The spirit of Pilate in the church : Vision of the deep

I often mention that there are over 19,000 cities in the nation, and that none of them are experiencing revival.  None are experiencing biblical normalcy.

This statement isn’t intended to be insensitive or harsh, but the reality is that the same mistakes are being repeated hundreds of thousands of time, over and over, in churches all across America.  We’re zero for 19,000.  If you count Azusa (which you should), we’re one for 19,000-  In the last one hundred years!  We should be shaken and concerned.

We can’t presume to do the same things we have been doing while expecting different results.  A reformation is mandatory at this stage of the game.  A change that will threaten our lives and our livelihoods.

In a moment I want to share a word concerning the spirit of Pilate in the church.  However, first I am going to share a vision I had that I shared at a pastor’s meeting here in Detroit recently.  These two messages are intentionally connected.

In the vision I was looking at a beach along the ocean.  There were a lot of people standing and playing in the sand, and there was a handful of people no more than 30 yards into the shallows of the ocean.  I saw a man representing leadership in the church standing with one foot in the water and one foot on the sand.

He was feverishly trying to compel people on the beach to step foot into the water while at the same time keeping his eyes on those who were in the shallows.

Every group represented in the vision was experiencing negative feelings.  The people in the water were disappointed and frustrated because there was nobody to take them into the deep.  The people on the sand were irritated and wanted to be left alone and the church leader was deeply frustrated and about to give up. 

I heard the word, “I’m transitioning church leaders from life guards to deep sea divers.”

I then saw the church leader turn toward the massive ocean, and he dove in.  The water was stirred as he swam out over 300 yards and then down into the cool, refreshing world of the unknown.  He was going where no man had ever gone.  Those who were in the shallows had tears in their eyes and an eruption of excitement within as they followed their leader into the depths of wonder.

Those on the sand were supernaturally provoked by the stirring of the living water and at the potential for remarkable discovery in an unknown world.  The masses started running, without hesitation, into the water they had avoided for years.

As we as leaders can trust God’s protocol, and trust his ability to supernaturally draw people into the deep, we’ll have the confidence to move far beyond where we in our humanness ever presumed people would dare to follow.

Now, lets talk about the spirit of Pilate.

This is a serious message for leaders and for the body to consider.  The question we must ask is this: Do the masses have undue influence in the formation of our churches and ministries?

Think about this: Are we as pastors and leaders willing to lose our churches, our reputations, our salaries, our security and other things that we have worked so hard to develop for the sake of developing the church according to God’s inconvenient blueprint??  Will the pressure of demands and false expectations in the church steer us off course?  If we are obedient to the extreme call for revival and reformation, obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit into the great unknown, all of this and more will be at risk. 

We know that Pontius Pilate had every resource at his disposal to put the crowd in its place and stop the abuse of Jesus.  He had authority, an army, power and influence.  It was his call.  But he wasn’t willing to lose.

Let’s back up and look at another scene where the masses drove the experience.

Matthew 21:9-11 (NIV) ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!" ¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" ¹¹ The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

They were shouting Hosanna!  It was literally, “Save us!”  The crowd acknowledged the royalty of Jesus and were crying out to him, honoring him, beseeching him as their king.  It was a party atmosphere, and as long as the majority was in favor of Jesus’ mission, there was little the religious crowd could do.

Matthew 21:45-46 (NIV) ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Now, you can imagine the religious spirits that were rising up at this point.  However, we often presume those who were shouting Hosanna to be pure in their motives.  In reality, it’s quite clear scripturally that many of them were actually embodying the very definition of religion. 

Religion: Man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants.

The masses wanted to ‘honor’ him in the hopes of receiving what they wanted in return.

The story that follows the triumphal entry is what I call the principle of the money changers.

Matthew 21:12-13 (NIV) ¹² Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ "It is written," he said to them, "’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’"

We see the spirit of religion stirred up here once again.  Jesus overturned the tables that were set up by those who were driven by a religious spirit.  You see, the money changers went into the house of prayer (the church) with the expectation of leaving with more than they entered with.  The were using God’s house for personal gain.  They were using God’s system, and God himself to get what they wanted.

We know the call of the house of prayer, the church, is to enter with the expectation of leaving with less than we enter with.  It’s a place of sacrifice and offering.  It’s the response to the call to take up our cross and to die daily. 

I believe an violent overthrow of religious tables, structures that ministries have been setup on, is nearly upon us.  Our churches are to be a house of prayer for all nations.

There must be a massive reformation, a change and national repentance for setting up the house of prayer in such a way that it will appeal to the most people.  Our churches are to be holy, full of the fire of the Holy Spirit and fully devoted to night and day prayer.  As we do this, most very well may vacate the pews, and a dear price will be paid.  But, the Spirit of the living God will manifest in power and glory as we minister to him without end.

Now, let’s watch as the story develops in to the trial of Jesus.

Matthew 27:11-26 (NIV) ¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor (Pilate), and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. ¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, "Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge–to the great amazement of the governor. ¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. ¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him." ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ²¹ "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered. ²² "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!" ²³ "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man’s blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" ²⁵ All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Ok, now, of course, this is serious.  Pilate was driven by the same spirit of religion that drove the money changers and the crowd at the triumphal entry.  At the end of the day, Pilate wanted everything to work out well for him.  He was in it for personal gain.  He wanted those he had leadership over to be appeased and settled.  He had a sense of integrity, but in the end he caved to the pressure of the people, of the religious spirit.

The question is simple: Have we as leaders ever formed our ministries in such a way so as to ensure there were few waves, few disgruntled people?  Or, have we come to the realization that developing churches and ministries via the leading of the Holy Spirit will actually provide a nearly continual opportunity for challenge and offense?  As in Acts 2, many will marvel and many will mock. 

I’ve made this mistake.  One day the Lord gently, but firmly rebuked me as I was looking out at the crowd in the church one Sunday morning.  I was disappointed at the small turnout that day and wondered what I could have done to compel more to come.  I was the pastor with one foot in the water and one foot on the sand attempting to do whatever it took (within reason!) to get more people into the water.  I was frustrated. 

God spoke clearly.  “John, I don’t ever want you to judge your effectiveness as my servant by the number of people who show up.  I simply want you to determine on a scale of one to ten, to what degree you let me conduct the service that day.  Your success is measured by your obedience.”

That message from God changed everything for me. 

Another day, as God was calling me to take the ministry into a challenging new direction, I told God, “If we do this, if we make this change, we’re certain to lose people, we’ll lose money and I’ll lose my reputation.”  God, after I mentioned my reputation, said, “Good.  My Son was of no reputation.”  God wasn’t asking me to make the ‘right’ decisions that resulted in the most people joining the church.  He wanted me to realize that his wisdom and strategy was much greater than I could ever perceive.

I obeyed God, and our church lost 80% of the people.  We lost 80% of our income.  We moved from a 27,000 square foot building into a 1,000 square foot building.  People were upset that church had ‘changed’.  I had to get a job.  Pressure was intense.  Betrayal was everywhere.  My wife was in tears almost continually.  My dream came crashing down literally overnight.  However, while the crowd was disappearing, I could honestly say that on a scale of one to ten, God was able to operate in that season at a ten.  I trusted his process- a process that cost us more than most of you will ever know.

In the above scripture passage, Pilate was frustrated.  He saw that he was getting nowhere.  He was nervous about the uproar in the body.  So, he relented.  The majority, won.  Note how Pilate asked the question, “What crime has he committed?”  The ‘crime’ was that the spirit of religion lost.  The masses didn’t get what they expected from Jesus during the triumphal entry, so they turned on him.

It was the humble yet bold Prophet that ‘caused problems’ with the current system.  We see this today.  When a strong prophetic advance penetrates a city or church, you can count on sudden, serious and violent backlash.  Most churches shut down prophecy, the call for reformation, for this very reason.  The risk is too great.  The religious spirits will rise up when the call to the cross threatens the church system they have so carefully set up for their own benefit.

So, how do we deal with this?  There are many things to consider, but lets start by praying for a strategy that God used with Pilate himself. His wife had a troubling dream.

Let’s pray that dreams invade all of our homes.  That God will capture our attention, and the attention of our wives and others close to us.  As this prophetic message of God arrives on our scenes, we will have the support from Heaven that we need to stand strong in the face of persecution and potential uproar.

We simply have to trust God’s process, turn toward the ocean, fear not the threat of uproar, fear not the possibility of great loss, and follow the Holy Spirit Himself as he takes us and those who choose to follow into the deep- into the place where the shock and awe of the glory of God is waiting for us.