All of the people the Lord raises up to Himself have a purpose, something the Lord has raised them up to accomplish for His Kingdom. Some have started ministries and they have stayed true to the Lord all throughout. Some appear to have started strong…and something has gotten in the way. Some have written books that are truly anointed. Some have apparently gotten caught up in things that don’t seem to be of the Lord. The one thing they all have in common is: all have been called by the Lord at some point, and are His “vessels unto honor.” The Lord knows their hearts, where they are in their relationship with Him, whether or not they are in His will or under correction and what He plans for their lives from this point on. Just as He treats all of us! We need to be VERY careful not to judge ANY of the men and women the Lord has placed in situations of ministry because of this.
For an example, many are jumping on Rick Joyner these days because of a “disturbing report” someone put out. While the Lord has not spoken to us about those matters, what He HAS recommended about Rick is his visions and the books that were written outlining them. These the Lord Himself has called anointed. The Lord gave those visions to Rick in order to reach the people the Lord intended, and Rick was obedient and wrote them out.
Yes, we need to keep discernment in the picture – but what the “finger pointers” (who do nothing but research all the possible “dirt” on a person) gleefully reveal… should be avoided, because they always seem to have an agenda, an obvious bitterness that comes to the surface in these “reports.” And frankly, I’ve yet to see anyone who was busy doing all that smearing, tempering their opinions with a kind word and a pure heart…
Unless you can say that you personally KNOW a minister/prophet/etc. – and that means going so far as to personally sit under their teaching, dine with them, and know who the man/woman truly is in all occasions – how could you possibly know what their heart’s intent is? If you’re just reading something reported by someone else (who has taken a judgmental attitude) about someone, how can you possibly know the truth of it?
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Luke 3:37
Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.…Matt. 7:1-2
What is currently being done in any man or woman’s ministry is for each of us to carefully discern before the Lord, whether we will accept/follow it or not. And that is where it must end. To publically display faults in anyone is God’s job – not ours.
So every single one of you who judge others is without any excuse. You condemn yourself when you judge another person because the one who is judging is doing the same things. 2 We know that God’s judgment agrees with the truth, and his judgment is against those who do these kinds of things. 3 If you judge those who do these kinds of things while you do the same things yourself, think about this: Do you believe that you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you have contempt for the riches of God’s generosity, tolerance, and patience? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is supposed to lead you to change your heart and life? 5 You are storing up wrath for yourself because of your stubbornness and your heart that refuses to change. God’s just judgment will be revealed on the day of wrath. 6 God will repay everyone based on their works. 7 On the one hand, he will give eternal life to those who look for glory, honor, and immortality based on their patient good work. 8 But on the other hand, there will be wrath and anger for those who obey wickedness instead of the truth because they are acting out of selfishness and disobedience. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 10 But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 11 God does not have favorites. Romans 2:1-11
To finish, the Lord has these sobering words to say in His message April 17, 2015 “Carry the Cross, Don’t Judge, Preparation for War Almost Complete”:
“My children, I have warned you again and again about judging, but when you judge My prophets you incur serious repercussions in your life, immediately. You will find that the results will be immediate, because I am trying to break you of this wicked habit. Do you understand, when you judge others and especially My vessels unto honor, that you invite in a host of demons to sift you and your family??
“Do you understand that when you spread false reports about the innocent and slander their character that you have brought a curse down upon yourself? I have to tell you, you will see more and more division and strife among your friends for such behavior, because beneath it all there is spiritual jealousy, the most destructive force in My Body.
“When you engage patterns of jealousy you actually oppose Me and the operation of My gifts and I will hold you accountable for the souls I could not reach because you spread lies about a vessel.”
Carol Jennings