Tap into the Two-Thirds

Watching and trying to wrap my intellect around so much that is happening in our society right now, my mind went to Ephesians six where Paul warns the church in Ephesus that they were not battling against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness. It’s a warning that there is another world beyond us, a world where there is spiritual war transpiring, and it’s real. It’s Satan and the third of the fallen angels fighting a losing war against God and the two-thirds of angels that fight with Him. This warning wasn’t just for the church in Ephesus, but for ages to come. 

I have no doubt that this world, the one we live in today, is experiencing this darkness, and that a portion of society has tapped into the darkness around and above us. It’s obvious by Hollywood’s incredible fascination and ability to bring mind-bogglingly dark themes to our minds, hearts, and homes. I have no doubt that they have tapped into, become enamored, and captivated by evil. To be able to create such vivid, detailed, vile, and demonic creatures and bring us such intense violence and evil concept to our eyes can only come from those who have tapped into darkness. Beyond Hollywood, our world is being forced to accept the immoral and repulsive values of a few. The depravity that Paul described in so many of his books has captured much of academia, corporate offices, and governments entities. It has moved into ordinary citizenry, to the point we don’t want to turn on the news, for fear we will see another demented person has shot up a restaurant, mall, or public place. Our major cities are war zones and entire streets are filled with zombie-like men and women, so strung out on drugs, that people are having to leave to find safe havens. The picture I’ve painted is dark, but it is not hopeless. I believe there is hope.  

I believe that though Satan, his angels, and those who have embraced his wickedness are having incredible success, that there is, as Elisha said in 2 Kings 6:16, a spiritual army that is much larger than the one we’re feeling overwhelmed by. I believe darkness is limited and that God and the two-thirds of His angels are far superior and ready to engage and take over this battle. I believe our world is desperate to see and experience it! I believe that there are young men and women who are coming on to life’s stage that have been anointed and put in place, for such a time as this. In 2 Timothy 3, Paul is preparing a young Timothy, and I believe young men of today, for the last days and the perilous times that would come. He described the wickedness and baseness of their hour, but I note that his greatest fear and warning was there would be religion that had a form of godliness, but no power. Understanding Paul’s concern, it makes it imperative, that we pray for those who are stepping onto life’s spiritual stage today. We must pray that they have courage, that they will step out of conformity of religion, and take us where many are afraid to go. We must pray that they have the resolve to step away from traditional, model, and franchise Christianity, that they will lean into their anointing and calling; that they go rogue! They must tap into the power of God, and gain access to the two-thirds of the principalities and power that is around them. I am absolutely confident that there is a realm of untapped spiritual power. I’ve tasted it and seen a sampling, but I long for, and believe there is so much more. 


There is a power in God and a force of angels that are at their disposal that is as real as the darkness their world is experiencing. I know because I have tasted it. Once I was in a Sunday service that was as bland and as normal as could be, but suddenly, without warning, with no manipulation, no musical hype, no cheerleading preacher, an overpowering move of God sent me and the entire audience to our knees, overwhelmed by God, I crawled off the floor spiritually exhausted some six hours later. I often reflect on a conference that Mary and I attended where we experienced God’s overwhelming presence so strongly that we couldn’t do anything but fall to our knees. I remember hours later, well after midnight, rising from the floor, forever changed. At Life Connections, where we pastored for 20 years, we had many Saturday night prayer services when God’s presence moved into the room, and we would be arrested by God for three or four hours. I sensed it again at Asbury this spring. 

These are but a few of the samplings that we have experienced, and I believe that we only scratched the surface of God’s power, and that God has so much more for this generation. I believe that this generation, IF they reconnect to the power and absolute necessity of prayer, and IF, they will tap into God’s power and the forces of God, has the potential of experiencing one of the greatest demonstrations of God’s power ever seen. God said there would be a generation that would do greater things than He, and I believe that this generation will tap in, go rouge, and follow the Spirit, has the opportunity to be that generation. That they could see something grander than the Great Awakenings or Azusa Revival.


For this to happen this new generation of leaders must experience what they have read about but few have seen. It’s what an older generation has seen little of, but what some has longed and prayed for. We must be positive, encouraging, and believe with them that they can tap into God’s power and the realm where God’s army is two times as large and unquestionably more powerful. We must be diligent in praying that Gods young leaders of today get so hungry for a move of God that they are willing, if they have to, to go alone to a place like Moses did. We need to pray that they will have the courage to stand like Elijah, with confidence and boldness to believe that fire can still fall from heaven and call it down. Their world needs a demonstration of the almighty God. We must have the courage to pray that they will have the passion to take us from our comfortable hour and fifteen-minute services to what Solomon experienced, a wall shaking, cloud filling, inability to stand in God’s presence experience. We need to pray that God takes these generational men and uses them like he did the three Hebrew children, where after a fiery furnace experience, an entire nation said, “the Lord, He is God.” 


There are some incredibly passionate young men in cities where I pray God uses them in such a way that leaders of those cities say like they did of those in Acts 17, “these are they who have turned the world upside down, and they have come to our city.” Is it possible? I say yes. We got a glimpse of what is possible to those who tap into this power a few months ago in Asbury, Kentucky. A few young people started praying, tapped into something supernatural, and within a few days they had the attention of the world. People took vacation days to come, entire churches visited, national news media set up stages, all to see a move of God. The crowds swelled so large that there were traffic jams to get into the small town, people waited for hours in line to get into the chapel, additional meeting places had to be set up, and the city finally had to ask the college to close it down because it was overwhelming and crippling their community! 


To every God believing person I’m inviting you to begin to pray passionately. Pray what Mary and I have been praying, for a move of God that is indescribable, yet undeniable. Pray that the spirit of the powerless church that Paul warned of is defeated. Our world, our churches, and we as individuals need to see God bring to the world stage His signs, wonders, and miracles. Pray for yourself, for your pastor and his wife, that we all will have the courage to go beyond conformity and tradition. Pray that that we all will tap into the two-thirds.

Saturday

The week had been eventful. There was a euphoria in the air, strong rumor had it that Jesus was preparing to bring His kingdom to earth. What would eventually be called the Last Supper, was a meal that had been the crescendo to an amazing week. Expectations were off the chart. Excitement and faith were at an all-time high. That was Thursday, but then Friday happened. Faith turned to fear and excitement into astonishment. The unimaginable had happened. Jesus was dead, in a tomb, and the dreams of the disciples are broken like a crystal vase. Fridays are difficult and dreadful. Fridays are filled with hurt and pain. Fridays are packed with accusations and betrayal. Jesus faced all of life’s pain on Friday. Friends betrayed and abandoned him. Accusations were accepted as truth without question. There were emotional and mental attacks on his person, integrity, and character. He was mocked, ridiculed and made a laughingstock by the crowd who had gathered on Golgotha’s hill. The physical abuse he has endured was beyond imagination and more than anyone should ever face. As He hangs on Calvary, death will be a blessing. The pulsating pain running through his hands and feet are surpassed only by the throbbing agony brought by the thorns that are penetrating his brain. Every breath is torturous as his back, plowed open like a spring field, rubs against a cross that feels like sandpaper. The sky is now dark, his friends and family all gone, save his mom and John; death is but moments away. With one last breath Friday will finally be over. We all hate Fridays. Fridays when sickness, disease, and cancer ravages a body, death visits our family or a friend. We abhor Fridays when we’ve made terrible decisions, when divorce visits our marriage, and when we’ve been betrayed, mocked, or we are the recipient of ugly and untrue gossip. We hate Fridays when we did our best, but our children still turned from God. On Friday, sunsets can’t come fast enough, and the darkness of night will at least signal an end of the day. Saturday is different. The events of Friday are over. Jesus’ body is off the cross, it’s now wrapped in cloth, and the tomb is sealed. In the grave blood oozes through the fabric where the nails had pierced His hands, feet, side, and skull. The stone where he lies is stained with a pool of blood from the scourging of his back. This day there is no more pain, the accusations and attacks are mute, and now darkness and silence are Jesus’ only companions. While Fridays are unbearable, Saturdays can be as excruciating. Saturday, when cancer miraculously recedes but we are left with its traumatic aftereffects. Saturday, when we’ve survived the heart attack, but our emotions are drastically different. Saturday, when the divorce is final, and we are left to try to pick up the pieces and forge on. Saturday, when the death of a spouse, family member, or friend is final, and we now have to live life with the terrible void left in our hearts. Saturday, the darkness, and silence it brings, can be as overwhelming as the literal pain of Friday. Saturday leaves us with more questions than answers, more darkness than the darkest night, more uncertainty than we’ve ever experienced, and more fear than anyone could ever imagine. We know Fridays will end with finality, either healing or heaven, but Saturday leaves us with no voices of encouragement, no one to lift our faith, and no date of expiration as too when the darkness will disappear, and light will shine bright again. How do we survive Saturday? In the faith that there will be a Sunday, that what Jesus said will come to pass. That as He resurrected, your situation too can come back to life. You survive Saturday by remembering the blind being given their sight, the lame walking, and Lazarus being brought back from the dead. You survive Saturday by remembering the mercy showed by Jesus to a Samaritan woman with five husbands at a well, and grace extended to a woman caught in the middle of a wild sexual tryst. Saturdays are when God often leaves us alone but teaches us to know He is still with us. May I say that again? Saturdays are when He leaves us alone but is still with us. Saturdays may mean leaning in and waiting patiently, quietly, and humbly, praying, and resting in the fact that He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). Saturday may last a day, a week, a year, or possibly even decades but no matter how lonely, how dark, how overwhelming, or how long Saturday is, know that there is a Sunday in our future (John 14:3, Acts 1:11). God went through Saturday to show us the way and that we too can survive our Saturday. Sundays, they happen in an instant. One moment death, the next resurrection and life. A move of the Spirit, an unexpected change in a person, a blessing that overwhelms, an opportunity that comes out of nowhere, or physical miracle that forever is your testimony. Sometimes a Sunday means an eternal ticket to an everlasting Sunday; no more pain, sickness, or struggles with this life. If you are experiencing or have lived in a Saturday, I encourage you to take on a new perspective this Easter, begin living with an expectation that your Sunday is on its way!

The Power of Light

An obvious fact. The less light the more darkness. Turn off the lights in a windowless room and darkness dominates. One of the fascinating details the gospel authors mention is as Jesus is dying on the cross the sky grew dark. When the earthly presence of God went out (“I am the light of the world.” John 8:12), darkness rushed in. It’s important to note what happened during those three hours, because I believe there is a spiritual principle. We wonder why there is such darkness in the earth today, may I suggest that God’s light, the church has become dimmer. While there are more mega-churches, there are fewer people attending than ever. In 1950 nearly 70% of Americans attended church regularly, in 2007 that number had dwindled to 18%, and reports are that nearly 1/3 of those who were faithful to church before COVID have not returned. Jim Cymbala, pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City, says it is his belief that the actual number of faithful and active Christians in America is less than 5%. Not only did Jesus say that He was the light of the world, but that we, the followers of Christ, “were the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14). Why the darkness? Why the hate? Why such an aggression of immorality? Why does it seem no one has the answer for all that ills our world? As a pastor who trusts God’s Word, I believe we are seeing the effect of the absence of light. Jesus asked in Luke 18:8, “when the son of man comes, will He find faith,” and the author of Hebrews warns, “let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.” Easter 2022. Make a decision to make God’s house a life priority.