VIOLATING PROTOCOL

by | Apr 14, 2023 | Prophetic | 4 comments

Be careful not to prematurely judge a person or a word that creates a disruption of a long-held assumption. Those who create these disruptions might be carrying a message from God intended to protect and deliver those willing to examine the message to determine its veracity. Those disruptive messages can break down existing protocols of life releasing unsettling interpretations of reality.

A protocol is defined as a set of behaviors or rules that govern how a certain situation takes place. Protocols dealing with how we treat the flag, run a government, or administer medical care can be good, honoring, and innocent. When protocols are used to silence righteous dissent or keep us trapped in prisons of ignorance that insulate us from the kind of revelation required to move us forward into the future, they no longer serve the right purpose.

In the Church, the gatekeepers of religious protocols can hinder the move of God’s Spirit if they are unwilling to reexamine the necessity of existing protocols. The Azusa Street Revival, the Jesus Movement, and the Charismatic Renewal each broke existing protocols as did each move of the Spirit that followed up to this present moment. 

The Lord’s presence carried by His followers into the surrounding culture will confront unhealthy protocols that exist outside our sanctuaries. These confrontations have occurred regarding issues of slavery, the voting rights of women, and others. Today, new voices are being used to break protocols choosing to no longer remain silent and compliant with all our government demands of us in areas of medicine, finance, and how we choose to live our lives. 

The prophetic voices being raised at this time in our history will sound much like those who first considered the reality of gravity, the existence of germs and infection, or the fact that the Earth was not flat. The first wave of opposition to these new voices will come from the gatekeepers of the status quo thinking they are doing a righteous service by protecting the protocol. They believe there cannot be another opinion or way of living out our faith and will do all they can to suppress, even mock, any dissenting voice that rocks the current boat of understanding. 

Protocols are not evil until they are. Be careful not to follow in lockstep all we are being told is the final word on anything. God’s revelation is expanding and influencing all areas of life. As that revelation meets an assumption it will create conflict. How we handle that conflict will be as important as the truth we bring that upsets the apple cart of assumptions used to create the protocol in the first place.

4 Comments

  1. John J Anderson

    Protocol, like a knife, is a tool in the hand of an authority. Will they use it to signal that something is good and should be embraced? Will they use it to quench the Holy Spirit?

    Great post, Garris! Thanks for an insightful and timely reminder for today and the season in which we live.

    Reply
  2. Katherine

    This cannot be overstated!!
    Thank you!

    Reply
  3. Cheryl von Tress

    Jesus broke protocol!!! Aren’t we grateful that He did?!!

    Reply
  4. kevin

    These are the days of the Rise of the Spiritual Warriors! The Remnant who, with the spiritual armies of heaven, (those who loved The Lord Jesus in this human existence) will be accompanying The Good Shepherd when He returns to vanquish the darkness of evil with His Presence of Love Light ! You will hear the groaning’s of evil as it is conquered and banished in damnation and darkness to the bottomless pits of hell for all eternity.

    Amen

    Reply

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