“I'm not ready for this yet. This
church is too radical. If I bring my friends or family here,
they will think I’m crazy. They won’t like the demanding
preaching, the loud praises and the way they pray.”
These are the comments made by some who have attended the
new breed apostolic churches. Perhaps you have heard the
same. Are these words of a believer who is truly hungry for
God but also afraid of making mistakes? Or are they designed
to hide a lukewarm spirit?
The Church has gotten some bad press for being “too” this or
“too” that over the years. The Charismatic movement, for
example, brought in a restoration of the nine gifts of the
Spirit. The Church has benefited and thousands of believers
have come into a greater relationship with the Lord Jesus
Christ because of it. Yet throughout history, every move of
God came with some questionable excess and the Charismatic
movement had its participants in this too. We have heard of
many questionable things, such as “barking like dogs” or
“roaring like lions” and attributing these activities to a
manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Such things are not
radical; they are unscriptural. As a result, credible moves
of the Spirit of God were avoided because of the fear of
excess and fanaticism.
False manifestations attributed to the Holy Spirit fuel
accusations by the spirit of religion. Every move of God has
had to contend for the truth that God was revealing to that
generation. The apostolic restoration is no different. We
must address any issues of fanaticism with scriptural truth
and teaching. We have to make certain that stability and
balance are promoted in our churches without compromise.
People have argued that I am too radical with sayings like,
“He’ll calm down in a few years.” What they really mean is:
“The fire will die down and he’ll soon be like the rest of
us.” They are wrong because the fire of God is growing
bigger and brighter in my life. Most of the accusations
against me have been retaliation for my stance concerning
spiritual warfare. I don’t know why so many people have a
misconception of spiritual warfare. It is simply binding and
loosing in prayer, submitting to God while resisting the
devil, walking in the full armor of God, living by faith,
casting out devils, attacking sickness with scripture and
just believing the Word of God. To me it’s basic
Christianity.
History proves that believers who move on with God will be
attacked with false accusations. Ahab falsely accused Elijah
for troubling Israel. Martin Luther was called a heretic.
Jesus was called a winebibber and friend of publicans and
sinners. Joshua and Caleb faced false accusations when they
believed that God had given them the Promised Land. In the
midst of a church overcome by fear of giants, they said,
“Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able
to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). The people responded to
their faith with anger. I can just imagine people accusing
them of being too radical.
The people responded to Joshua and Caleb’s faith with anger
and were ready to stone them. Were Joshua and Caleb wrong?
Should they have calmed down and agreed with the rest of the
congregation? I don’t think so! Some who accuse others of
being too radical get offended because they are convicted of
their own lukewarm spiritual condition. Others are jealous
because your fervency reminds them that they once loved
Jesus just as much. The testimony of Joshua and Caleb is
written for every generation to read. God didn’t think they
were too radical. He was pleased with them because they
carried a different spirit.
I was talking about this complaint about being “too radical”
with a brother in the Lord. I asked him how he handled being
accused of being too radical in his church. He said, “When I
invite people to church I tell them what to expect. I tell
them there will be people dancing and celebrating Jesus.
Some will be waving their hands. Others will be singing and
shouting praises to God. Some will be praying in tongues and
the music will be loud. I tell them that the preaching will
be bold and challenging. It will make you think about your
life and your relationship with Jesus.” I tell them, “You
will have a lot of fun!”
He went on to say that some who attended were still
overwhelmed because they had never experienced church like
this. Others hear that voice in their head saying, “This
church is too radical for me!” He told me that he thought it
interesting that this voice didn’t come through the sinners
he brought to church. They love his church. Many reading
this know people who have experienced the same thing.
Sinners like the church and the religious hate it.
That voice of “too” mounts a direct challenge to compromise
one’s fervency for Jesus. For the fervent, everything you
stand for will be challenged to compromise to make the
religious feel more comfortable. An important question will
have to be answered. Will you tone it down to please man or
step it up to please God? Would you rather attend a small
and growing church with the Spirit of God and fervent
believers or a large, lifeless church without the Spirit of
God that has chosen religious legalism instead?
The Church in the book of Acts wasn’t like every other
church in town. In fact, it was really “too.” At the first
service, the Spirit of God came on the scene with the sound
of a mighty, rushing wind. There were even cloven tongues of
fire that sat upon each of the disciples. When did you last
attend a service like this? Talk about different! The
believers began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit
gave them utterance. No one was there to tell them that
speaking in tongues would hinder the church’s growth. The
service was so “too” that people thought they were drunk.
The apostle Peter didn’t apologize for what God was doing.
He didn’t tell the Church to calm down, nor did he ignore
the accusations from the religious. He responded to them by
saying, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I
will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my
servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days
of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:16-18). Then
three thousand people were born again.
Everywhere the apostles preached, there was some sort of
commotion. It was almost as if the “too” followed them
everywhere they went. Their reputation continues to echo
loudly today: “Those that have turned the world upside down
have come here too” (Acts 17:3-6).
If “too” is defined as obeying God when others won’t, then
so be it. If “too” means pleasing God through aggressive
faith, then so be it. If “too” means not conforming to a
religious form of lifeless tradition, then so be it. So next
time someone argues that you or your church is too radical,
wear that tag proudly on your lapel. It could mean that you
are radically in love with Jesus.
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