wisdom and guidance as to what we are to do.  David wrote that the Lord, “…will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Psalm 16:11, NASB95)  There is no coincidence what David sets forth in this verse.  What is the Lord doing when He makes known to us the paths of life?  He is leading us into His presence, His Glory, and the outpouring of His Spirit.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)  It is safe to conclude that no one comes into the Glory of the Lord without obeying the Holy Spirit.  His glory will not be among the rebellious.

Jesus taught, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Mt 7:15)  If we will let Him be our Shepherd, He will guide us to green pasture.  He promised to never leave us or forsake us, so we can count on Him to lead and guide us forward in one of the most important decisions we will be called upon to make as followers of Jesus.  We can either be in His Glory, enjoying His presence or be surrounded by Hell.  At the risk of sounding redundant, I will relay again what the Lord spoke to me:  “This is a matter of life and death.”

In the end, there is no difference between those who believe they are an influencer and those who are enablers.  The truth about the influence of the typical pew sitter or volunteer in the Church IS that it is negligible.  I would venture to say that 99% of those who think they are influencers are nothing other than enablers to a pastor who will not change or unconditionally surrender to the Holy Spirit.  They support the rebellion of the pastor by their attendance, their leading and/or participating in programs that are a poor substitute for true, Holy Spirit led ministry and most of all, by their continued financial support.  All of this is done because they are deceived into thinking that their cloak of enabler is really faithfulness to the Lord.

To attempt to be an influencer is to step into something less than what the Lord has called us to.  What has the Lord said to us about what we discern about the local assembly of believers we call Church?  He is speaking through what He is revealing.  The real question is what has He called us to do about it?  We must hear from Him!  If we don’t, we may want to check our sense of reality.  We need the Lord to reveal to us any denial of reality that we are walking in.

Without revelation from the Lord, we risk being guilty of the sin of presumption, which is simply rebellion and a refusal to follow Jesus.  Part of His guidance could be to lead us to meet with other members of your family and/or friends in our homes, which is the first century Church model described in the New Testament.  He may move us to another fellowship.  Whatever He decides will be the best.  The paramount issue to the Lord is that any group allow the Holy Spirit to lead.  This requires an unconditional surrender to His will because anything less will grieve Him.  In addition, I relay to you what the Holy Spirit said to me: “I don’t play games like the Church.”

As we shed the grave clothes of the influencer and enabler, let us endeavor to strive to hear the Lord’s voice.  Only the Holy Spirit can give us eyes that see and ears that hear.  Jesus spoke many truths that were designed only for those who had eyes to see and ears that hear His voice.  We must be one of those who hear and see what the Master is doing.  Then and only then we will be where the Master is.  Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:26, NASB95)

Mark Biteler

[1] Jon Mark Ruthven, What’s Wrong with Protestant Theology, (Word & Spirit Press, Tulsa, OK, 2013), pg. 31.

[2] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/influencer (Accessed May 4, 2021)

[3] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enabler (Accessed May 4, 2021)