My 7 Years Working for the Elijah List 5 – Mortar in the Wall

My Elijah List Experience

• Elijah List Intro: Prelude to My Story
• Elijah List 1: In the Beginning
• Elijah List 2: First Impressions Crumble
• Elijah List 3: My Experience with Todd Bentley
• Elijah List 4: Dismantling the Wall
• Elijah List 5: Mortar in the Wall
• Elijah List 6: Wicked Roots
• Elijah List 7: Lack of Discernment Has a Price
• Elijah List 8: The Next Generation
• Elijah List 9: My Way Home
• Elijah List 10: Post-Prophetic Rehab – How to Get Back On Track

Grace or Licentiousness?

If the Wall of Deception is the misuse of judgment-based scriptures, then the misuse of the term “Grace” is the mortar that holds it together. Grace is a very nebulous term in prophetic circles and is used to replace “mercy” or “covering sin” in most conversations. According to Steve Shultz, the Elijah List’s whole philosophy and foundation revolves around this grace. But when you listen to him preach about grace, usually you walk away with a skewed understanding of it. The “main idea” being that we should be nice to people because God loves them, and after all, He was nice to you, so you need to do likewise. This isn’t necessarily a wrong idea, but this isn’t “grace”, and it also plays in to the mindset of not judging anyone’s actions, thereby strengthening the Wall of Deception.

Let’s see what the Word says about Grace:

Titus 2:11-15: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, (1)denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, (2)we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, (3)looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (4)who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

So, from the verses above, I know that if you preach a message of “Grace”, you need to be teaching a few things.

1. Deny ungodliness and worldly lusts
2. Live soberly and righteously in the present age
3. Look for Jesus’ return
4. (from v14) Be aware of His Work on the cross and how he sought a pure and holy people

What’s more, the message is to be preached (spoke, exhort, rebuke) with Authority. You will not find the above concepts being taught in most “grace” messages these days. Unfortunately, what you’ll mostly hear about is more along the lines of “mercy” and how God wants to be your buddy. And to a church culture with itching ears, this is wonderful news! Because Jesus is their buddy, they won’t have to live righteously! They won’t have to live soberly! God has “GRACE” for all of those things!

As a result, licentiousness (unrestrained flesh) reigns supreme in our lives.

Accuracy please?

To be an inaccurate prophet in the Old Testament was punishable by death. Thankfully, we don’t have to live under that law today, but as a result, many people prophesy inaccurate “prophecies” and are not held responsible if that prophecy doesn’t come to pass. Just go to any prophetic conference, or do a small search through the Elijah List and you will see/hear yearly prophecies of revival and breakthrough in many major cities in the United States and around the world … this has been going on for years … and yet, where is it? If even 10% of these prophecies came true, you would’ve heard about it. They also prophesy these things over the Body of Christ as a whole, but we have yet to experience this.

Do I believe in revival, blessing and outpouring? Absolutely! But I believe they put the “cart before the horse”. See my article “Same Prophecy – Different Year” for more information.

Do I believe a prophet can make a mistake? Yes, definitely! But when a prophet has a continuous bad record, he/she needs to come clean and say “I didn’t hear God” or at least “I made a mistake”. Unfortunately, instead of coming clean, the “prophets” will debate about God’s timing vs our timing … or, if all else fails, they fall back on the scripture that says “We know in part and prophesy in part”.

Of course we only know and prophesy “in part”, we are not God. But when the prophetic track record is so abysmally low, we really need to stop taking a cheap escape route, humble ourselves and ask if we’re truly hearing from God. The prophets in the Old and New Testament knew exactly what they were supposed to say and would stand behind it to the death, and some DID die. They were so sure of it, that they stamped it with a bright, bold “thus sayeth the Lord”! Nowadays, new prophets are instructed NOT to say “thus sayeth the Lord” JUST IN CASE they’re making a mistake. Where’s the faith in that?

In Jeremiah 23:21-22, God tells the prophet a vital characteristic of True Prophecy:

“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings.“

The end result of all prophecy should be God’s people repenting … turning their hearts back to God. Nowadays, teachings on “third heaven experiences”, “the glory realm” and “breakthrough” are labeled as prophecy. Do you see how even our definition of prophecy has become “man-centered”?

The Practice of Lawlessness

The Bible plainly says in Matthew 7:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Something we must realize about Jesus’ sermons is that they were a continuous thought, they weren’t just random thoughts and separate subjects brought together just to “fill space”. The Word of God was/is God-breathed. The chapter numbers and the sub-headers in your bible translation were put there by man.

Now, there is a reason why God put a warning about false prophets and the good fruit/bad fruit dynamic together in the same subject. It is because false prophets work in such deception, that sometimes the ONLY way you are going to tell a good prophet from a bad prophet is through their fruits.

In fact, in the subsequent verses of Matthew 7, it says:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Up until a few years ago, I never thought this verse could be possible. How could someone use Jesus’ name to do miracles, prophesy and cast out devils unless God was with Him? But we’re seeing it all over the place now.

For the Love of the Search,

Kevin Kleint
Email: kevin@honorofkings.org

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