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A Deadly Righteousness

 


"You can't get free because the root of your anger is that you think you have a righteous cause. You think you are better than those who are doing and believing something else, and therefore you are angry. A spirit of strife and contention are always cloaked in a righteous sounding cause. Until you repent of your righteous cause, you won't be free."

I am going to try to just get this out as fast as I can and move on, because I have to get to work-and time is so short.

When I fell away from the Lord over 30 years ago, yes I am that old, I didn't do it all at once. I didn't see where that one fateful disobedience would lead me, and if I had seen it, I would have NEVER taken the first step. I knew what the Lord was saying to do, but it didn't look like I was doing anything wrong, so I did it my way-and it didn't end well. The changes to in my heart and life happened in small, successive approximations so that I barely noticed what was happening until it was way too late. 

Scripture says that there is a way that seems right to man, but it leads to death. Wisdom calls out in the streets, but we go our own way, following the thoughts and desires of our hearts until we reap the deadly consequences. Scripture says that there would be a form of righteousness that would not actually be of God that would come on the earth before Christ comes back. The problem is that it lacks the power that comes by faith in Christ to transform us. It will seem very righteous and very good, but it will lead to death, not life. 

There is a righteousness that is coming into the church, and the world, that is not of God-though it will seem very righteous. It will be fueled by a backlash against the darkness that we all have been exposed to in this nation. I believe that this false light will actually lead to bloodshed, because I heard that in prayer a few years ago (and it was recently confirmed by Terry Bennet, a pastor in TN.) Again, I share this only in the hopes of being another witness to you- if you have heard or sense something too. Satan's voice is going out all over the earth, and ours must go as well. Words are spirit. Words shift perspectives, stoke love, stir hatred, and move us to action. 

All words are spirit, but not all words are truth. We have to be courageous to speak as the Lord leads us, because Satan is speaking all of the time, and he has a big platform.

I have my views on Trump, and I believe that the Lord told me that he would be very instrumental in ushering in the "days of Noah", but I also heard this: "Do not divide over that man."  That was the word that I needed the most. And by extension, do not divide from believers over politics, politicians, or political wrangling and fights. He wasn't saying not to discuss pertinent issues in a spirit of peace, rather, I heard to not divide from a brother or sister because that is the enemy's plan right now. The enemy wants to steal your crown.  

Believers will divide, sadly, over this false sense of righteousness, and doing right-but it will not be of the Lord, and it will not further His Kingdom. Just like when I backslid, it will move people along in very small steps, a little at a time so that it's impossible to see that they have left their first love, totally detached from the head of the church, Christ Jesus. Oh, it may be an attachment to Christ in word, but not in spirit.

God wants us to shine forth the light of Christ to a world in gross, gross darkness, and Satan is come to snuff it out. That is why the word is going forth (I heard it three times in church yesterday): The Lord is calling us to gather beneath His wings in the secret place where we trust Him alone, look to Him alone, and hear His voice, then, and only then, will our judgment be right. We all will hear very good sounding words, indeed, reasonable words-powerful words calling us to various actions, but these words are set on fire by hell itself, and they will take people there.

We may speak of "righteous anger" and point to Jesus in the temple, and yet, we are remiss to walk in that genuine righteous anger lest we offend anyone. All of the anger that Jesus portrayed on behalf of the Father was against spiritual idolatry in his Father's house, and the false religion of man. He never lashed out in righteous anger at sinners. We want to flatter one another and please each other so we will be liked, but God's love will flip the tables of the greed and exploitation in the name of God, and in God's temple-and Jesus wasn't the least bit concerned how others felt about it. That anger is the sword that Jesus brings to the church, but how we dislike using it! We need more of that anger, and less of the anger at those sinners "out there" who are lost in moral darkness...the very ones who God gave His one and only son to save. 

In 2020, I could not get free of anger over some things happening in the world. I was so angry. I kept confessing my sin and expected the Lord to do what he always does and wash it away, but nothing worked. One day in frustration I asked Him why His grace wasn't transforming my heart? In a flash, he showed me that I wasn't getting to the root of my anger. Well, I cried, what is it!? I heard this in my heart: "You can't get free because the root of your anger is that you think you have a righteous cause. You think you are better than those who are doing and believing something else, and therefore you are angry. A spirit of strife and contention are always cloaked in a righteous sounding cause. Until you repent of your righteous cause, you won't be free."

Well, that was a paraphrase of what I heard, but I hope that you get the point. Righteous anger.  Are we willing to get angry about false doctrine keeping people from the power of Christ? Are we willing to flip over those tables and get thrown out on the streets by our own brothers and sisters who will judge us for it? It's much safer and more comfortable to get angry at those other people out there.  Do you know what I am trying to say here? Anyways, I did confess it, and He did take it away. THAT is the power of the cross of Christ, and it does change our hearts if we will keep believing in it.

So, this is to offer another witness to what you are already sensing and hearing. The din will grow very loud, and sound very righteous, but flee into the stillness beneath his wing, because this is an hour of visitation, and I pray that we will not miss it! Those who wait on the Lord will soar on wings as eagles in this season. But Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they missed the hour of their visitation preferring instead to go with the crowd, and they missed the heart of God, and His Messiah, the very one they claimed to be waiting for. Man will deceive you, Jesus said, but His Spirit will always lead us into the truth, we just have to trust Him.

Years ago, I walked through a horrible situation in which Christians were doing terrible things to others. As I was navigating it and trying to submit to the Lord, I read the verse about flies getting into the ointment, and the Lord said to keep the flies out of the ointment. I had an ointment from the Lord for the situation, but in my immaturity, I got flies in the ointment and spoiled the help that the Lord wanted me to bring to the situation. I responded in my emotion at times, because I did not guard my heart. I learned a lot from that experience.

It seems this current crisis will lead to another time of confusion with people running here and there to hear how we should think, what we should do. Just like last time (2020) many will feel confused listening to so many voices, but there is only one voice that we need to hear. There is no need to be confused. We can go on a fast. We can pray and ask the Lord what He is saying. We can get still and know that He is God. I believe that there is a powerful outpouring for us, one that we have never seen that will enable us to carry the love of Christ. This is the lampstand from Zech 4. He is covering us with His Spirit. Let's not stray out from His covering. Let's not get pulled into the fray, and lose our witness, and our crowns.

If you want to hear an anointed message from the Lord for this time, go to Fellowship of Believers and listen to the sermon on 9/14/25. He really captured the heart of God in such a powerful way.

https://www.youtube.com/live/6PKE0oK8A7w?si=RmGsCo_kc5IIJtwp

What do you think? Leave a comment.


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