True community

His Church, His Mission and Us! 

Community is breaking down in society.  What seems to have replaced true communities are loose collections of individuals that have similar interests in sport, career, political or social areas.  Marriage has broken down and so family life has eroded which in turn has weakened communities. The spiritual dimension of life has been all but lost to most.  Many complain about the lack of  meaning in their lives but don’t know what’s missing.

Community is all about life, living and passing what’s good from one generation to the next.  It’s done by moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles and aunts, friends and relatives.   It’s done by all these loving people growing and maturing together at different rates but always in the same direction – towards strengthening their ties to one another and to God.  This is the wisdom of community.

Without God none of it works or lasts because God designed and created men and women;  “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26)  God defined marriage and so formed the basis of family; “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)  And we all know that the wreck of the first family; Adam and Eve and their sons Cain and Abel resulted from a breakdown of their relationship with God culminating in horrific domestic violence; “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  (Genesis 4:7)  Without God things fly apart because no one is accountable to anyone for their actions.

We have talked about the marriage triangle with Jesus at one point and husband and wife at the other two.  We see that as each spouse draws closer to Jesus, husband and wife draw closer to each other. We have looked at the basic shape of community that church brings basic family into –  Husband, wife and church in a triangle of community relationship.  This relationship can be sacred or worldly depending on the church’s connection to God which isn’t necessarily part of the structure.  Some churches are so social in nature that God and His Word is in second place at best.

How do these relationships fit together because a true community – a church community must have God as part of the structure.  We don’t immediately see that in the Church, husband and wife triangle – something is missing.  And that’s because each depiction is a two-dimensional map giving only a partial picture of the reality.  Just as a flat map of our country doesn’t show Canada  in relation to the world we need a three-dimensional figure –  a globe! – And  by adding another dimension in  this case – a spiritual  one we get a figure made of four triangles – like the crystal structure of your diamond rings – the toughest substance known to human science in nature.  We  celebrate the marriage relationship with this remarkable gem.  Notice it is the individuals(the other two triangular relationships – husband/church/Jesus and wife/church/Jesus) – who establish Jesus in the church not the other way around.  After all a church isn’t a building it’s people!

Godless Community and the church:

If we remove Jesus, we just  have a carnal horizontal community not so different from social clubs.  Without a spiritual connection to Jesus Christ the church community flattens to a humanistic religiosity.  This would be a worldly kind of church and so would be either very weak prone to flying apart or very cult-like clenching people in it so tightly, always on the brink of imploding. Scripture tells us such communities do exist.  They can be formed around self-righteous religiosity or cheap-grace permissiveness.

Jesus nailed the scribes and Pharisees for their demanding grasping religion; “They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see.”  (Matthew 23:2-5)  Man-made rules and fake religiosity just won’t work because they are Godless.

Hosea confronted the religious establishment of his day for abandoning God and letting everything fly apart; “The more priests there were, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful. . . .  And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. ‘They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, because they have deserted the Lord’” (Hosea 4:7-10).  Permissiveness and a casual attitude to God and His Word always results in things flying apart no matter how ‘seeker friendly’ we become by trying to compromise on Biblical principles.

This bigger picture also shows the reality of our situation.  Scripture tells that in Christ Jesus we are now at odds with the world and it’s ruler  – the devil; “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:1-2)  There is a war on in the heavenly realms; “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  (Ephesians 6:12) And the church is at the battle front; “His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms”  (Ephesians 3:10)  We are at war!

The Church cannot make peace with the world any more than the soldiers in an army can make individual peace with the enemy army.  Only our Commander-in-Chief, only Jesus has the authority to heal the earth and bring His Peace to us; “. . . at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (Philippians 2:10-11)

Those that would have us believe that we can make our world better by being on friendly terms with it ignore Scripture; “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)  It’s not about numbers, attracting members or planting more churches – it’s about God and His people!  Our battle is to bring the Gospel message to the world by being the community of faith that Jesus has called us to be;  “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:15,16)

Challenging times are coming.  Our sense of community under Jesus will be openly challenged by the world. Every denial of Jesus either by diminishing Scripture or His leadership in the church, works to remove His strength in our community, marriages and church.  Our mission is to defend the faith we have in Jesus by proclaiming His Gospel boldly.   We can accept our mission in this battle or not. But it won’t go away.  We must choose; “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve:  . . .  but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”   (Joshua 24:15)

Who will you serve?

But all lives do matter!

We aren’t supposed to say ‘all lives matter’.  If we do we are racist.  To make matters worse – I’m an old white guy with tons of privilege.  Privilege made me fat and sick.  I lost 30 pounds of privilege and  got  a lot healthier but I’m still an old, white male.   A lot of people say I’m the reason for all these racist problems.

Angelina Chapin of the Huffington Post writes; “It’s no surprise that in North America, white men are the group most vocally against efforts to create a more equitable society. They have spearheaded men’s rights groups to combat feminism. They form the base of Donald Trump’s supporters.”  I am a North American white man but I don’t combat feminism and as a Canadian Donald Trump will never have my vote.   But in this world if your guilty on one count  you’re guilty on all counts.

Exacerbating my white, male privileged position, I must also plead guilty to being a committed Christian.  To God, all lives matter; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)  The Holy Bible tells us that God doesn’t want anyone to fall through the cracks; “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  (2 Peter 3:9)  If all lives matter to God, all lives matter to me.

To further complicate my life of white privilege my faith demands that I see all people  as equal whatever their background or sex; “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  (Galatians 3:28)  Jesus makes crazy demands on guys like me; but no wonder – He wasn’t an old white man enjoying a lot of white privilege.

But without Jesus, I’d try to vote for Trump, actively make every effort to stamp out feminism as well as push other people  out of my privileged space.  Now I’m just left agreeing with what the Bible says and trying hard to love God first and my  neighbour as myself.

All lives do matter because God says so in His Word!

 

 

The pride of fake holiness

Fake holiness is as carnal as it’s opposite – debauchery.  Those that purse their lips and assess others as to what they should and should  not do according to their own notions of purity are in as much danger of hell as any drunk given over completely to his intoxication.

The Pharisees fell into this deadly trap even to the point of judging Jesus’ actions; “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”  (John 7:21-24)

The prideful Pharisees failed to judge correctly which is as sinful as any other sin.  The religious establishment of Jesus’ day was completely given over to intoxicating pride; “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.Everything they do is done for people to see . . . ” (Matthew 23:2-5)  Judging correctly carries a burden of humility and desire to help others in a loving way.

Fake holiness and the idolatrous religion it imposes on others creates havoc; “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.” (Matthew 23:13-14) Fake holiness with great effort and fanfare plants more of its sinful likeness as well as collateral sin in the world.

Fake holiness works on the outside for all to see  while leaving the inside damaged and broken;  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matthew 23:27:28) This ‘fakery’ leaves the church as desolate as it did the temple; “Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (v. 38,39)

The telling note of fake holiness is that it is never satisfied with anything else but itself; “For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’” (Luke 7:33,34) Fake holiness worships itself.

Paul warned the church against submitting to the judgement of fake holiness; “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you.” (Colossians 2:16-18) Jesus was very clear that it isn’t what we take in that defiles us. Rather it is what we bring forth out of our hearts that make us unclean; “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” (Matthew 15:17-29)

Judgments about a person’s holiness based on outward shows of religiosity and purity say more about the person making the judgment than the one being judged; “Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.” (Colossians 2:18,19) And that head is Jesus Christ – when we lose touch with Him we become desolate and abandoned to our own lusts; “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (v. 21-23)

Jesus calls us back from prideful fake holiness, he calls our burdened victims as well; “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

His love is the true Spirit which makes us holy; “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (John 14:23)

This is true holiness – to abide daily with Jesus!

How the bullied become the bullies

Feeling aggrieved can lead to a particularly nasty transformation where the victim becomes the ‘victimizer’.  What does this look like?  The most recent Pride Parade in Toronto provides some insight;

Ever since the sit-in, however, Black Lives Matter Toronto has been the target of vicious, racist emails, some from members of the larger LGBTQ community, said Janaya Khan, a co-founder of the group.

“Particularly our queer and trans members, myself included, we have received dozens and dozens and dozens since the action,” said Khan. “I think that is testament to why we had to create an intervention into Pride in the first place.”

The hate mail, which is “100 per cent” made up of anti-black racism, denounces members of Black Lives Toronto who have identified as queer and trans, said Khan.

“It’s ’You could never be a part of our community, you savage monkey,’ that kind of thing,” she said. “The reality is that gender and sexual diversity doesn’t negate the reality of racism and white privilege…In their minds my blackness made it so that I couldn’t possibly be a part of their community.”

source: Flood of hate mail since Toronto Pride parade sit-in demonstrates racism: Black Lives Matter, by Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press, July 5, 2016

What kind of ‘phobia’ would cause this kind of abuse to be heaped upon Black Lives Matter?

When I was  a child we played a game in the school yard called ‘King of the hill.’  It often ended in fighting among the participants because no one liked to be pushed off the top of the hill after having fought their way to the top.  So the pushing would get rougher and so would the pushback until someone ended up with a bloody nose or split lip.  As kids we all thought we were entitled to be ‘King of the hill’ and took it very personally if someone else fought for the spot.  After  a while, the game always got nasty and wasn’t fun anymore.

Can adults become childish and  drunk with the entitlement of winning what they think is their battle and their battle only – to the point that they want to exclude others?  Is the fear of losing your position the phobia that drives this sort of behaviour?

The Bible warns about the outcome of such behaviour for all sides; “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” (Galatians 5:15)

Sadly the participants don’t seem to be  inclined to the wisdom the Holy Bible offers.

The Pony Club – a modern day parable

There once was a Pony Club that enriched the lives of its members for many years.  But as time went on fewer and fewer people joined.   The Pony Club no longer attracted as many new members because it demanded hard work, determination and perseverance.  All the members that had joined in the past  were all changed by the Pony Club – for the better. The current leaders however were more interested in numerical growth and ‘attracting’ new comers so they changed the Pony Club rather than letting the Pony Club change its members.

This story like all parables is based on a true story and contains a story about Truth:

Among a certain cognoscenti it is well known that the most fun a child can have is provided by one humble yet well respected establishment. It is not expensive and it is not exclusive. It embraces hard work, long days, grit and determination and yet it is what many teenagers spend their school days dreaming of.

While incomprehensible to non-members, there is an unspoken understanding among its members, a kind of secret society of those in the know, that the most enjoyment a child can ever have is by being a member of The Pony Club. The 87-year-old institution announced this week it intends to shed its stuffy image.

The comedic, Thelwellesque reputation forged by indomitable district commissioners dressed in tweed jackets and ties, barking orders at a rag tag army of dishevelled children on hairy ponies is no longer desirable. The new chief executive, Pip Kirkby, feels that in order to thrive the club must adapt to the 21st century and embrace a more modern and liberal stance.

The Pony Club may be relaxing its membership rules – but I hope it never changes by Marina Fogle

Truth is timeless and universal.   Truth isn’t about numbers or members. Truth is its own attraction.  People will be drawn to it or not depending on their inclination.  Truth doesn’t need to be liberal, conservative or modern.

The Bible tells us that God’s call is never about numbers and always about commitment.  Time and time again Scripture describes God’s desire for quality and not quantity.  It’s not about numbers it’s about God; “The Lord said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me,  My own strength has saved me.’” (Judges 7:2)  Yet the world thinks otherwise.  ‘Soulishness’ demands numbers and large memberships. That’s the way of the world.

Jesus established His church on the Truth.  He told it simply, without compromise and with authority.  He didn’t sugar the Gospel with easy entrance requirements; “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) Nor did He go easy on His disciples in the hopes that they would naturally want to be better people; “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) He had His eye on eternity not modernity.

But then again, Jesus was establishing His Church not a Pony Club!

Why do I have to accept your stupid meme?

When people give in to  memes their minds shut down to the need for thought and debate on real issues that are important.  Wikipedia defines a meme as; “‘an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture’. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures.” Memes are more like a stupefying virus than positive cultural ‘genetic’ material.

Polarizing memes are an example of  memes that shut down minds and put people on a group think track that so often leads to the collapse of thought. This kind of meme forces a person into a fake choice between only two alternatives thereby reducing debate to either-or gut reactions.    I have posted an example regarding hand holding vs gun holding.  Sadly this is what passes for cultural commentary and ‘deep thought’ on social media today.  Being framed as a question the meme  carries the weight of an accusation – you have already chosen now explain yourself!  Initially your gut reaction is to go for the ‘hand holding’ rather than the ‘gun holding’ alternative.  For a secular humanist it’s a no-brainer; hand holding is the only sane alternative!  This meme attempts to force  Bible believing Christians and other people of deep religious convictions into a gut wrenching choice of the lesser of two evils!  See how it shuts down public debate on  important social issues while advancing a hidden agenda.  This has become the ‘new low’ of social activism.

For the record, I don’t want to see either – men romantically holding hands or violent men holding guns with evil intent. Does that make me a ‘homophobic’, ‘ISILaphobic’, misogynistic, red-neck, ignorant ‘dinosaurus’ Christian?

Marriage, Authority and Soul Ties

When two people marry they are united at a far deeper level than just a legal contract.  They are joined emotionally as well as physically.  Jesus explains; “. . . from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,  and the two shall become one flesh’;  so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:6-9)  This means that what affects one affects the other in a deep lasting emotional way that has spiritual implications – the physical bond created in marriage extends deep into the souls of husband and wife.  This bond affects their spiritual health.

We are body, soul and spirit.  Scripture tells us that body, soul and spirit are all connected; “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)  That’s why marriage is of special concern because it’s reach extends carries from one soul to another – it is called a soul tie.  Soul ties are created through deep covenantal intimacy coming out of friendship, family and marriage.

The soul ties arising out of our sexuality can be a blessing or burden to us and those around us.  The Apostle Paul explains the seriousness of sexual sin; “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!  Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”  (1 Corinthians 6:15-17)  The becoming ‘one flesh’ is in essence a soul tie of the deepest connection between two human beings. 

The Apostle Paul explains the deep spiritual ramifications of soul ties.  For Christians when we accept Christ as Lord and Saviour we are joined with Him in the spirit.  Negative soul ties or usurped legitimate soul ties bring a great deal of spiritual damage to us because they are an affront to the purity of the Holy Spirit;  “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body”  (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)  How counter-cultural is that!!!!

Not only does a married person sin against their own body, when they fall into sexual sin but because of the soul tie with their partner they drag their spouse into the dirt with them. Both must deal with the emotional baggage and the spiritual poisoning that the resulting resentment brings.  This puts lust and pornography into stark perspective because Jesus says; “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The Holy Spirit in us demands Peace with God  by confession and repentance from sins done in the dark because we are never alone. What we do or fail to do always affects others – especially those closest to us!

As long as husband and wife follow Jesus in their marriage and are guided on a daily basis by the Holy Spirit, all is well; “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.”  (Proverbs 18:22)  The guidelines are simple; “’Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor [including wife or husband],’ for we are members of one another. ’Be angry, and do not sin’; do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.”  (Eph 4:25-27) And; “Be careful that no one falls short of the grace of God, so that no root of bitterness will spring up to cause trouble and defile many.”  (Hebrews 12:15)  Notice that God’s Word stresses people don’t just affect themselves but many – ‘we are members of one another’ and ‘defile many’!  Christian community is a fellowship linked by the Holy Spirit.  Deep friendships and love grow out of this extended family and many positive soul ties develop.  A church community of healthy families makes for a vigorous healthy church.

But what happens when things go wrong in a marriage?  Let’s take a look at one of the most dysfunctional marriages in the Bible – King Ahab and Jezebel his Queen! Ahab was the king of passive resistance and Jezebel was the queen of control.    In one particular instance when Ahab wanted something and couldn’t get it he pouted and felt sorry for himself to the point of going to bed refusing to eat.  His wife Jezebel didn’t want anyone to see how childish and weak her husband the king was so she got Ahab what he wanted.  Jezebel used Ahab’s authority in lying manipulative ways to control the situation.  An innocent man was killed and Ahab was ok with it because he got what he wanted.  (1 Kings 21)

The spiritual dynamic between these two infamous characters was the abdication of responsibility and the illegitimate taking of control in the absence of righteous authority.  Ahab and Jezebel fit hand in glove in their wickedness, each feeding off the other.  The spirits of aggressive passivity and the spirit of control is named after this nasty pair and they can plague marriages and communities today.  How?  Ahab had no respect for God and considered holiness trivial.  He was an anointed King but chose to ignore his responsibility and squander his authority to the point of releasing it to his wife Jezebel.  Jezebel didn’t respect Ahab.  She loved the prestige Ahab had as King and manipulated every circumstance to exercise her control over situations so she could usurp his authority for herself and achieve what she thought was best.    When men walk away from the God-given responsibility and authority they have in their family a spiritual vacuum opens up in their marriage.  A door is opened for a spiritual incursion that invites not only the spirit of Ahab into the man’s soul but through the soul tie established with his wife the spirit of Jezebel sees an opportunity to enter.

A few weeks ago at Bible study a sister in the Lord remarked; ‘Women do tend to control!’ We all laughed.  I responded; ‘Men like to do their own thing, and be like big kids!’.  We could all see the humor in these common tendencies.  The Holy Spirit reminded me that neither tendency was all that funny because  it is so commonly working in our own lives that we accept it as normal.  Yet we see a spiritual dynamic at work that has eroded much of the intimacy and quality of our married life.  But since it is not blatant and acute like the antics of Ahab and Jezebel, we don’t notice the spiritual workings of it –  in our souls and relationships.  Our families and fellowships are eaten away.  Our souls are beset, our soul tie becomes a burden not a blessing and our relationship with Jesus is hindered because of the spiritual poisoning resentments bring.  Our family including the church family is affected as this affliction moves through soul ties including those established through the bonds of friendship so often established in close communities.  That is why healthy marriages and Godly relationships are crucial to  the  health of a church.

How do we contend with these unholy spirits that beset us?  The Holy Spirit will not abide them.  If we ask God for help He will help; “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9)  The first step is confession.  Confession is confronting – naming our oppressor is to name the demon – name the sin!  The next step is repentance; “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)  Turning back means to turn to Jesus and live according to His Word.   Men, rise up and accept your responsibility so your wives won’t be tempted to take control because of your absenteeism.  Women, respect your husbands and wait upon the Lord!  Jesus leads your husbands. Have faith!   Brothers and sisters, all is possible through Jesus’ strength (Phil. 3:19) Once the Holy Spirit is appealed to –  His presence will drive out all unclean spirits – including the  Ahab and Jezebel spirit; “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.”  (Zechariah 4:6)

This is revival!

Amen