Many of you have heard about wolves in sheep’s clothing, but today, I want to talk to you about sheep in wolves clothing. Some people may be curious as to how a man from a strong Reformed family ended himself at Oral Roberts University…well, let me tell you. I relocated to Oklahoma when I was 15 and attended a Pentecostal Christian school. My sister started going to ORU while I was in high school, and she invited me to these beautiful worship nights that they had on campus — I believe it was initially called Vespers. Anyway, it began at 7:00 or 8:00 p.m., and it was a time of incredible spontaneous worship to God that greatly aided my growth in my connection with Him. Because these sessions had such an impact on my spiritual life, it was pretty much a given when it came time to choose a college. I longed to be among these God-seekers who worshipped in openness and nakedness! This is when my journey became difficult. When I first started college, I immediately found that several of the people I had idolized were actually immature and superficial, despite their outward impression of deep spirituality. It may sound dramatic, but I was disillusioned when I discovered that some of the folks I had assumed were “the bad guys,” the ones who sat in the back and didn’t engage much, were actually the more mature and deeper disciples of Jesus. This is how I discovered the significance of sheep dressed as wolves.

Friend, don’t condemn or reject folks who are rough around the edges as “unspiritual” because they don’t look or act the way you think they should. Jesus’ heart-searching love rapidly sees through false pretenses and into the soul. As a mature Christ disciple, I implore you to go past the surface and seek out the eternal worth that God sees in each individual. Your world will expand as a result of your actions, and you will be blessed by the majesty of His “upside-down” Kingdom! Isn’t that fantastic news?