All posts tagged: Dr. Michael Brown

The Fine Lines that Separate Faith from Fantasy and from Presumption

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By Dr. Michael Brown What is the difference between faith in the invisible God and fantasy? Or the difference between faith and presumption? The lines that separate faith from fantasy and presumption can be fine, but they are definite and they are clear. Failure to recognize those lines can be the difference between life and death, between truth and error, between a solid, fruit-bearing walk with the Lord and spiritual deception. Hebrews 11:6 teaches that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Faith is essential and foundation in our relationship with God. Yet many would claim that this very act of faith – putting our trust in something or someone that we cannot see with our natural eyes – is an act of fantasy and self-deception. In the eyes of many skeptics and atheists and agnostics, believing in the God of the Bible is no different than believing in an alleged Flying Spaghetti Monster, …

You Will Know the Tree by Its Fruit

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By Dr. Michael Brown It is a biblical principle that everything reproduces after its own kind. This is true in the physical world, going back to the first chapter of Genesis and right until today. Orange trees reproduce oranges (and orange trees), not apples (and apple trees), and dogs reproduce dogs, not cats. The same is true in the spiritual realm. As Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15–20) We can judge a ministry or a movement or a theology or an ideology by the type of fruit it produces. …

Guard the Holy Flame!

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By Dr. Michael Brown When I served as a leader in the Brownsville Revival (which ran from 1995-2000), I started to write a book on hindrances to revival, laying out 20 ways to put out the Spirit’s fire. Put another way, if you do these things, the revival will come to a premature end. When I finished compiling my list, I was amazed to see how similar it was to Charles Finney’s classic sermons titled “Hindrances to Revival.” Some things never change! For a number of reasons, I did not finish writing my book, but several years after the revival, I got the strong impression that I would need to finish the book in the future. In other words, I would live to see another wave of revival. That wave, in its early stages, is already here in America, because of which I feel a real urgency to finish writing that book and get it out to the public. For the moment, though, let me share one of the principles I address in the book, …

God Uses Imperfect People

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By Dr. Michael Brown It is not just outside the Church, in the secular realm, that God uses imperfect people. Even within the Church, in the spiritual realm, God uses imperfect people. But there’s a simple reason for that. Imperfect people are the only kind of people that exist. Who else can God use? There’s an old joke about someone who is looking for the perfect church. They tell a friend, “If I could just find that church, I’d attend regularly and become a member.” The friend replies, “But the moment you join it would become imperfect.” Exactly. That is the state of the human race. In that same spirit, it has been said that heaven will be at one and the same time a great eye opener and a great mouth closer. You will be shocked to see certain people there, and they will be shocked to see you. Of course, we can smile at these anecdotes and jokes, but when the rubber meets the road, it can be a little unsettling. We wonder …

An Unexpected Benefit of Growing Older

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By Dr. Michael Brown

Speaking of that ancient hero named Job, the Bible records that after his time of severe suffering, he “lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.” That is one of the great blessings that comes with getting older: you get to see your children’s children, and even their children. (If you live to be 140, like Job, you could see even more!)

What We Have Learned about Censorship and Suppression of Speech in ‘Free’ America

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By Dr. Michael Brown

America is certainly not China or North Korea when it comes to censorship and suppressing free speech. But we are not nearly as free as we thought we were. The events of the last three years have made that strikingly clear, bringing to a head a dangerous pattern that had been developing for years before that.