There’s a lot of fear going around. And rightly so, since there are many wars, conflicts and natural disasters happening more than ever. As we are drawing closer to the end of the church era, this will only continue in frequency and intensity.
In this interview, pastor-prophet Jeremiah Johnson shared the things that many of us know already to combat against fear. But it’s always good to be reminded about these spiritual disciplines to help us dethrone fear from our hearts and minds. For me it’s a daily battle that I have to do every morning – conquering fear and anxiety especially since the challenges and my ministry work are becoming greater and more complex. I wake up early every morning to have a long quiet time with the Lord. I’d rather sleep less than to start my day without God through prayers, meditating in His word and receiving instructions from Him in my work and relationships.
Dethroning Fear (Jeremy Johnson)
For many of us who value wisdom and scholarly knowledge, Ravi Zacharias was a celebrity pastor-teacher in the field of Christian Apologetics (logically defending the Christian faith). Therefore, when his sexual scandals and coverups came out right after his death in 2021, it was devastating for many of us. It is very important to deal with any disappointments and heartaches within a community of believers and not by yourself. I know this very well since this was another reason that I left the church as a young adult. I was in between churches once I left college after graduating. At that time there were many priest sex scandals against children that were coming out and these news stories left me cynical and angry. And then hearing about my college church breaking up into two due to division was the last straw. I turned and left.
In the past three years, there have been so many Christian leaders who have been exposed for their sexual sins and abuse of power. However these stories have been mainly exposed within Christian news and not covered by secular media. This time around, I wasn’t tempted to leave the body of Christ because I was deeply rooted in my local church and I had developed many relationships through my church. This is why being part of a local church is so, so important.
I’ve been thinking and praying about church leadership scandals more lately because some of the prophets that I follow are saying that there will be an exposure of many church leaders this year. I’m thinking that in this year, it’ll be bigger names than the ones from the past three years and that secular news will cover the story too. Therefore, I just want to prepare you. I plead with you to join a local church body and become rooted in it by regular fellowship and attendance.
As I’ve been thinking about all this, a church friend shared this older podcast with me. It’s about the scandal of Ravi Zacharias. I was really surprised to hear that many people in his ministry team refused to consider the red flags and warnings about Ravi Zacharias and instead kept on siding and supporting him because of his power and influence. Eventually God used a non-Christian lawyer to expose Ravi Zacharias. But the truth did not come out publicly until he passed away in 2021 from spinal cancer. Many of us were praying and praying for him to get healed. It was depressing to hear of his passing in the height of Covid. Then more heartaches followed a few months later as we learned about his coverups, lies and sexual abuse. If you are not rooted in a local church, then I want to warn you that your heart will get cold and hard when you hear about Christian leaders who fail morally. Do not fall for this trap by the enemy! (Btw, it’s okay to expect a higher level of morals from our Christian leaders especially if they are financially supported by the people. Similarly, I expect higher academic integrity from educators and researchers.)
I’ve stopped learning from Ravi Zacharias ever since the scandal. But recently I am changing my thinking by the gentle help of the Holy Spirit. David made many big mistakes once he became King of Israel. He covered up his sexual sin by abusing his power and there was even a murder of an innocent, good man. Yet we read and love the book of Psalms which he wrote a majority of, and this book is in the Bible by the will of God. This wisdom came to me recently and it was like I received permission to learn from Ravi Zacharias again. He was a great debater and scholar in the field of Christian apologetics. Here is his excellent lecture and Q & A when he was invited by Princeton University in 2013. For those who are more impressed with scholars than athletes, he will impress you. (I think his ministry fell apart since I only found a handful of YouTube videos when I was searching for this old lecture at Princeton University. I’m praying that his teachings will be resurrected again. They were very good and helpful for the skeptics. I listened to his old lecture again just now, and it was still brilliant! Q & A with audience was really good with great questions by the audience. If you want to learn more from him, check out his books on Amazon.)
Ravi Zacharias at Princeton University – why im not an atheist
Ravi Zacharias – Princeton University Open Forum Q&A
Here is the lawyer who broke the scandal about Ravi Zacharias and the woman who was very courageous to speak out about her experiences with Ravi Zacharias. It’s good to listen to both interviews so that you don’t become someone who cover up for a powerful person to keep the peace and position. If it happened to Ravi Zacharias’ very intelligent ministry team and board members, then it can happen to any one of us.
The Man Who Broke The Ravi Zacharias Scandals || Interview with Steve Baughman || SLP 352
The Speak Life Podcast · March 19, 2021
Lori Anne Thompson: In Her Own Words || SLP 350
The Speak Life Podcast · March 12, 2021
As I’ve finally opened up to listening to the modern day prophets, I also need more biblical knowledge and wisdom in discerning them. Pastor-teacher Robert Morris shared an experience that he had with a prophet. It’s not the main theme of this sermon but his testimony was very helpful. It’s shared in the first 10 minutes or so.
Gateway Church’s Podcast · January 22, 2024
As world and national events continue to grow more intense and tumultuous, it’s becoming important to understand the prophetic gifts that are available for the church so that we can thrive in the years ahead and be the bright and stable lights for our families and communities. We need to understand and use all the spiritual gifts and resources that are available. I used to settle on the idea that all we need is discipline, obedience, fellowship and the word of God to make it through this world. I think I got to that point because of many disappointments and delays. But now I no longer think this way. We need to strive for the supernatural gifts available to us too. Please read more about it here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12&version=VOICE
“Prayer is not just asking, it is listening for God’s orders.” – Billy Graham
Journal of Faith 