Asleep in Seattle and Portland
Blessed are the peace makers.
Peaceful protesting is an American right. No one objects to peaceful protesting. PEACEFUL!!
But while we sleep, dangerous factions are at work in our cities and two cities in particular are in my thoughts today. I’ve been in both cities and have valued my time there. Past leaders made them thrive and kept them safe.
How are the peaceful citizens, the law-abiding citizens of Seattle sleeping these days? Their mayor, Jenny Durkan is certainly asleep and dreaming. She thinks it’s the summer of love. That felons and anarchists deserve some Seattle real estate to occupy, burn, demolish, and loot. You can bet that her home will remain safe from them and from burning or looting. Her home won’t become their summer city of love. She has good security and knows how to hide.
In Portland, OR . . . the same dreamscape is at work. City leadership and mayor Ted Wheeler coddle the worst segment of society, regardless of how it affects other law-abiding residents. Their choice is to surrender city buildings to the mob. Allow violence to consume neighborhoods. Abandon federal buildings to anarchists. What’s in the water that these misguided, inept leaders in OR are drinking?
ANY city that condones violence and behavior of rampaging mobs and anarchists is not a city that can survive. Leaders who reward wickedness and abandon any concern for the security of their citizens forfeit their right to lead.
During this pandemic of rage, both mayors (and the Gov. of OR) tested positive for Stupid. This goes for Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio too in NY. They’ve single-handedly ruined the state and City of New York.
So when will the citizens of these besieged cities demand impeachment proceedings of cowardly leaders? When will these leaders be held to account as they project their hatred at the President and federal authorities who are protecting the peoples’ property?
Time to elect leaders who love America, who love our historic cities, and value the citizens they SERVE. Find brave, patriotic civil servants who will not cower or kowtow to mobs and violence. Men and women who want the best for their city and nation. Peacemakers who lead from strength and righteousness. For your children and grandchildren.
Don’t give position or power to those who are asleep while the city burns. Take away the privilege to SERVE you from those who don’t care about you but instead encourage the worst dregs of humanity to harass, attack, rampage and pillage. The shrill voices of anarchy have a right to be heard, but they have no right to harm or destroy. Their father is a spirit that seeks to rob, kill, and destroy. A spirit of rebellion against order and the rule of law.
And please pray that God bless and reunite the United States of America. It’s in our collective best interest.
Preparing for Apostolic Ministry
How would someone, called to be an apostle, prepare for that ministry? Is there training for apostolic ministry? Where would you go? What might that training or preparation include? Most of those who have that calling, assignment, office, have had to receive their preparation by means other than traditional schooling or ministries.
Please understand, it is difficult to speak of the things that follow. I feel like Paul when he said you’ve forced me to talk like a fool. No one desires to put oneself forward, yet in order to be a blessing to others, we must share what God is doing in our lives. We overcome the enemy by the word of our testimony. I cannot speak for all apostles, so I will testify to my own preparation in a sincere desire to assist someone who may be as baffled as I was.
First, apostolic ministry is not our choice but Christ’s. He sends. No one can choose to be an apostle. Jesus calls and sends. We either go or we don’t. From my conversion experience through my most recent ministry, all has been initiated by Jesus. My role is to respond to his calling and sending. From the time He spoke my name on Christmas day, 1976, He has been revealing His purposes and shaping my character–purging what is in me that hinders his honor. As I’ve responded in obedience (and that has never been perfect), I have been entrusted with more. And often I have not deserved to be sent by Him or to have seen the marvelous things I’ve witnessed. I can truly say it is all of Him. I would not have chosen this path. But I would not want to be on any other. He must become more and more . . . And we must go where He leads. Of course, others must confirm that call. Others will recognize, probably before you will, that you are called to the greater body of Christ. And your going and serving will have results. People will know that you have authority to bless and encourage, to comfort and challenge. Sometimes displays of gifts accompany assignments. These also “testify” to your assignment or ministry in any given place, at His appointed time.
Second, apostles share a deep passion for the Father, and the Kingdom. The apostle Paul said, “The love of God constrains me.” He was pushed, pulled , drawn on, and compelled by love of the Father and Jesus. And for love of those who are loved by God–his people. More about this apostolic passion in my next book.
Third, God has prepared us:
REJECTION. We have known rejection. We have had to fight through feelings of inadequacy and abandonment. My life before Christ has been one of rejection and continues to be in some sense even today; I experience rejection but from a different angle than when I was a child. The Lord has taught me not to take ministry rejection personally. Don’t get me wrong–it’s still difficult. But it’s not about me. I need only to be obedient and speak what I’m given. Faithfulness is all that’s required of me once I’ve heard and understood.
IDENTITY. We know who God says we really are. We are sons. We have found our identity in Him. Though I am the least among his many living apostles, I know that I am a son and have His authority on my life. I don’t always know how to walk in that and am learning more daily, but Jesus continually presents his own calling–his death and resurrection–in my life. I know that I am walking into His plan and purpose. I also know that difficulty awaits. But so does unimaginable blessing and fruit. I have many promises of God that I am waiting to see unfold. And they will.
KNOWLEDGE. We are learning and are living out what the Father is teaching. We are no longer on milk, laying over and over the same foundations; we have learned the teaching about righteousness (Heb 5.13-6.1). Now we are called to go from sincere love to deep love (1 Pt. 1.22 NIV). We have also prepared ourselves with study of the Word of God. Some of us have studied formally and others informally. Some have done both. But God has taught us. And we know that what makes us most effective is hearing first for ourselves. Being not only hearers, but doers of the Word. Then hearing what “the Spirit is ‘saying’ to the church.”
CHARACTER. We are being shaped by His hands. He is forming vessels of honor (to give honor and bring honor to Him). But the job description is not one that flocks sign up for. When I sought the Lord, asking Him how I could prepare, the Holy Spirit took me to meditate on and abide in 1 Cor. 4.9-21. Take time to immerse yourself in this text before you glamorize apostolic ministry. That said, there is nothing I know as thrilling as being sent on assignment. Whether that be to the local store or to a church gathering several states away or to the Republic of Georgia (I was sent there immediately following the Russian incursion into Georgia with a specific assignment to a specific man, with specific words. When I arrived, he was an atheist, today he is a precious brother in Christ. Dearer to me than flesh and blood brother. His conversion, while I stayed at his home, transformed not only his life and his family, but mine as well. His church and the market where he works was also impacted for Christ). God has a special call and assignment on his life too. Just as he has in yours.
These are some of the preparations I have experienced. I share more about the authority of apostles in my book, We’re the “sons of God” . . . So What?–available at Amazon.com.
Why not participate in a discussion. Leave a comment. Let us know if this post helps you or if you have something that can help someone prepare for apostolic ministry.
©2011, Dr. David C Alves
The Real Warfare is Spiritual
UPDATED for 2020: Given the recent anarchy in our cities and streets. And in our colleges and universities, I felt the need to update and republish this post from 2017.
Who or what is behind groups like “Antifa” and “Black Lives Matter”? Why is violence and hatred characteristic of political extremists on BOTH sides.
Human beings live in an active spiritual war zone. All humans live on enemy held territory. How did this happen?
First, a quick word about “Dualism” so that you do not get confused. Dualism is the view that two equal but opposite intelligent, uncreated powers inhabit our universe and war against one another. In Dualism, one power is good and one equal power is bad. They have been opposed throughout eternity and neither has won. Here and there they have a loss and then a victory over the other. Some people choose the good power and some choose the evil. Though some untaught people believe that this is what Christianity believes, it does not. Dualism is completely foreign and contrary to biblical Christianity.
The biblical Christian knows that the two powers that war against one another are nowhere near equal. One is Creator. That would be God. The other is a created being. That would be satan or the devil (not the cultural devil of red union-suit, pitchfork. horns, and tail fame). Satan was created for a purpose which he chose to abandon. He is far below God in power, authority, and ability. He rebelled against God and drew other angelic powers after himself. They warred in heaven against God’s loyal powers.
The spirit-dimensional beings that fell in rebellion are now demons. Demonic powers are mainly disembodied, though they seek human habitation and animate some humans. Demonized humans are willingly and/or unknowingly used by these powers to wage war both on those who do not serve their cause and on those in fellowship with Christ.
Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote of these supernatural beings:
Ephesians 6:10–13 (ESV)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Understand, the voices of Antifa, Black Lives Matter, CAIR, and those who foster division and who hate our nation serve demonic powers. Even though deceived people are the glove, spiritual beings are the hand in the glove. The real war is against spiritual forces. Only those who are equipped to wage war spiritually will be victorious. The majority of people are clueless. Most of them have allied with Satan. A few serve the true and only King. And they are equipped to stand against the demonic effectively.
Jesus said:
Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV)
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
In the excellent 2012 movie, “Act of Valor,” one of the Navy Seals presents a toast to his Seal team as they are gathered informally around a fire the night before their deployment. He lifts his glass and says, “To all those who have been downrange. To us and those like us . . . damn few.”
Genuine followers of Jesus Christ, who understand their calling to displace demonic evil, have been “downrange” in the spiritual warfare. And we are precious few.
Many can talk or write about spiritual warfare and the demonic but some of us are veterans of the spiritual war. For us it’s not theory or doctrine.
I have seen the joy in the face of a woman who was delivered from a demon. Before her deliverance, the demonic spirit caused her eyes to roll back in her head and her body to go stiff as a plank. I have seen the result when I confronted a violent man bent on attacking me. In Jesus’ name, I commanded the violent spirit controlling him to be bound. He and his friend turned from me and couldn’t leave the scene fast enough. The terror of Christ filled them and overpowered that violent spirit animating them. I’ll never forget the look of fear on their faces. I remember the grateful thanks to Jesus of a couple in Brazil who had their lives and marriage set free from a local Macumba priestess who had overcome them by demonic power. We saw the living Jesus Christ not only set them free, but later deliver and save the priestess herself.
Like it or not, this warfare is real. And we believers have not only authority but the assignment and responsibility to confront and displace demonic powers by the authority of Christ. We are sons of the Kingdom—the “sons of God.”(Romans 8:14) We are with Jesus and we gather with him.
Luke 11:23 (ESV)
23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Revelation 6:15–17 (ESV)
15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Christ, the Lamb of God, will destroy Satan and all the demons that currently traffic with humans. To destroy Satan and his powers is to destroy the spirit of murder and terror.
This is the war we fight. Our spiritual battle is not against people, but against the spirits that animate them and use them to champion evil until Christ returns. We have authority over these demonic beings only because Christ gave it to us (Luke 10.19). It is our assignment to crush them through intercession and the command of Christ as we stand in our authority to displace darkness and the demonic:
Luke 10:17–24, ESV
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Followers of Jesus, do not give up. Fight the good fight of the faith! You will be victorious! For nothing can succeed against the Church–the body of Christ. No weapon formed against us will prosper; all those who rise up against us will fall. We will sit enthroned with Christ to pass judgment on these spirit-beings–the enemies of all that is good, right, beautiful, and true–and send them to their final and ultimate eternal destruction in the Lake of Fire. In Christ we already have the victory!
© 2013, Dr. David C Alves, D.Min.
Related articles
- Stand Up and Fight Back – Book Review (rebeccaaarup.com)
- A Stealth Spiritual Warfare Weapon Satan Can’t Stand/Includes Jentezen Franklin – The King Has One More Move (vineoflife.net)
God Will Hold You
I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help [hold] thee.
One day after Hurricane Edna struck western Massachusetts in 1954, my father took me to the Ludlow Bridge which spanned the Chicopee river between Ludlow and Indian Orchard at what was once known as Wallamanumps Falls. We walked onto the bridge and watched the raging water only a few feet below the bridge, splashing against the upstream side. Residents knew that with the dam opened that tumultuous white water was over 50 feet deep. If anyone fell in, they would never survive. I couldn’t see the water because I was only 4 years old and not big enough to look over the concrete siding. So my dad picked me up and sat me on that railing with my feet dangling over the edge. Others around him panicked. At first I was terrified, but my dad held me with a firm grip and told me that I would be OK because he was holding me and would never let me go.
At my advanced age, I still have that mental picture of the raging waters of the Chicopee river directly beneath my feet, and of my father’s strong hands. I can’t help but think that the act of my foster father helping me to see the power of a storm-stirred river developed a deep trust, in my young heart, that my “Dad” was able to hold me and keep me safe. How much stronger and greater the hold of our eternal Father’s hands? He has held me for 42 years now, and has not let go once!
Don’t try to hold God’s hand; let Him hold yours. Let Him do the holding, and you do the trusting.
See Also: Isa. 41:10
American Exceptionalism and the Roots of the Approaching American Revolution
I have updated and revised this post inspired by the “pro-choice” people who, in NY and VA, now extend their choice to the murder of living babies as they exit the womb. Back in the 60s, Francis Schaeffer forewarned Americans that the slippery slope of abortion on demand would lead to both infanticide and geronticide. Pro-choice advocates laughed at him and dismissed him.
Unfortunately, Linus can’t have a real conversation with Lucy. It’s practically impossible. There is no firm, reasonable starting place because Lucy will not admit the inconsistencies in her thinking. Her worldview, based on emotion, cannot allow for reasonable honesty. So rather than laugh at her inconsistency and be willing to reevaluate and alter her view, Lucy has to bully, name-call, and shame her friend. Bullies want control. They intend to deprive others of their liberty and crush their rights.
BOTH extremes–Right and Left in our country–operate this way.
This is not about Democrat vs. Republican–although Bullies exist in both parties. This is about liberty versus slavery and it has been going on for thousands of years. This is about Unity versus disunity. Polarization begins with those who depart from the foundations of what made us great and United. Only one thing kept the United States from going the way of every other nation-state or Empire in history.
American Exceptionalism Rooted in Christ
Backdrop is WWII. The totalitarian socialists knows as the National Sozialistiche Deutsche Arbeitpartei (National Socialist German Party–NAZI party for short), had invaded Europe. Their storm troopers crushed and were rounding up and killing their enemies, which included political enemies, Jews, and the Christians who helped rescue both. Dr. E. Stanley Jones, noted missionary and theologian-statesman serving in India at the time said this regarding our UNITED STATES and American freedom:
What a Christ this is! taking the energies and pioneering spirit of a people gathered from all climes and all races, and in spite of all their sins and prejudices welding them into a living whole until they become perhaps the most united nation on earth, and perhaps the greatest.
Christ has done this? Yes, for without his Spirit working in the hearts of this American Civilization–cleansing, inspiring, uniting,–this civilization would not have been possible. He is the cement that holds it together. Through its centrifugal forces and its dividing sins it would fall to pieces tomorrow without him. He is the most cleansing, constructive, potent force working within the soul of this people–and its one hope.**
Given the contemporary hatred of Christ and his family in our American civilization today. Given the polarization of those who love liberty and those who want power to force their Christless worldview upon the people. What is the future of our union?
My hope is that God will heal our nation on behalf of our forefathers and their sacrifice–that Lucy & Linus will get tired of the polarization that separates them and find ways to listen to one another. My fear is that it’s too late. Lucy likes bullying and controlling Linus. And Linus won’t give up his freedom to her control. Thus, unless the nation repents, we, our children and our grand-children will experience a revolution unlike any in previous history as political parties polarize, our unity unravels, and our economy implodes. The revolution will center around religion, because Christ and Yahweh are the ONLY source of Freedom and unity.
The only way out is a return to what made us great–honoring Christ and loving God and people made in His image. Can it be that simple? Oh, yes!
I pray that I’m wrong about the Revolution, because I’m absolutely right about the root and the deterrent.
QUESTION: What do you think?
**quote from E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the American Road, Cokesbury Press, 1944, p. 15.
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