Kingdom Crumbs

"I love my church" – Oh, really?

2016-01-02T12:13:00.000+01:00

John F. McArthur concludes his book “Faith Works – the Gospel according to the Apostles” (a) with the following quote:

“Today’s ‘Christianity’ is in a state of disarray and decay, and the condition is deteriorating year by year. The truth of God’s Word has been watered down and compromised to reach a common denominator that will appeal to and accommodate the largest number of participants. The result is a hybrid Christianity which is essentially man-centered, materialistic and worldly, and shamefully dishonouring to the Lord Jesus Christ. This shameful degeneracy is due in large part to the erroneous gospel that is presented by many today around the world”

The slogan “I love my church” fits exactly into this context with its emphasis on “my church”. The focus of love and dedication is no longer Christ the Lord, but “my” ‘Christian’ club that allows me to live out my lifestyle without offending me. My club offers me professional music, theatre, entertaining speakers, positive thinking messages and a community where I belong and can receive recognition and praise. My club offers me all this and the promise that since I have accepted Christ as Saviour, God loves me, makes no moral demands on me, He is looking out for my best interests, will prosper me and gives me the assurance of heaven awaiting me when I die. Is it no wonder that “I love my church”?

And that part where Christ is Lord? Well maybe that will happen to some members over time, first and foremost we are seeker friendly – measuring the success of our leadership by the number of members in our club and the number of participants and new visitors on a Sunday.

To be successful at this we do not want to offend anyone by taking about sin, the need to repent, the Judgement that is to come. We just separate sanctification out of the equation – and we meet our obligations in this regard by offering courses for those who are more interested in that type of stuff.

If the Gospel has been watered down in this way, then we are viewing a system where the Grace of God is pedalled for profit. (2 Corinthians 2:17)

Where are the days that the Holy Spirit was present in Meetings to “convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” (John 16:8) If He is allowed in our meetings today, His role is been mainly reduced to giving us goose bumps. In some special situations He may even come and heal someone of some body pain.

“I love my church” tends to ignore the scripture that warns us against such thinking: “For whenever each of you says, “I am of Paulus”, and another says, “I am of Apollo”, behold, are you not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:4) – but then maybe the shoe fits?

Jesus Christ is head of the Church – He said “I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18)

Jesus Christ is Lord! Today and now and for all eternity. His Church are those that listen to His Voice and obey Him!

We are called to love Him 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' (Matthew 22:37)

I conclude with a quote from Tozer (b):

“Now what is to accept Christ? Well, let me define it for you a little more closely. Acceptance of Christ is to form an attachment to the person of Christ; to the person of Jesus Christ. It's not to fall in love with a tender-faced Jesus. It is to realize that this tender-faced Jesus is also Lord and God! That God has made Him Lord over all things and Head of the Church and that He has the keys of death and hell and that He will sit upon the throne judging all mankind and that God has given all power into His hand - this mighty Lord Jesus! It's to form an attachment to Him that is revolutionary, reversing and transforming the life. If your Christian conversion did not reverse the direction of your life; if it did not transform it then you're not converted at all, you are simply a victim of the 'accept Jesus' heresy!

For me to accept Christ means that I am to accept Him in every part of my being and that I am to form an attachment to Him, an emotional, an intellectual, a volitional attachment which is complete, leaving no part of the life unaffected. If He cannot control you, He cannot save you. And if He cannot control all of you, He cannot control any of you!”

Let us depart from lukewarmness as we heed the Words of our Lord:

“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”
(Revelation 22:10 - 11)

Sources:

(a) http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Works-Gospel-According-Apostles/dp/0849908418
(b) http://www.neve-family.com/books/tozer/AcceptChrist-1.html

Is homosexuality a sin?

2015-10-31T14:31:00.003+01:00

Much has been written about homosexuality in recent months, and in response to a post of mine on Facebook an old school friend wrote the following comment “Homosexuality is not a sin!” I promised that I would take the time to write a reply, and here it is …

Sin, why should we be concerned about sin? and why should a non-Christian, someone who does not believe in God, care? Well, we all have a conscience and we do care about what is right and wrong. So I assume that my friend is expressing that he does not think that homosexuality is wrong. By using the word “sin”, I assume, that he adopts my Christian terminology to communicate his position more effectively to me.

The decision of what is right and what is wrong is so often temporal, influenced by a mired of factors from culture, media, language, education and generation. An example relevant to homosexuality is how, due to cultural pressure, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the main professional organization of psychiatrists in America, in the early 1970's revised their DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), to remove the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder. THE DSM, which codifies psychiatric conditions and is used worldwide as a guide for diagnosing disorders, made this change at the time through a majority vote of 58%.

The message is clear, with enough activist activity and “authoritative influence”, we can secure a majority and change our definition of what behaviour is wrong and what is right. This is of course a hugely positive aspect of western societies that has led to positive changes in attitudes to slavery, child labour, racism and other forms of discrimination. But it at the same time shows how temporal and malleable our understanding of right and wrong can be.

The Jewish Bible describes how mankind was tempted and deceived with the sentence “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)

How desirable is it to us to be able to determine what is wrong and what is right? Does it give us the feeling of power and of control over our lives and situations? The feeling that we are like God?

When we use the word sin though, we should be meaning that which is not right in God’s eyes, i.e. from His perspective. The Apostle Paul makes it clear in Romans 3: 23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.

This understanding somehow stunts our “godlike” activity to want to define certain actions as sin and others not. We have all sinned and in this state we deserve the eternal condemnation of separation from God, as the path we have chosen for ourselves.

Looking at the context of Romans 3:23 though, we make an amazing discovery:

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. (Romans 3:21-25a)

God so loved the people in the world that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take sins of all people upon Himself and pay the penalty for this sin himself. In return we have to be able to acknowledge our sinful state and be willing to accept this sacrifice. Through our faith in Him, God clothes us with His Righteousness, which allows us to once again enter into an eternal relationship with Him.

God once again responds by cleansing us from our sins, putting His Spirit in us and through this, the transformation begins where we start to get and submit to His perspective on what is right and what is wrong.

So, my dear friend, the real issue is not about what you or I may believe to be right or wrong, but what the state of our relationship before our God is! We will all one day appear before the Judgement Seat and will be judged according to His standard of perfect righteousness. Either we will, through our faith in His sacrifice, be able to stand in His Gift of Righteousness to us, or we will stand in our own unrighteousness. Having failed to attain His standard we will have to accept the penalty for our decisions made on this earth, that were so often motivated by our desires to be in control of our own lives and by our rebellious refusal to submit to His Lordship in our lives!

The deeper issues of the heart darkened by sin are therefore the real issues. From them we see the manifestations of lust, adultery, divorce, immorality, selfishness, hate and greed to name but a few.

I know that I stand guilty of all these charges and I know why, but I also know that I have been given Grace to accept the Gift of Righteousness and through that entry into an eternal Kingdom, characterised by love, peace and joy. I pray that you too, may be given the divine Grace to make this decision!

We have enjoyed some good times in the past, but I look more forward to spending time with you in that kind of Eternity!

Your friend,

Mark

Confession of Healing

2014-07-06T19:19:00.000+02:00

Read this prayer out loud every morning and every evening (as you would take medicine) - let these Words build faith and become a reality in your life and you will witness how the Lord will bless you with health and strength!

Confession of Healing

Father, I thank you that I am prospering and that I am in health, even as my soul prospers. My body is blessed because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You keep satisfying me with good things and You keep renewing my youth like the eagle's. [Psalm 103:5] You are Jehovah-Raphe and have taken sickness and disease away from the midst of me. I will bless you my Lord and I will not forget all Your benefits, for you have forgiven me all my sins and healed me of all my diseases! Thank you that you have commanded Your angels concerning me!

I confess and believe that which is written, that I am healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ my Lord, who has carried all my sicknesses, diseases and infirmities. [Matthew 8:17] I also believe because it is written, that all my sins are forgiven and every written code against me has been cancelled. [Colossians 2:14] Further, as it is written, that the Son of God was manifest to destroy all the works of the devil. [1 John 3:8]

I therefore command that all written code against my life be immediately cancelled and all works of the devil against my life be destroyed. Because I have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb, I command that every spirit causing sickness, disease and infirmities remove itself from my life right now, and I command the full and complete restoration of my soul and healing of my body, in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I cut and destroy all soul ties to people, activities and addictions and cancel all curses that would try to cause damage to my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. I say to all my body parts such as my bones, muscles, joints, organs, head, eyes, throat, glands, blood, marrow, lungs, kidneys, liver, spleen, spine, pancreas, bladder, ears, nose, sinuses, mouth, tongue, knees and feet, “I command you, come into divine order, be healed, restored, and strengthened in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth”.

Holy Spirit, fill me with the power of divine health, surround me, keep me, preserve me, and purify my entire system. I declare that my immune system is strong, and every internal organ performs a perfect work. I am loosed from the bondage of sickness, disease and infirmity forever. My health has sprung forth; there is no trace of sickness, disease or infirmity in my body, and I will enjoy perfect health all the days of my life. I declare this all in the Name of my Lord, Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

AMEN!

Further insights into the System of Babylon

2014-05-18T11:44:00.002+02:00

When Ana Mendez Ferrell visited the island of Patmos in 1999, she received some visions that gave her deeper insight into some aspects of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book in the Christian Bible. In a third vision she received an insight into Babylon, the system of man that attempts to destroy the spiritual life of the believer (Detailed in Revelation Chapter 17 and 18). This vision correlates so closely with insights from other prophetic people (e.g. Patrick Fountaine) that it demands that we should take careful note of it. In this vision a man dressed in white garments appeared to Ana holding a little book in one of his hands and a key chain with many keys in the other. On page 122 in her book titled “Apocalypse: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 2012”, she describes what then happened as follows;

I asked who he was and why had he come, and he answered me, "I am one of the prophets of the Most High and I have been given the keys to open the prophecy. Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy, and many Words have been closed up, and it has been granted us as prophets to open them." He then opened the little book and handed me a key. When I touched his hand to take it, a very bright light lit up my eyes as if they had their own light, and suddenly we were transported to desert plain in the midst of which was a very prosperous city. Although we were at a distance, we could see what was happening inside in full detail

The city had a grotesque and abominable queen living in her palace with her son, and both had cast hexes and spells to ally themselves with the powers of the kingdom of darkness. The greater principalities gave them strength to extend their empire. Kings and peoples from the four corners of the Earth would come to them; big and small were entered into covenant and made to drink from a chalice that would inebriate them and have them believe their lies.

Upon drinking it, they were immediately surrounded by shadows that would speak to them while covering their eyes and ears. They laughed and felt happy because of the beverage that affected their reasoning and gave them great dreams, visions, and strength.

Their empire filled the whole Earth, and men would bring their wickedness as a tribute to them by doing this. Their empire became progressively enlarged and made more powerful. Then an opening above the city appeared as what seemed to be a different heaven from the one we were in; it was like a black hole, and it was horrendous.

In an instant, the prophet and I were there. This place was the same city but seen in another form. It no longer had the splendour and prosperity of the former one. It had turned into an enormous building in the shape of a dark and sinister pyramid; there were birds of prey and ravens everywhere. Inside and out there were prisons filled with millions of persons. The city had what looked like tentacles and highways that that came out of it and reached thousands of cities arranged in a similar fashion. These were the spiritual cities of deep darkness that are above each of Earth's metropolises.

Both above and below the city there were several dimensional planes. Some would sink to a horrid depth, and others appeared to be different levels above. I asked the prophet what those places were and where we were. He told me, "This is the abominable city, the great harlot that has held the nations and the peoples captive. She captivates them through commerce, religion and politics." He then added, "Here the dimensions of the spirit are not like those on Earth where only one apparently solid existential plane in three dimensions is visible. There are many more dimensions here, like the ones you saw in Heaven, the multiple dimensions of the Most High."

There were seven high mountains around the city, which were reflected in each of the different planes, like when you put one mirror in front of another. The roadways joined the mountains of the great city and served as supply routes from the seas, hell, from sinfull men, and from the moon, the sun, and the constelations.

We entered through the city gates, which were cluttered with masonic and witchcraft symbols. There was a curtain at the entrance made of something like a liquid cloud; everyone who entered had to go through it. I saw millions of persons cross it. They came through in chains and in yokes. Others came s0 burdened by demons they could barely walk. As they cross, an aqueous, imperceptible mask that affected their whole reality came over them and covered their faces. The mask enabled them to feel good and to view the abominable as precious. They called evil good and good evil, yet they were nothing more than robots in a system.

Upon seeing this, I was afraid to cross over, but the prophet took one of his keys and extended it in front of the watery door that opened without touching us. I then noticed that a magnificent covering of light surrounded us. The prophet told me, "Fear not for those who have the Spirit of Prophecy can cross through here without being touched. Jesus is the Truth and he who walks in it, walks in His Light."

After crossing, we entered a deep murk. Inside was a city with streets and public squares, but all over there were prisons at differing levels of depth and darkness. We walked a long way until we reached an avenue that led to one of the mountains. The name of this mountain was Religion, and the avenue was Jezebel. An enormous demon was guarding it and directing the people towards the mountain. There were many dining areas along the avenue where people delighted themselves in getting fat. Some never reached the mountain; instead, they fell into the abyss where thev continued getting fat and worshipped a horrible demon whose appearance was like that of a toad whose skin overflowed with food of all sorts. It was the spirit of gluttony that served the queen prostitute next to the other two toads. One was Mammon, the god of riches, and the other was Pharmakeia, the goddess of sorcery.

When we got to the mountain, I was jolted by the sharp resemblance it had to the mountain of God that I had seen in His glory, full of small mountains where all of them comprised Jesus.

The mountain here was a great pyramid and full of small pyramids. Each one had the name of a kingdom, and a man was exalted at the summit. The pyramid was made of partition walls that formed prisons, all of which were grounded from a dark substance full of lettering. All of the prisons were conformed to the image of the man at the summit, and they all wore masks from the water cloud. They were continuously fed contaminated food, but they perceived it as delicious due to the mask and because they yearned to be a pyramid.

Inside the prisons, everyone felt they were dying; they were thirsty and hungry but couldn't leave because they were tormented by demons of fear and guilt. There were pyramids from all religions and unfortunately also from Christianity.

Then the prophet showed me something that filled me with great pain. We were facing the pyramids filled with Christians - children of God -, and in the hands of every man at the summit was an oil lamp, many of which were out. They spoke about Jesus; men and women called by God and anointed by God, but they had allowed their own names to grow more important in their own lives than Jesus'. People inside the prisons clamoured the names of these men and women and relied on them to ease their pains.

I wept because I saw us, millions of Christians there; either one way or another, we had been made captive to Babylon's system. I also saw myself; I was on a throne judging others and covered by the filthiness of my own righteousness. When I saw myself, I fell prostrate before Jesus in deep repentance. I then saw a vision within a vision, and I was taken to another place for a moment. Jesus wanted to show me what would give me the standard by which to never again judge others and to begin my own exit out of Babylon.

I found myself facing a gigantic mouth like that of a whale. From inside it a force would come out and suction me to the inside while I was crying out the name of Jesus. Suddenly, the force stopped and I heard the voice of the Lord speaking like thunder:
"Tell me, what is more powerful than death and fear?"

I don't know Lord, I don't know" I answered Him trembling.

Then He told me, "It is temptation!" He then added, "If you are still standing, it's because of my grace. I know the heart of every man, and if I caused you to face what you could not overcome, you would fall like the rest of them. All men can fall into the same abomination; no one is better than the next. If they have not fallen, it is because of My grace and My love that sustain them."

I clearly understood how all of us can err and fall. Even having the best of intentions, we can fall victims of Babylon. I began a process in which I asked God to show me how much of Babylon was in me, and how to exit that system, which kills the life of God within us.

I returned from that vision to the city where the prophet was waiting for me. At that moment I heard the voice of the Father pleading, "The doors of Babylon are open to allow all of those who hear My voice to leave. I am calling out from My holy mountain, Come out from there, MY PEOPLE! Only those who humble themselves can exit. Only those who love My name more than theirs can see the way out. Many of them touched my heart deeply as they cried for their cities and their nations. I have next to me a flask filled with their tears, and each one is a treasure to Me. But when I raised them up and gave them a name, they extolled themselves and formed a kingdom for themselves. They laid down laws I did not give them, and they confiscated my flock. They were imprisoned by Babylon who gave them a name to be recognized among the nations. Their lamps have not been extinguished by reason of My love, but not much time is left."

As the Father spoke, I remembered something I had heard inside His heart, in that place like the Holy of Holies where all the wounds against love are. His heart overflowed with intense pain coming from a sore that bled incessantly. My body cramped just by looking at it. I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit telling me, "My people have gotten so accustomed to saying, 'I am from such and such church, or from Apostle so and so, or from the such and such network, or from this denomination or that,’ which seems like something normal, permissible and even blessed by Me, when this is an abomination that hurts Me deeply." The Father then said: "I will not put up with this anymore."

I wept a lot because I am guilty of those wounds. However, ever since that day I decided to dedicate my life to love and to do whatever is required so that God sees His Church united by the bonds of the Spirit and free from the system that separates and destroys us.

AMEN!!!

Fullfilling “The Golden Rule”

2013-12-21T14:51:00.003+01:00

In our desire to be masters of our own destiny, we have strayed from Truth and Love becoming enticed and captivated by Darkness[1]. As darkness engulfed us, we became slaves to our passions and desires[2], losing our ability to walk the Way of Peace[3]. Christ comes as a Light[4] shining in this darkness, offering to free us and to reconcile us to that which we have lost[5]. Only as He reveals Himself to us do we begin to recognise His Love for us, which allows us to trust Him and to step out of darkness into the Light of His Love, recognising our pitiful state, submitting our lives to Him and becoming recipients of His lavish Grace and Blessings.

It is the Blood of Christ which cleanses us from Sin and allows us to enter His Presence to once again enjoy Fellowship with Him[6]. Because God is spirit[7], the Holy Spirit aids us in imparting spiritual wisdom and revelation into our spirit[8], which we need to enter this spiritual dimension to have intensive fellowship with Him.

Our spirits become filled with His Light and as we are obedient to this Revelation, changing our own thinking and accepting the Truth revealed to us – often about ourselves, then the Blood of Christ continues to cleanse us from sin[9], which allows us to have unbroken fellowship with God and with each other. This fellowship is characterised by Love, Peace and Joy in the Power of the One Holy Spirit[10].

Those who belong to Christ are one of the numerous parts which constitute the One Body[11] of Christ on the earth. The dwelling place of God is not longer to be found in temples or buildings built by men[12], but in the hearts of those who have become reconciled with Christ, submitting themselves to His Lordship. It is the hunger[13] to know Him better and the willingness to allow Him to change and transform us, which increases our capacity to become carriers of His Glory on this Earth.

The more we walk according to the Light of Christ which shines in our hearts, the more we will understand about life and the more we will develop a deep love for all mankind[14]. We will be better men and women and children fulfilling our roles as teachers, parents and ambassadors faithfully. We will have deeper regard for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for those who do not believe.

[1] Isaiah 9:2 (AMP)

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light; those who dwelt in the land of intense darkness and the shadow of death, upon them has the Light shined.

[2] Ephesians 2:3 (AMP)

Among these we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behaviour governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God’s] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind.

[3] Isaiah 59:1-2 (AMP)

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save, nor His ear dull with deafness that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

[4] John 1:9-11 (AMP)

There it was—the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person. He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].

[5] Luke 4:18-19 (AMP)

The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day [a]when salvation and the free favours of God profusely abound].

[6] Hebrews 10:19-22 (AMP)

Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus, by this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh, and since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God, let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by [a]that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.

[7] John 4:24 (AMP)

God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).

[8] Ephesians 1:17-21 (AMP)

[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), and [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places], far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.

[9] 1 John 1:5-10 (AMP)

And this is the message [the message of [a]promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way]. [So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents]. But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]. If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts]. If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. If we say (claim) we have not sinned, we contradict His Word and make Him out to be false and a liar, and His Word is not in us [the divine message of the Gospel is not in our hearts].

[10] Romans 14:17-18 (AMP)

[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. He who serves Christ in this way is acceptable and pleasing to God and is approved by men.

[11] 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (AMP)

The cup of blessing [of wine at the Lord’s Supper] upon which we ask [God’s] blessing, does it not mean [that in drinking it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the blood of Christ (the Messiah)? The bread which we break, does it not mean [that in eating it] we participate in and share a fellowship (a communion) in the body of Christ? For we [no matter how] numerous we are, are one body, because we all partake of the one Bread [the One Whom the communion bread represents].

[12] Acts 17:24-27 (NIV)

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

[13] Deuteronomy 6:5 (AMP)

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.

[14] Matthew 22:36-40 (AMP)

Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light—which are heavy?] And He replied to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as [you do] yourself. These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.

Five phases of a spiritual migration journey

2013-11-25T19:36:00.000+01:00

In his book “The House Church Book” Wolfgang Simson uses the diagram below to describe 5 phases in the spiritual journey from, what Martin Luther called the Babylonian captivity of the church, to an expression of true prophetic and apostolic biblical pattern:

Point -2: Our church is just great!

This is where most Christians are today: content with where they are in their church experience. When you talk to them about the need for a new paradigm, their response is basically, "I have no idea what you are talking about." They view their church and their faith as a safe religious haven. The new choir is great, the last conference was outstanding, the new pastor seems very promising, and the building and parking lot are almost paid off. Any talk of a Babylonian captivity is considered a joke at best.

But this ostrich mentality can quickly evolve into a dance on the tip of a volcano. Once the finances get tight and burnout strikes, people start leaving for the hip church next door; or once something happens to an idolized leader, the cards can quickly collapse. People at Point -2 need to hear a simple message: the days of old-time religion are over. It's time to get up and start moving, or keep drifting into a religious oblivion.

Point -1: The Balancing Act

This second phase in the process of apostolic migration represents people who are no longer satisfied with church as they have known it. These are people who have heard from God about more authentic expressions of church, but although they want something new to happen, they don't want anything to change. Their spirits have begun to move, but their bodies and their money have not. And so they begin to feel stretched as they attempt to maintain a spiritual balancing act. It's like realizing that you've gotten on the wrong bus but you choose to stay on that bus anyway. You see, the seat is nicely warmed, the neighbors are so very friendly, and the ticket has been paid. And after all, what would people think?

People at Point -1 are inwardly torn. A fresh vision has gripped them and left them hungry. With time the tension grows only stronger and stronger—until the pain becomes unbearable and they get up and press that red button to get off the bus. The message for folks at Point -1 is this: be honest with yourself, follow your heart, end the balancing act, and press that button.

Ground 0: Welcome to the desert

This is where people decide to get off the bus and suddenly find themselves in the middle of a desert. Alone and vulnerable, sweating in the day and shivering at night, they may face a time of thirst, dark valleys, and reorientation. Experiencing what the biblical kernel of wheat must feel as it falls into the ground to die (John 12:24), people at Ground 0 realize that the old must die in order to make room for the new. This is where pastors and other leaders start selling shoes and driving taxis again. Yes, they may have migrated from Babylon, but now the Babylon that is in them has to die.

Ground 0 is a place of quarantine: once people are out of the system, the system also has to get out of them. For this very reason God engineers the wilderness as a place of spiritual death to the old, a place of "religious detoxification" for dealing with baggage. In the desert, your religious ego, your fleshly, consumer-oriented Christianity has to be killed. And this cleansing process takes time, more time than most would think. As a rule of thumb, one month quarantine is required for each year of passive participation in traditional Christianity. For active members (like paid church/mission staff), double that!

The message for folks at this waypoint is this: die thoroughly! Don't linger at the oasis and force your survival with gimmicks or tricks. God has arranged for your self to die.

Point +1: The Jordan

This is the point at which people choose to leave the past and the wilderness behind and to cross over the Jordan into the new paradigm of what God is doing. This requires both a leaving (of the old) and a cleaving (to the new). It requires us to "uncovenant" with what has gone before, and to make a new covenant with God's new unfolding paradigm. Jonathan is an example, albeit a bad one, of someone who attempted to make this type of choice. Though he was the son of King Saul and the rightful heir to the throne of Israel, Jonathan covenanted twice with David, the new (apostolic) leader. But "(David) rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city" (1 Samuel 20:42, nasb). Jonathan was unable to "uncovenant" from Saul and his system—and he died with his father. Here at "the Jordan," where we can already smell and see the Promised Land, and where we can hear the cowbells in the "land flowing with milk and honey" on the other side, an ultimate step is required: leaving the old; doing better than Jonathan.

And as an added benefit, you will have met many new friends in the desert, fellow pilgrims and outcasts. After some time you realize that what once looked like a lonely group of losers looks more like a movement of pioneers. The message to folks at Point +1: say your farewell quickly—and get into the water. You will see it will part for you when you do.

Point +2: Apostolic Conquest

Once you have crossed that Jordan, it's time to take up your position along with the others and start taking the land for God.

Here you need to answer three key questions for your life:

· What exactly is your personal calling?

· Where (geographically) are you supposed to live and work?

· With whom has God placed you?

A former question like, "What church is good for me?" begins to fade and is replaced by much more important ones like, "What kind of church can take and possess the land?" "What kind of church is good for God?" Like in the early days of Christianity, questions like these will lead to developing regional strategies, house-church networks, city churches, fivefold ministries, citywide servanthood, and much, much more. As the church is again functioning under God, so also we as individuals and families will find our places of godly destiny. If this is not worth dropping everything else for, then what is?

As the bible calls to us, “Come out of Babylon” – let us embrace the process and return to the kingship of our Lord:

^{6 My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray [to favorite places of idolatry] on mountains [that seduce]. They have gone from [one sin to another] mountain to hill; they have forgotten their [own] resting-place.}

^{7 All who found them devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against the Lord [and are no longer holy to Him], their true habitation of righteousness and justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.}

^{8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans; and be as the he-goats [who serve as examples and as leaders in the flight] before the flocks.}

^{(Jeremiah 50)}

^{Then I saw another angel descending from heaven, possessing great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his radiance and splendor.}

^{2 And he shouted with a mighty voice, She is fallen! Mighty Babylon is fallen! She has become a resort and dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every loathsome spirit, an abode for every filthy and detestable bird.}

^{3 For all nations have drunk the wine of her passionate unchastity, and the rulers and leaders of the earth have joined with her in committing fornication (idolatry), and the businessmen of the earth have become rich with the wealth of her excessive luxury and wantonness.}

^{4 I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues.}

^{5 For her iniquities (her crimes and transgressions) are piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness and [her] crimes [and calls them up for settlement].}

^{6 Repay to her what she herself has paid [to others] and double [her doom] in accordance with what she has done. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed [for others].}

^{7 To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled in her wantonness [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that measure impose on her torment and anguish and tears and mourning. Since in her heart she boasts, I am not a widow; as a queen [on a throne] I sit, and I shall never see suffering or experience sorrow—}

^{8 So shall her plagues (afflictions, calamities) come thick upon her in a single day, pestilence and anguish and sorrow and famine; and she shall be utterly consumed (burned up with fire), for mighty is the Lord God Who judges her.}

^{(Revelations 18)}

And not forgetting, that we need to get Babylon out of us :-)

Shall we stop praying for Revival?

2013-01-19T19:58:00.001+01:00

Jesus said to Patrick Fontaine, “Stop praying for revival, because it is not a revival that I have for you, but a reformation”. As I read this I felt that it needed more clarification, since the boundaries were at the time not so clear to me. This post attempts to provide the justification for this statement and explains the different impact a Reformation will have.

To best highlight the differences between the two, I would like to paint the following Scenario:

Imagine a large Christian organizational structure that has a large building at its disposal. Every Sunday thousands of people gather in this building to hear professional entertaining Christian music. The music program is then followed by a Christian theater production, dancing performance or multimedia show – or a combination of some. Then an uplifting sermon follows where people are encouraged to be positive in their outlook and to trust in the Goodness and Grace of God. Finally people are prayed for by those with an anointing to minister healing, bring prophetic words or to demolish strongholds. People leave uplifted and encouraged with a sense that they have experienced the Goodness of God and enjoy His favor. The leaders become increasingly popular on a national and international basis, which increases the drawing power of the organization. This enables many to be involved in various ministries within the organization, which is their work of service to God. The members willingly make their financial contribution to extending the great work that God is doing. The whole venture is run as a very successful business and the leaders confess and assure each other, it is God’s Business!

The Scenario sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, it may be great but there could also be one fundamental problem which is not so apparent at a first superficial glance. This is the opinion of God to what is happening there.

Is it possible that God may look at such a business which is so well-run in His Name and say?:
“ Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips but remove their hearts and minds far from Me, and their fear and reverence for Me are a commandment of men that is learned by repetition [without any thought as to the meaning]” (Isaiah 29:13 Amplified Bible (AMP))

Further, to those anointed ministers is it possible that He might say?:

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name? And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].” (Matthew 7:21 - 23 (Amplified Bible))

As the Exodus (32) story of "The Golden Calf" makes clear, it's possible to sing, to worship, and to have a great time while being a million miles away from God!

These were the people of God after all; people who had been delivered by God's mighty hand; people who God was bringing to a better place. People who lost sight of God, and ending up worshipping a golden calf! How does that happen? They were worshipping a dead metal statue and actually thought that was a good thing to do! They had no clue just how far away they had drifted- worship wasn't worship anymore. It had turned into a party, a farce. Moses said it best, "It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear!" They had ceased from worshipping the one true God, and were now just having a big dance party, golden calf and all – under the blessing of their leaders!

Further the letters of Jesus to the Church in the Books of Revelations (3:17) seems to address just this kind of issue when He says: “For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

I am of the opinion that from a biblical perspective a Christian organization/ business described in this kind of scenario, can fall into the deadly deception of believing that all is well but having moved into a spiritually grey zone, described as “lukewarmness” by the Lord. I am not saying that this is always the case for these types of Christian organizations, but only pointing to the biblical possibility!

Let us now extend our scenario to see what would happen if Revival would suddenly occur. Let us define Revival as a time of spiritual awakening, where dramatic signs and wonders occur and many lost are swept into the Kingdom.

Due to its high profile our Christian organization will benefit immensely from a Revival. Many would arrive at the building seeking this God that they have encountered and whose touch they have felt. As they become members of this organization the prevailing system of Christian living would be imprinted upon them and they would accept that this is the Christian Life Style that is pleasing to God. Those affected by the Revival would soon learn by repetition what is acceptable and what is not acceptable (as defined by the organization). They would become good members, contribute to the now necessary new building program and probably bring forth many years of service in one of the ministry programs that the organization offers.

Sadly, this may be the worst thing that could ever happen to them, if the Lord decides that their learned “Lukewarmness” leaves Him no other alternative but to spit them out of His mouth. (Revelations 3:16)

This could very well be why the Lord told Patrick Fontaine, “Stop praying for revival!”

Patrick explains as follows: “What we really need is a reformation! The very worst thing that could happen is a revival. Jesus is protecting us from a revival, because if we had a revival we would never question if what we are doing is right or not. We would think that we are living in God's favor. We would continue building on the tower of Babel and would draw even more people into living and working in the prison of Babylon. That is why the worst thing that could happen to us is revival. The best thing that could happen is reformation. Nothing else!”

Ellen White writing in 1902 described the difference between Revival and Reformation as follows:

“Revival and reformation are two different things. Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death. Reformation signifies reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices.”

So according to Ellen, Reformation has to do with a change in organization (Structure), a change in ideas and theories (Theology) and a change in habits and practices (Lifestyle). Interestingly, these three dimensions are found in the explanation of the Reformation that the Lord plans for this generation, as Patrick explained:

Jesus said, “I will change the understanding and expression of Christianity within one generation”. He reports that Jesus said He will first change the understanding and then the expression of Christianity. Further, “I will bring forth a reformation that has never been experienced on earth, because the reformation will be in 3 dimensions. There will be a reformation in theology”, because we really need that our thinking in what we believe be changed. Then a reformation in Lifestyle (how you live out righteousness), you will live differently because you believe differently. Finally after that, a reformation of the structure will occur, one that won't be of human origin.

Watchman Nee (The Spiritual Man (1928)) notes “Attempting to follow Him without denying the self is the root of all failures.” The denial of self is intrinsically related to destroying the power of sin in the life of a believer and the renunciation of the world. (Romans 6)

Through this the works of the devil become ineffective and is for all practical intentions are destroyed. (1. John 3:8)

Correcting such a central problem that lies at the root cause of Christian organisations going astray needs to be done through sound and bold theology first, which will lead to a transformation of lifestyle and from this the body of believers (or rather disciples) will be fully submitted and surrendered to their King, who now shapes and moulds His Body according to His Will and Purpose.

Picking up on the scenario, a new transformed Church will be in position to assimilate new disciples into the organisation teaching them the theology and lifestyle which allows them to lead fruitful lives that are pleasing to the King of Kings.

If what Patrick experienced is credible (Mike Bickle received the same word as he explains in “Growing in the Prophetic”, (Creation House, 1996) pp 29-30), then we have very good reason to pray according to the revealed Will of the Lord knowing that it is at the same time a very biblically sound request, that the Lord bring forth true disciples upon the earth to bring in the harvest – and that He is the One that will build His Church!

Amen!

“Hey Preacher Man! Paint me saved and I will pay you money!”

2012-10-08T23:20:00.000+02:00

Jesus the Messiah (Christ) summed up His Ministry in Luke 4 by quoting from the prophet Isaiah, as a ministry of bringing healing, deliverance and salvation to the needy. The New Testament extensively uses the Greek word “Sozo” (Strongs G4982: to save, i.e. deliver or protect – used 103 times in KJV: heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole ) to encompass and describe the Ministry of Christ.

Unfortunately, today the glorious Gospel of the Kingdom has mostly been reduced to a “sinners prayer” which people are told, repeating it causes them to be saved. Maybe some have made it so easy to be “saved” because in this way they hope to gather more people around themselves and so increase their fame, influence and monthly income (2 Timothy 4:3). They are, of course, involved in the very sacred and righteous work of “saving souls”, so who would dare to challenge them?

Actually when we use the word “saved” we should be referring to the Greek work “Sozo” which actually refers to the deliverance process from the power of satan to God. Jesus used these words to commission the Apostle Paul ‘I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:18).

Biblical deliverance involves much more than having a positive confession. As the Lord says, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:6). Biblical Deliverance involves being taken out of one situation of suffering and oppression and then being established in the Kingdom of Christ – in covenant relationship and with a steadfast dedication to serve and worship only the Lord.

One of the greatest and most dramatic biblical deliverances involves Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt and concluding with their arrival in the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. I have structured this deliverance process in three phases to assist in understanding the complete process and I have attempted to identify important lessons of deliverance in each phase.

The 3-Phase Deliverance Process

Then said Yahweh, I have, seen, the humiliation of my people, who are in Egypt,––and, their outcry, have I heard, by reason of their task–masters, for I know their pains; therefore have I come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians, and to take them up out of that land, into a land good and large, into a land flowing with milk and honey,––into the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. (Exodus 3: 7 - 8)

I have identified the following three distinct Phases of deliverance that were initiated by God resulting in His deliverance He promised in Exodus 3:

Phase 1 – Israel brought out of Egypt

Phase 2 - Egypt is removed from Israel

Phase 3 – Destroying the giants and taking possession of the Promised Land

This complete deliverance process was “written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10: 11). Let us therefore investigate and understand what the Lord desires to teach us about deliverance.

Phase 1 – Israel brought out of Egypt

The children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt, working as slaves and serving Pharaoh’s building projects. The Lord heard their cry and sent a Prophet called Moses to deliver them. Moses was to go down to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and lead them into the Promised Land.

Lessons from Phase 1:

The children of Israel did not have to fight to get out of Egypt; the Lord did this for them with His outstretched Hand, by demonstrating His Power and through the Blood of the Lamb.
They had to endure persecution. When Moses challenged Pharaoh, things first got much rougher for the Israelites. There was retribution and they got extra burdens placed on them, like having to gather the straw they needed for building that had previously been supplied.
This Phase removed them from the Kingdom of Pharaoh. If Moses had come and just healed afflicted Israelites and just cast demons out of them, but had left them in Egypt – their condition of slavery would be unchanged and we could not say that they had been delivered.
The Israelites had to make a decision to leave Egypt and everything in Egypt, and to follow the Lord. It was their decision to trust and obey the Lord rather than remain as slaves in Egypt.
The deliverance of Phase 1 was sealed through their baptism into Christ (1 Corinthians 10:2 – Moses being a Type of Christ) whereby they symbolically died to Egypt and were raised into Life through confirming their covenant relationship with the Lord. They were witnesses of the destruction of their enemies.

Phase 2 - Egypt is removed from Israel

In this Phase the children of Israel were brought by Moses to Mount Sinai. They were afraid to enter into a direct relationship and a deeper personal revelation of the Lord because they recognized that this would mean their “death” (Exodus 20:19), that is, of self. Instead they preferred to send Moses up the Mountain to hear what the Lord would say, so that he could come back and tell them.

Lessons from Phase 2:

Rejecting a deeper walk with the Lord is easily justified and is a refusal to die to self. Entering into this relationship with the Lord could have saved the nation 40 years of desert wandering.
Because the Israelites had not died to self they entered into idolatry and could not discern the Way of the Lord. They said Moses was not coming back so they created their own idolatrous religious system centered around a golden calf and “they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry“ (Exodus 32: 5 - 6). Their leader (Aaron) had said that this was honoring to the Lord.
Because they had not died to self they were fearful when they saw the giants that had to be defeated in the Promised Land – this fear (of man) was the root of their rebellion against the Lord. After a while their hearts longed to return to Egypt.
The graciousness of the Lord, made manifest in provision, healing and protection, was continually evident. This was not an indication that He was pleased with them, because scripture is explicit that He was displeased with them. (1 Corinthians 10: 5)
We need to embrace our death with Christ which we publically confessed through our baptism. As Paul explains, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4) The more we embrace this and enter into unity with the Lord, the sooner will the new resurrection Life in us become evident and the shorter the “desert” phase.

This “desert” phase only ended when Egypt was removed from the people. Egypt “died” in the desert, that is, the entire generation that had rebelled against the Lord died in the desert without entering the Promised Land. Basically this was the “stinking” thinking – the carnal mindsets – with which they had grown up in Egypt. Removing Egypt from them was only attained through the dying of the old and embracing the new by renewing their minds with the desire of the Promised Land. The promises of God became an internal reality within the new generation. As Paul later explains, those that maintain their sinful nature will not enter the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9) and because we have been raised with Christ, we should “set our minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2).

Phase 3 – Destroying the giants and taking possession of the Promised Land

This Phase starts with a new generation that is completely sold out to the Lord. They are fully obedient and desire strong leadership to lead them into the fulfillment of the promises of God. (Joshua 1: 16 – 18)

Lessons from Phase 3:

The Lord does not take the side of flesh and blood. He is come to fulfill His Plans and Purposes (Joshua 5: 13-14). We cannot twist the Lord’s arm through confession, fasting or prayer to get what we want. (James 4:3)
The new generation had internalized the promises of God. The unbelief of the older generation had no more place in them. (Joshua 14: 10-12)
The Lord expected that the new generation leadership to be bold and courageous and that they would obey all the Lord had commanded. (Joshua 1: 7-9)
The new generation was expecting bold and courageous leadership that would obey everything which the Lord commanded. (Joshua 1: 16-18)
Even though there was formidable opposition, for example, from the king of Moab who warred against them and called Balaam to curse them – they had victory as long as they walked in Unity with and obedience to the Lord. (Numbers 25:1-3 & Revelations 2:14)

This Phase of deliverance concludes with Joshua affirming all the Lord has done, how the children of Israel had been able to take hold of their inheritance because the Lord was with them. At the same time he admonishes them, “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God.” (Joshua 23: 9-11)

They are established on the Promised Land, but this does not mean that they can relax and do what they want. No, there is still work to be done and an enemy that is active that hopes to deceive, distract and defeat them. The Process of Deliverance continues ….

In the words of Paul, the Apostle chosen by God to preach the Message of Divine Deliverance, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3: 12-14)

Changing the understanding and expression of Christianity

2012-09-02T14:10:00.002+02:00

After a turbulent youth as a punk and gang leader, Patrick Fontaine came to know Jesus Christ in 1983. His dedicated Christian lifestyle opened the way for him, twelve years later, to become the pastor of a church in France. He was also a much sought after conference speaker because the Lord had entrusted him with one of the most powerful healing ministries in France. In 2002 he became ill and died, but was then resurrected by the power of God. He afterwards reported on having an encounter with Jesus during his physical death that fundamentally changed his understanding of Christianity. Jesus had told him that he was going to "change the understanding and expression of Christianity within one generation." Since then, he is serving Jesus Christ by preparing the Body for a new reformation. Patrick lives with his wife and three children in Romans, France.

This is his testimony of that encounter with Jesus Christ:

“It was in the midst of the time in which I ministering and healing the sick. I felt that as the big “healer” I couldn't tell the people that I had become ill – therefore, I felt like I was driven into a corner and trapped. Because I didn't take care of the illness, the infection got into my heart, poisoned my whole body, and I fell into shock. As I fell to the floor my whole body shook and jerked with fever shock and I could feel how death entered into me. I didn't even have time to call my family, my wife. I only had time to pray for them, and then I died.

This was on the 1. March, 2002. It was the most critical moment in my life - and then Jesus appeared to me. I saw him as clearly as I would see someone sitting in front of me. For 19 years I had prayed, „Lord, let me see your face“, and now suddenly I was before him. But I had really imagined meeting Him in VERY different circumstances. This was the greatest and at the same time the worst day of my life. As I stood before him I had complete security of my salvation since there was such a wonderful overwhelming love that streamed out of him and enveloped me, greater than I had ever experienced, even during the most wonderful praise and worship. At the same time however, there was an overwhelming holiness that flowed out of him and it was so strong, that it made me feel as if I had, in that very moment, sinned. It had been years since I had really sinned. But on this day I realized that sin is not just what we do or say or think but it is part of our very nature.

Simply put, everything concerning our life as humans is connected to sin. And there is nothing good in us. So I had the ultimate conviction of sin. Since that time I no longer have illusions about myself. It is over! As I stood before Jesus he showed me all of the things that I ever did. Not those things before I was converted, but only those during the time after I had begun to serve him. He showed me all the things I had done for him and then showed me what my heart's motivation was behind those things. I saw all of the things that I did out of pride. And I saw all that I had done out of a sense of competition. I saw all that I had done in order to prove myself to others and all that I had done to make a name for myself and build my own kingdom. In all these things the balance was more than negative.

Jesus also showed me all of the things that I had NOT done, out of disobedience, out of laziness, out of fear of man. Seeing this broke me completely. And then he told me that there were idols in my life. If anyone here on earth had told me that, I would have showed him my fist. But because HE told it to me, I knew it must be true. Then He said something that shocked me deeply: “the first idol in your life, is called ‘Jesus’“. At that moment I felt that I understood nothing, just like everyone who reads this would! So I asked him how it could be possible that I have an idol that is called ‘Jesus’? He said; “the relationship that you attempt to have with me is the same relationship that the idolaters have with their gods. You are always only trying to get something from me but are not interested in knowing Me”.

I felt that my life was over, it was broken. And as I recovered, I understood that there will be people at the end of time who will say to Jesus, “have we not prophesied in your name, have we not done miracles in your name?” But in the presence of Jesus no lie can stand. He will answer them in that day, „Go away from me, I never knew you“ (Matthew 7:23). I was a part of this crowd. The Christian life isn't about performance. It's as if Jesus said, “Ok, you might have done a lot for me, but we have never got to know each other”. He said, “I tried to get to know you the whole time, but you didn't cooperate”. And I discovered that this life on earth is not about being a Christian, it's not about doing things for Christ, but he defined crystal clear what this life is about. It is simply about your relationship with Him, the only true God, who sent his Son Jesus. Life on earth is about learning to know Him. Not learning a mass of facts about him or just doing a whole lot of activities for Him, but it is about knowing Him personally and intimately. That has now become my priority and I don't want to know anything else.

When Jesus had finished dealing with my heart on this matter, He placed me in a vision. I entered into the vision – I want to make it clear that I didn't see a vision, I stepped into the vision. I was in a large city. And Jesus asked me, „Do you know what the city is called?“ One thing I have learned is that when Jesus asks you a question, you DON'T know the answer. This is why I just said, „no“, so that things would go faster. And he said, „It is called Babylon“. Well, this didn't match my conception of Babylon. I remembered that in my Punk years someone had said that the Catholic church is Babylon. Or was that the Pentecostal church? On this day I saw Babylon, full of people who love God, who do things for God. Each had his Bible in the hand. I saw mega-churches. And I saw house churches. I saw revival. And I saw prophetic ministries. I even saw people who had written the books which were in my own library. And I knew then that I understood nothing.

So the Lord gave me a little bible study about what Babylon really is. I'll tell you shortly about it. It is exactly how the tower of Babel was built and that first thing to recognize is that these people had turned their backs on Jesus, they weren't looking to Him. And they said, “Let us build!” - but Jesus had said, „I will build!“ There is a huge difference between the two. They built with brick. Now do you know the characteristics of bricks? They all look alike. They are all conformed in size to each other. But Jesus doesn't build with bricks but with living stones. The builders of Babel also built with bitumen (pitch). Now do you know what the characteristics of bitumen are? (Noah also had a lot of bitumen on the arch, so that the water couldn't seep in). Bitumen or tar makes things dry. In Babylon they laid the stones or bricks one beside the other and that which bound them together (bitumen) was dried out, the relationships are dried out, because there is no exchange or sharing.

After that they had said, „Let us build a city so that we won't be scattered“. So they built a tower which reached up to the sky (into heaven). In Hebrew the word for peak or top the same as for head. And suddenly I understood the Babylonian system. It is a human construction. There is someone at the top who touches the heavens and gets information to bring back down and share with the others. And the motivation for building this construction is so that we won't be scattered across the face of the earth. The motivation of the church of Babylon is to fill the churches because they do not want to be scattered. So we fill the churches. But God said to Adam, “multiply and fill the earth”. Just as Jesus said, “go into every nation”. In Babylon we don't want to be scattered, we want to be gathered in sizable groups. In Babylon the point is to fill our own constructions. But in the church which Jesus builds, the point is not to full the church but for the church to fill the world. Amen? It's all about filling the world, not filling the church! We are actually called to go out to conquer the world! Amen? Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?

After showing me this, He told me that another characteristic of the church of Babylon is that it is built on the foundation of Judaism. There is a specially ordained place to worship; there is a special day for worship, a specific wage for the job, a special staff and a special tribe which does the work. And all of this was developed by man. „This is not my church!“, says Jesus!

Understanding this gave me a huge shock, because I was pastor of such a church and I had not had the impression that I was in anyway in the wrong. I had a very “successful” ministry for which I had sacrificed much, my health and my family. In this craziness I had given everything because I had totally believed in this system. And I was faithful. I was really faithful in my error! But I was truly in deception.

As I went for a walk in the city of Babylon, I saw people walking around with Bibles open. I went up to them and looked into their Bibles. They were the correct Bibles! But in the margins were commentaries and the people paid more attention to read the commentaries than to read the Bible. They read the tradition which had been passed down. They read these in order to know how to understand the Bible rightly. But they were not able to receive any revelation. And as I continued walking a saw in one corner a church which looked just like my own church. And when I saw this, it really began to break me. I'm really just summarizing all of what I experienced; otherwise we would be here until tomorrow morning. But there are so many things that I would like to share.

After we were out of Babylon and back to the place from which we had started, Jesus gave me another horrible shock. He said, „Stop praying for revival!“ I said, „Oh, no!“ because I really thought that in doing that I had been in the right way. But Jesus clearly said, “Stop praying for revival”. I don't know how it is in Germany, but in France from the time of my conversion all through the years, and every few years we would have people prophesying revival. In the 80s they were saying, „Jesus is on the way!“ In the 90s they were saying, „He's at the door!“ In the 2000s they said, „He's got his hand on the door knob!“ Now we are in 2009 and someone said, „Oh dear, he forgot the key and has to go back and fetch it!“ I don't know if you believe in these prophecies. I've stopped believing in them because Jesus said, “Stop praying for revival, because it is not a revival that I have for you, but a reformation”. Amen?

What we really need is a reformation! The very worst thing that could happen is a revival. Jesus is protecting us from a revival, because if we had a revival we would never question if what we are doing is right or not. We would think that we are living in God's favor. We would continue building on the tower of Babel and would draw even more people into living and working in the prison of Babylon. That is why the worst thing that could happen to us is revival. The best thing that could happen is reformation. Nothing else!

Jesus then gave me a very clear word. He said, “I will change the understanding and expression of Christianity within one generation”. He will first change the understanding and then the expression of Christianity. After that he continued telling me about the reformation. He said, “I will bring forth a reformation that has never been experienced on earth, because the reformation will be in 3 dimensions. There will be a reformation in theology”, because we really need that our thinking in what we believe be changed. Then a reformation in Lifestyle (how you live out righteousness), you will live differently because you believe differently. Finally after that, a reformation of the structure will occur, one that won't be of human origin. Amen?

This testimony was later also confirmed in a very real way with Heidi Baker. The two of us did a conference together once. We were on our way back to the hotel and she said to me, „Hey, Patrick, I heard that you were in heaven! Tell me about it!“ And I said, „Do you have time?“ And she said, „Yeah, yeah!“ And I told her my testimony. She has a prophetess who is always with her. And as I said that “He will change the understanding and expression of Christianity in one Generation ”, the prophetess began to yell and ran ahead into her room. We just stood there baffled. 15 minutes later she came back with a small book in which she had written, with dates, what she had received from the Lord. And what the Lord told me on 1st of March, 2002, he had told her on 28th February, 2002! It was exactly in the same word, even the order of the words was the same!

I am convinced that we should not need to hold fast to a form of Christianity that is already beginning to disappear. The big question is: how long does a generation last? Some say 20 years, others 25 years, others 30 years. I don't know if we can stretch it to more than 30! To me it doesn't matter how long a generation lasts. Jesus spoke to me seven years ago (in 2009). And now it is one generation MINUS seven years! So the time is much shorter! And the reformation is coming. And I am amazed that in every country this message is to be heard. There is a cry that is coming from all over the earth.

In the Bible it says, “Come out of Babylon!” (Jeremiah 50:8, Isaiah 48:20, Revelation 18:4). Jesus said it last in the Book of Revelations. He said, “Come out of Babylon my people”. His people are still in Babylon! We don't need any kind of feeling of arrogance because that would prove that we are still there, but unfortunately the Lord still has a large portion of his people in Babylon. It is therefore necessary that the voice of the Lord echoes in Babylon.

This is really important. After Jesus had told me all of this, and I really had the feeling as if whole days had gone by in heaven. As I came back to earth and there was a crowd of people standing around me and it turned out that only between 20 and 30 minutes had gone by. I had really had the sense that I had been in heaven for several days. As I came back I began to cry and was traumatized. The first thing I said was, “I'm not serving God any more”. My friends all said, “No, no, that was from the devil”. I said, “That was not the devil that I saw. I have no confidence in myself any more. Everything is sin in me. I can't believe in myself anymore. I have really decided to give up”. I had great difficulty telling my wife these things. I am not at all the kind of person who cries. I had last cried when I was only 6 or 7 years old. I had decided then that I would not cry anymore. Everything had been blocked from that day – even though my name is Fontaine (Fountain), but there was no fountain in my life! But on this day I couldn't even talk because of all the crying. My wife began to decode my words through the tears and then she began to laugh and laugh. I had expected a slightly different kind of compassion from her.

She had prayed for something like this to happen to me! She said, “You are so thick-skulled that Jesus had to shake you in such a way, because you would never let anyone tell you anything!” I have a word for the men here: humble yourself otherwise when your wife begins to pray for you huge unexpected things could happen! And I tell you, it was 1984 when God first touched me, but really it was 2002 when my true conversion took place. I was a punker when I met him, but I was a pastor, author and conference speaker when my conversion took place. This is no kind of false humility behind what I am sharing with you, really.

The first time it was Christianity to which I was converted. The second time it was to Christ to whom I converted. There's quite a big difference between the two. This reformation, this change in understanding, will come through a conversion in our theological understanding.

When I was up in heaven with Jesus He had asked me another question. This time I had the feeling that I really knew the answer. Jesus asked, „is there a power that is greater than my Word?“ I wanted to score some points with him when I said, „No!“ And I had bible passages ready to back my answer up! Isaiah had said, “Your Word will not return to you empty”. Jeremiah said, “He broods over his word until it happens”. And I thought, “Wow! He is going to pat me on the shoulder in approval”. But he said, „Wrong! There is one power that is stronger than my Word”. It is written in Mark 7:13; „You nullify my Word with your tradition!“ The only power able to annul Jesus’s Word is the tradition. The Greek word for “annul” means, to take the power away, to take the efficiency away. We now have 2000 years of tradition which have been passed down.

Sometimes we leave to live outside of Babylon but want to hold onto our traditions. These are the understandings that we accumulated in Babylon, the definition of the words and doctrines that have been passed down through the years and have become so established in our lives that they are no longer questioned. It is one thing to go out from Babylon, but it is another thing altogether to get Babylon out of us. Amen?

Maybe what I have written has upset you? Maybe you are asking yourself, „Does that mean that I've done everything wrong?“ Well the answer to that is “Yes!”, but this is not a problem. It is better to discover that one has been doing it wrong than to be in the wrong and to believe one is doing everything right! Do you mind if I upset you a little more?

Jesus said, “These signs will follow those who believe: in my Name they will cast out demons, in my Name they will lay hands on and heal the sick”. Jesus said, “I am come that my sheep have life, in abundance!” At least that is our European version of it. In Greek it doesn't say in abundance, but in super abundance! Jesus said that those who believe will do the same works that I do and even greater. I am telling you that this is the normal Christian life. When you don't live it, you aren't living normally! I didn't come to put you under false guilt, but to help you understand the word as it really is.

When our Christianity doesn't produce the promised fruit, when we don't experience the promised Life, then what kind of assurance do we have for the things that are coming? Do you understand?

Imagine that you are a farmer. For 10 years you have been sowing wheat? What do you harvest? Wheat, of course! In the 11th year you say, I don't want wheat anymore, I want corn. But you sow wheat. What will you harvest? Wheat, of course! This farmer needs to be told, “if you want to change your harvest, you have to change the seeds you sow. If you aren't content with what you are harvesting, why do you keep using the same seeds?”

Reformation starts with a changing of the seeds. If we change what we believe, this changes our lifestyle and that results in reformation. The first lesson on reformation is that reformation does not happen when we try to transform others, but when we allow our hearts to be transformed. Jeremiah (7:3) is clear: “Amend your ways and your doings”. Jesus said, you can't get a good fruit from a bad tree, or a bad fruit from a good tree. It's fairly simple. What is a bad tree? Jesus makes it clear; it is a tree with bad roots. The roots are the part that you can't see, but it is also the source from which the tree lives. If your life is not producing the promised fruit, the problem lies with the roots. And what are the roots? It is what you believe. That's why we need a reformation of our theology. We won't live out what is promised with a theology we got from tradition. Nor will we be able to live it with the definitions that have been passed down from tradition. We really need a reformation of our theology first!

God doesn't expect us to have to scratch our heads and try to figure it out. Don't forget what he said: „I will build my church!“ He is the one who will do it and it will not be by our own power. It won't happen by us attempting to be more intelligent. It's not that we think up new things and try them to see if they work. He said, “I will change it, I will change the understanding and expression of Christianity in one Generation”.

The audio testimony in French and German can be found here: http://www.befreiungshilfe.de/audio

Lions set free! (Ezekiel 19: 1 - 9)

2012-08-12T13:26:00.000+02:00

In a prophetic picture the prophet Ezekiel (19:1-2) explains how the Church has given birth to sons (Revelation 12) and how these sons, who are supposed to be kings upon the earth have been taken captive by the world (Egypt) and the religious system calling itself the church (Babylon - Rev. 17:5).

The story below is about how these kings can again become free!

LIONS SET FREE

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not be entangled with the yoke of slavery again." (Galatians 5:1)

A friend of mine recently told me about a conservation group in Zimbabwe that is taking captive lions and rehabilitating them back into the wild.
This is a difficult, four phase process, but they are having success with it. The rehabilitation process has many snags involved because of the effects of captivity on an African lion. When lions are bred and raised out of their natural habitat, some very abnormal patterns begin to develop. In short, they become domesticated. Yet lions were born to be wild.
In captivity, the lions basically forget that they are lions. The forget how to hunt. They forget how to live in the wild. And they forget how to live in a pride. The "pride" is the name for a community of lions. Lions are by and large social creatures and do not do well as loners.

The Effects of Captivity
You and I were born (again) to be spiritual lions. That's who we are, but we have forgotten our true nature because of our captivity in the religious system. Captivity has conditioned us to believe things that are just not true. We have become something less than our true calling and destiny because of this conditioning. We have become domesticated.
We have become isolated pew warmers; a mutated race that sits and listens instead of participating and functioning. The clergy/laity system has made us passive and spiritually lazy. In other words, we have sold out our birthrights. Just like Esau we have sold out for the comfort of a bowl of lentil stew, that is, our warm and comfy pews. We no longer wanted to bother with functioning as members of the Body of Christ, so we sold out and instituted the clergy/laity system.

We Have Forgotten How to Hunt
This is definitely one of the most important aspects of a lion's life. Without the act of hunting, how will you eat?
How will the pride eat?
We have forgotten how to hunt for our own food. Part of our conditioning has been that everyday (or every Sunday!) someone opens our cage and throws us a piece of meat. This bypasses the whole hunting process.
Who is this person that throws in that piece of meat? Where did he get it? Apparently, he went and hunted for it himself. But that is not my prey! And I never had to hunt for it myself.
Hunting is much more than just killing an animal and then eating it. There is the encounter of the hunt itself: finding the right place and time; having the right equipment; getting very quiet; smelling the prey; stalking the prey; taking aim, etc. Sometimes you come up empty handed, but the actual engagement is the thrilling part.
As believers, our food is Jesus Christ Himself! Not just teaching and doctrine about Christ, but the very Person and experience of Christ. You need to hunt for this "food" yourself. Sharing someone else's food is alright at times. But there is nothing like you going out on your own "hunt" and capturing some new revelation or insight into your Lord. This is exciting. This is discovery. This is how you were born to live!
But then what? What do lions do after they have captured the prey?
They bring it home and share it with the pride.
As I said before, lions are very social creatures and they live in a pride. But in captivity there is no hunt and there is no pride. Lions are thrown their food everyday and they do not live as a pride. They are just individual lions living a mutant life of individualism.
A lion in captivity never has to hunt for his own food. He becomes lazy and complacent. He actually believes that this is normal. He believes that someone else is responsible.

We Have Forgotten How to Live in the Wild
"Because we do not regard the things which are seen but the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).
There are two kinds of realms that exist. There is the unseen realm (or the eternals) and there is the seen realm (or the physicals). Both of these reams exist together at the same time.
One realm is spiritual and unseen. That is, it has no physical substance or what we would call matter. It has no size or dimension, and it exists without time or space. You could say that this spiritual realm is totally "other than" the seen, physical realm.
Of course, we know that the seen physical realm does have matter, energy, space, time, and dimension. Science tells us all about electrons, protons, neutrons, atoms, and molecules. We seem to know a lot about the seen realm. But the scriptures tell us that this realm is only temporary.
It is the unseen realm which is eternal, and yet, we really don't know much about that realm at all. How do we live in that realm? How do we live in spirit?

The Creature of Two Realms
As lions, we are called to live in two realms at the same time. But we should live mostly in the unseen realm. This is the "wild" for us. And it is mostly unexplored. It really is the "wild." It is our natural habitat. And we can never be fulfilled with anything less. And yet, because we have forgotten who we are, we have become comfortable in captivity. We have become comfortable in the seen realm. We actually start believing that the physical realm is everything and then we start investing our lives into it.
Yet we have a Lord who is both Lion and Lamb. He is definitely gentle. But make no mistake about it, He is not tame! He is as wild as they come and the wild realm that is our home is inside of Him (Eph. 1:3).
But our natural habitat is not lived alone. This is a place of community. This is the place of the pride.

We Have Forgotten How to Live as a Pride
The "pride" is the social unit for the wild lion. They do not live alone. They interact in small groups know as prides.
Dear believer, a very important part of your natural habitat is the spiritual "pride." This has been lost to us as well. Lions in captivity don't live in prides. That is a special feature only found in the wild. When you discover that you are already free and begin living in the other realm, you will see the need of community life. This wild life is a shared life. Shared with your Lord and shared with His people.
But we are not used to sharing our lives with others. We have been isolated (held captive) for so long that we have forgotten that this is just the normal life for wild lions. In a true pride, you all share your food, share your joys, share your sorrows, and share everything in life with one another.
The big question is: how do we get to this place of freedom? How do we remember how to hunt? How do we remember how to live in the wild? How do we remember how to live in a pride?
Our great God has already provided a solution to this situation. And this solution was in force as early as the first century.

God's Solution: Walking with Lions
As I told you in the beginning of this article, there is a conservationist group in Zimbabwe that is successfully rehabilitating lions back into the wild. But how do they do it?
They take the young cubs for walks everyday in the wild. An experienced lion "handler" (not trainer) will take a cub on long walks everyday to introduce the young lion to life in the wild. Eventually, the lion's natural instincts will begin to kick in. They will begin to respond to their natural prey and eventually begin to stalk them. Then, one day, they will learn to hunt for themselves. The lion handlers will also introduce them to a pride in the wild so they can be socially integrated.
God does the same thing with His people. He re-introduces His "lions" back into the wild by the use of "handlers." These are men and women who are called, prepared, and sent by Him for this difficult task. They do not become caretakers of the believers, but their job is to be re-introducers. Then the believers re-discover their spiritual instincts and habitat that has been long forgotten in captivity.
We can see these people at work in the first century. They were sent out by God as itinerant apostolic workers (or church planters) to lay a foundation of Christ for the assemblies of believers. Their job was to work themselves out of a job. Peter, John, Paul, Barnabas, Titus, Silas, Timothy, and others did this work or re-introducing God's people to the wild. Then they would leave them on their own to live as wild lions! Every one of these workers had already experienced true "pride life" for themselves and knew about the hunt, the wild, and the pride by personal experience.
In the Zimbabwe program, the handlers have less and less contact with the lions. The goal is to completely release them to the wild, not to control them and keep them domesticated.
Christians are leaving the religious institutions in droves. They are seeking more reality, a deeper spirituality, and freedom. They are being set free from the captivity of the religious system and it is a beautiful thing to see. But that creates an altogether different problem.
Now that all of these believers are being set free from captivity, what will happen next? How will they now be re-introduced to the wild? How will they remember how to hunt? How will they be introduced to the "pride" life?
God's own rehabilitation program must be the answer. We need to pray that God will raise up many "handlers" who have been called, prepared, and sent to walk with the lions.
You are a lion and you have a divine right to be free in the wild with His pride!
If God has been speaking to you about these things and you would like help finding an organic church, click below:

Source: http://www.therebuilders.org/articles/lionssetfree.html

Escape from Christendom by Robert Burnell

2012-02-18T17:27:00.002+01:00

Source: http://www.theinwardjourney.net/blog/2007/04/10/escape-from-christendom/

(Originally Published by Bethany House Publishers in 1980 )

The Journey

In my dream I see the lone figure of a man following a road. As the sun sets beneath the hills, a city comes into view. Nearing it, the traveler sees what appears to be a large group of churches. Spires and crosses pierce the skyline. His pace quickens. Is this his destination? He passes an imposing structure, a neon sign flashing “Cathedral of the Future.” Farther on a floodlit stadium supports a billboard boasting that a fifty thousand people crowd into evangelistic meetings there three nights a week. Beyond this, modest “New Testament” chapels and Hebrew Christian synagogues cluster together on the street front.

“Is this the City of God?” I heard the traveler ask a woman at the information booth in the central square.

“No this is Christian City, “she replies.

“But I thought this road led to the City of God!” He exclaims with great disappointment.

“That’s what we all thought when we arrived,” she answers, her tone sympathetic.

“This road continues up the mountain, doesn’t it?” He asks.

“I wouldn’t know, really,” she answers blankly.

I watch the man turn away from her and trudge on up the mountain in the gathering darkness. Reaching the top, he starts out into the blackness; it looks as though there is nothing, absolutely nothing, beyond. With a shudder he retraces his steps into Christian City and takes a room at a hotel.

Strangely unrefreshed, at dawn he arises and follows the road up the mountain again; in the brightening light of the sun he discovers that what seemed like a void the night before is actually a desert, dry, hot, rolling sand as far as the eye can see. The road narrows to a path which rises over a dune and disappears. “Can this trail lead to the City of God?” He wonders aloud. It appears to be quite deserted and rarely traveled.

Indecision slows his steps, he again returns to Christian City and has lunch in a Christian restaurant. Over the music of a gospel record, I hear him ask a man at the next table, “That path up the mountain, where the desert begins, does it lead to the City of God?”

“Don’t be a fool!” his neighbor replies quickly. “Everyone who has ever taken that path has been lost… swallowed up by the desert! If you want God, there are plenty of good churches in this town. You should pick one and settle down.”

After leaving the restaurant, looking weary and confused, the traveler finds a spot under a tree and sits down. An ancient man approaches and begins pleading with him in urgent tones, “If you stay here in Christian City, you’ll wither away. You must take the path. I belong to the desert you saw earlier. I was sent here to encourage you to press on. You’ll travel many miles. You’ll be hot and thirsty; but angels will walk with you, and there will be springs of water along the way. And at your journeys end you will reach the City of God! you have never seen such beauty! And when you arrive the gates will open for you, for you are expected.”

“What you say sounds wonderful,” the traveler replies. “But I’m afraid I’d never survive that desert. I’m probably better off here in Christian City.”

The ancient one smiles. “Christian City is the place for those who want religion but don’t want to lose their lives. The desert is the territory of those whose hearts are so thirsty for God that they are willing to be lost in Him. My friend, when Peter brought his boat to land, forsook all and followed Jesus, he was being swallowed by the desert. When Matthew left his tax collecting and Paul his Pharisaism, they too were leaving a city much like this to pursue Jesus out over the dunes and be lost in God. So don’t be afraid. Many have gone before you.”

Then I see the traveler look away from the old man’s burning eye to the bustle of Christian City. He sees busy people hurrying hither and yon with their Bibles and shiny attached cases, looking like men and women who know their destiny. But it is clear they lack something which the old man with eyes like a prophet possesses.

In my dream I imagine the traveler turning things over in his mind. “If I do go out there, how can I be sure that I will really be lost in God? In the Middle Ages Christians tried to lose themselves in God by putting the world behind them and entering a monastery. And how disappointed many of them were to find that the world was still there! And the people here in Christian City who are preparing to go to some jungle or a neglected slum, maybe they’re coming closer to what it means to be lost in God. But then, a person can travel to the ends of the earth and not lose himself.”

The traveler turns again to see the old person starting up the road for the narrow path down to the deserts edge. Suddenly, his decision mobilizes him and leaps to his feet, chasing after him. When he catches up, they exchange no words. The ancient man makes an abrupt turn to the right and guides him up still another slope which steepens as it rises toward a peak shrouded in a luminous cloud. The climb upward is very difficult. The traveler appears dizzy and begins to stagger. His guide pauses an offers him a drink from a flask hanging over his shoulder. Panting, he drinks it in great gulps. “No water ever tasted sweeter than this,” he says with great feeling.

“Thank you.”

Now look there.” The old man points beyond them to a vista not nearly as monotonous and desolate as it had seemed earlier. The desert below has taken on many colors and gradation. In the far distance blazing light is throbbing and moving on the surface of the horizon like a living thing. “There is the City of God! But before you reach it, you will have to pass through those four wildernesses you see. Directly below us is the Wilderness of Forgiveness.” The traveler notices small, dim figures making their way slowly in the direction of the city, separated from each other by many miles.

“How can they survive the loneliness?” Asks the traveler. “Wouldn’t they benefit from traveling together?”

“Well, they aren’t really alone. Each one of them is accompanied by the forgiveness of God. They are being swallowed by the desert of the Lord God’s vast mercy. The Holy Spirit is saying to them as they travel, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ They are made whole as they travel.”

Just beyond there is an expanse of blue. “Is it sea?” Inquires the traveler.

“It looks like water, but it’s a sea of sand. That’s the Wilderness of Worship. Here, look through these glasses and you will see that people are walking there, too. Notice how they begin to group themselves here. They are having their first taste of the joy of the City worship. They are discovering how they were made for the worship of God. It is becoming their life, the white-hot source of everything they do.”

“But don’t people also worship back in Christian City? What’s so special about that wilderness?”

“Worship, that is true worship, can begin only when a life has been utterly abandoned to the desert of God’s presence. Out there the heart begins to worship the Father in spirit and truth.”

Looking beyond the blue wilderness to where the desert rises in red and fiery mountains, the old man explains to the traveler that among those reddish mountains is the Wilderness of Prayer.

“Passing through that wilderness travelers find it necessary to turn away from every distraction and concentrate on prayer. They quickly learn that there is no possible way for them to survive but by crying out to God continuously. By the time they reach the outer extremes of that wilderness, prayer is their consuming passion and their supreme joy. It appears at first that the City of God is just beyond the Wilderness of Prayer. But there is one more wilderness hidden by those mountains, which you will pass through before you reach your destination. It is simply called the Harvest. You’ll know it when you reach it. And beyond the Harvest is the City itself. Your name is known there. Your arrival is awaited with eagerness. Come, let’s begin our journey.”

“Nightfall doesn’t seem to be a particularly propitious time to begin a journey like this,” he says.

“Don’t go back to Christian City,” the old man exhorts, gazing at him earnestly.”

“Not even at this hour? That way I could get a good night’s sleep and start first thing in the morning,” the traveler adds hopefully.

“But your rest is out there,” he urges. “Walk on now, into the desert. The Holy Spirit will help you. Don’t be afraid to be lost in God. You’ll find your life nowhere else.”

Read the rest of the dream here: http://www.theinwardjourney.net/blog/2007/04/10/escape-from-christendom/

The Christian Story

2012-02-04T05:49:00.002+01:00

For God', who spoke that light would shine out of the darkness, has dawned in our hearts that we would be enlightened with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Yeshua - The Messiah. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, on them has the light shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

“Come,” Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:29 - 31)

When we encounter Jesus and are born again, our eyes are opened to the Light of His Glory (in the Face of Christ). We are still living in and surrounded by the Darkness of this World though. Our Christian story, i.e. our Christian experience, is the story of our journey out of Darkness into Light (Acts 26:18).

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Imagine yourself sitting in darkness. In the distance you see a small circle of light. As you focus on this light the experience with the Light begins to intensify. You start becoming aware only of the Light – as this intensifies it is as though you start to become one with the Light. The Light appears to be coming closer and closer to you - You start to feel how that light begins to enlighten parts on the inside of you. As the Light enters you, it is as though you are rising up out of Darkness into Light - you begin to feel its warmth and healing power at work within you.

Suddenly, something outside distracts your attention away from the Light. A loud scream from the darkness draws your attention. As you turn your focus away from the Light into the Darkness you feel how the comfort of the Light begins to diminish, how once again the fear of Darkness begins to rise in and around you. It is as though you begin to sink back into the mire of Darkness. It threatens to overwhelm you.

You cry out, your eyes searching out the Light once again. Suddenly you see it – you grasp towards it and begin to shut out the Distraction of Darkness once again - then once again the warmth of the Light comforts. It is as though the hand of Grace has reached out to you, caught hold of you as you started to fall and now supports you as you begin to walk in the Light.

This story belongs to those who train and discipline themselves to focus on the Light. These are those who by their Faith in Christ, arise out of Darkness and have learnt to overcome it. These are those who become one with the Light (John 17:22) – they are still surrounded by the Darkness of the World but have no part in it – even as Christ has none (John 17:16). They let their Light shine before men (Matthew 5:16) and glorify the Father of Lights (James 1:17) in this way - the world is not worthy of them! (Hebrews 11:38)

That is why Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

Amen!

Testimony: David Yonggi Cho encounters an Agathodemon

2012-02-01T22:00:00.002+01:00

As a young preacher, Cho (Dr. David Yonggi Cho) had gone into a small Korean community to pioneer a church. Soon he discovered, as is common throughout much of Korea, a temple dedicated to the city's "guardian god" atop the highest local mountain. When the priests of the shrine learned that he was planning to start a missions outreach, they came to him infuriated, demanding that he leave the village. When he refused, they vowed to return and to put him, and any converts he won in the meantime, to death.

A few days later the priests were back, this time with a mob. The head priest, making sure the crowd was watching, called out, "Cho! Do you really believe that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that he can still work miracles?"

Cho replied, "Yes, I do."

"Then we have a challenge," the priest yelled. "Down in the village is a woman that has been bedridden for seven years. She and her child are dying now of disease. If Jesus can heal this woman in the next thirty days, we will go away and you can have your church. But if she is not healed, you must abandon your work or we will return and kill you and your followers."

Cho explained how in the United States most American's would never respond to such a dare, but that, in those days and in that culture, for him to have failed to do so would have been (in his opinion) to imply that his God was inferior to the temple deity, and would have closed the community's willingness to consider the Gospel message.

As a result, Cho accepted the contest and the following day traveled with his mother-in-law to the village where he found the dying woman. He suggested to the infirmed lady that if she would pray the sinners prayer and accept Jesus as her Savior, the Lord might choose to heal her. Instead, he found the woman to be very angry with any god (including Cho's God) who would have allowed her to suffer in the way that she had. After several unsuccessful visits to convince her otherwise, Cho decided that prayer alone would be his best alternative for her and her child.

Over the next few weeks he prayed earnestly for a miracle. He made regular visits to the village and sent messengers to report back any change. To his disappointment, the woman's condition only seemed to be worsening.

As the weeks passed and the deadline loomed, Cho grew very concerned. Finally, on the evening of the thirtieth day, he entered his prayer room and reminded God that, unless a miracle occurred, people from the temple of the guardian deity would arrive within hours to kill him and his followers. Cho said he prayed throughout that night and into the next morning "with the most passion ever."

Then, at 2:00 A.M., he experienced a powerful vision.

He thought he saw a shadow by the front door, and a strange sound spread along the wall.

Fixing his gaze on the opening, he felt primal fear roll over him, black and mindless.

His intuition screamed. Something dreadful was coming his way.

Another thump, and the front door to his home began slowly opening.

Gooseflesh crawled over his arms as "eerie oriental music" swept in through the entrance, barely discernable at first, then growing in intensity.

Against his better judgment, he turned his body toward the door.

He held his breath, looked harder, squinted.

The shadow slowed, became defined, an enormous silhouette of something alive creeping stealthily toward him.

Remaining very still, a moment past, then it emerged from the darkness, huge, snakelike, an Agathodemon from ancient times bearing the body of a serpent and the head of a man. Swaying to the melodious rhythm, the horrendous archfiend appeared wicked and menacing as it slank along the opening into the room where he was. It made eye contact with him and in heavy modulation that sounded as if each gurgling syllable started somewhere deep underground and passed through boiling magma on its way to his mouth, said, "Cho, if you don't leave this town, you are a dead man. I have been ruling this area all of these years, and who are you to come here and disturb my nest!?"

With that, the being lunged across the room lightning fast, landing on top of Cho, wrapping its body around him like prey, contracting its muscles to quickly constrict the air from his lungs. A baleful laughter, malignant and terrible, tittered from the monster's lips as from pebbled sockets its zenithal eyes glared mockingly down at him.

Grotesque and enraged, the thing opened its mouth wider, exposing a hideously forked tongue inside a nightmarish cavity lined with jagged molars and angled razor fangs. A phlegmy gurgle more dragon-like than reptilian disgorged a sulfurous stench that distilled through the room filling the air all around them.

A chill radiated through Cho as seconds passed and the undulating fiend's hide, crusty and wart covered, tightened around him like a garrote. He could feel his ribs bending toward the breaking point as the sheer force of the brutal creature's strength sent his own tongue curling to the roof of his mouth in pain. His body began reacting to the lack of blood flow, his hands and his feet started going numb, and his thoughts raced, Jesus! I'm dying.

But at that, something caught his attention. The creatures eyes had seemed to dart wildly about the very moment the name of Jesus passed through his mind. He thought it again, Jesus, and this time he was sure. The serpent had cringed and its grip had weakened at the very moment he had imagined that name!

With all the strength he could muster, Cho gasped for a breath of air and opened his mouth in a whisper, "Jesus."

The effect was immediate and dramatic. The sound of the name of Jesus discharged from his lips as tangibly as if a two-edged sword had been thrown into the heart of the being.

He spoke the name again, louder this time, and the demon jerked back, it's expression filling with terror, its grip unwinding from his waist.

Slipping from the coil, Cho quickly jumped to his feet and shouted, "JESUS... JESUS... JESUS!"

Now the creature reeled, first one way then the other, flailing about as if punch-drunk, wailing an otherworldly moan, then abruptly it fell to the floor. Before it could gather its strength and raise up to attack him again, Cho lifted his leg and crushed the human-like head beneath his foot. Studying it to make sure it wasn't moving, he picked the front part of the carcass up and dragged it toward the entry to toss it outside. As he moved toward the opening and pushed the seasoned door fully out of the way, he noticed what appeared to be a large crowd of villagers gathering in front of his home. Cautiously, he surveyed his surroundings, then lifted the Agathodemon's face above him and exclaimed, "This is the god that you have been serving all of these years, but now you must turn and serve the true and living God!"

Thereupon, Cho awoke to find the serpent-man visitation had been a compelling vision or dream. It was 4:00 A.M., time for early morning prayer at his tent church. With the memory of the threats made against him 30 days earlier still fresh in his mind, he rushed out the door and up the path to meet his tiny congregation. He knew the priests from the guardian temple would not be long in coming, and no sooner had he arrived when a Korean layman started shouting, "Pastor! Come quickly!" Glancing out the tent door, he saw over the hill in the rising dawn what appeared to be the entire city marching up the valley walls.

Cho's palms were sweating and his heart was racing as he stepped outside and watched the throng approach. Jesus, he thought, what should we do? Run? Hide? Then he noticed something curious. The people looked happy, as if they were rejoicing about something. A moment of silence past as he considered them, and he thought, It couldn't be! But, it was. Leading the crowd, with her baby in her arms, was the dying woman from the village. She ran up to him and said, "Oh Brother Cho, thank you so much for coming and praying for me last night. The Lord heard your prayer and I am healed!" Cho stared at her in amazement. "I did not come to your house and pray for you last night," he answered. "Oh yes," the woman insisted, "You came at two o'clock this morning and stood outside my window. You said loudly, 'Woman! Be healed in the name of Jesus Christ!' And I arose and found that I was healed, and my baby is healed!"

With that, Cho remembered that it had been at 2:00 A.M. when he had seen the vision and the Agathodemon had been destroyed.

With very few exceptions, the entire community converted to Christianity within 48 hours. Now matter what one thinks of Cho, today he pastors the largest evangelical church in the world with nearly a million members. It all started in a city delivered from demonic siege.

Source: book by Thomas and Nita Horn: FORBIDDEN GATES: How Genetics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Synthetic Biology, Nanotechnology, And Human Enhancement Herald The Dawn Of Techno-Dimensional Spiritual Warfare.

Zinzendorf and Herrnhut by Red Moon Rising

2012-01-31T21:48:00.001+01:00

This post is an excerpt from the inspiring Book: "Red Moon Rising"

The Moravians

The Moravian Church, or Unitas Fratrum, of which Zinzendorf was a bishop, had been founded hundreds of years before his great Herrnhut experiment. Prior to Zinzendorf, the Moravian Church had never, as far as we know, dreamed of praying round the clock; this was an idea flowing within monasticism. But the Moravian Church had a long and very remarkable history that inspired and shaped Zinzendorf and the renewal movement he catalysed.

The Moravian roots

The Moravian Church served the cause of Christ in two distinct eras: the Ancient Unity and the Renewed Moravian Church.[1] The roots of Christianity in Bohemia and Moravia (modern-day Czech Republic) could be found in the mission work of two Greek Orthodox bishops, Cyril and Methodius. They, like the Celtic believers, had much in common with other branches of Christendom, but didn't always feel comfortable with the policies of the current rulers in Rome. The inadvertent founder of the Unitas Fratrum was Jan Huss, the President of the University of Prague, who, years before Luther, railed against the sale of indulgences and the belief that you could buy forgiveness of sin. What's more, Huss insisted on preaching in the language of the people and not in Latin. As a result he soon had the ear of the masses and the heart of the people. He was eventually tricked into attending a church court, imprisoned and killed.

His death was a catalyst for revolt and helped spawn three different sets of supporters. One of these, the Moderates, believed in the 'heart religion' that had been practised by the primitive Christians of the New Testament. In March 1457 they formed the Brethren of the Law of Christ, a group that sought to influence the church of the day rather than split from it.

They were often persecuted, emphasizing that faith must find expression as a 'faith that works'. Like Huss, they passionately believed that the gospel should be made accessible to ordinary people and so they had the extraordinary distinction of being the first to translate the Bible into a native tongue, the Kralitz Bible. They went on to publish a further 50 books despite the attempts of the authorities to find and burn copies of their Bible.

The seventeenth century saw their number decimated by persecution and many fled Bohemia to Moravia, Silsia and modern-day Poland.

John Amos Comenius

This ancient Moravian bishop later became known as the Father of Modern Education and was hailed by Life magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the last millennium. He created a new educational philosophy called Pansophism, or universal knowledge, designed to bring about worldwide understanding and peace. Comenius advised teachers to use children's senses rather than memorization in instruction. To make learning interesting for children, he wrote The Gate of Tongues Unlocked (1631), a book for teaching Latin in the student's own language. He also wrote Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1658; The Visible World in Pictures, 1659) consisting of illustrations that labelled objects in both their Latin and vernacular names. It was one of the first illustrated books written especially for children.

Comenius was asked to assist in Swedish educational reforms, but his first passion was the church and this is where he devoted much of his time and genius. Faced with bitter persecution, he resolved to plant a 'hidden seed', and on his death bed, convinced that he was a failure, urged the Brethren to 'take care ... that the foundations of our unity may not be so entirely ruined as to make it impossible for our posterity to find them'.

The 'hidden seed' was to spring back into life in 1722 when a Moravian carpenter called Christian David encountered Nicholas Ludwig Von Zinzendorf, and asked if he could find them a place where they could practise the heart religion of the early church without persecution. Zinzendorf promised to give it some thought, and returned to his estate in June to find that Christian David had presumed he would say yes and had arrived already. They began building a new community on Zinzendorf's Berthelsdorf estate, which would become known as Herrnhut, a phrase that meant 'the watch of the Lord'.

Count Zinzendorf

Zinzendorf was to prove an able leader for the religious refugees who began to arrive on his land. Raised in a devout family, Count Zinzendorf seemed set aside for spiritual leadership from an early age. Church reformer and education pioneer Spener prayed with him at the age of four with respect to his spiritual destiny! At the age of 16 he graduated from Halle University, but not before informing the principal that in his time at the college he had started no fewer than seven different prayer groups and asking him to keep an eye on them.[2]

One of these prayer groups was named the Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed and contained a number of future leaders, including John Potter, who was to become an Archbishop of Canterbury. Together with his friends in the Mustard Seed prayer group Zinzendorf made a solemn pledge that would shape the destiny of the rest of his life. He vowed:

• to be kind to all men;

• to be true to Christ;

• to send the gospel to the world.

Each member of the order wore a ring inscribed with the words 'No man liveth unto himself.

The count's youthful vows were to be a constant theme in the life of the Renewed Moravian Church. But first he had to try and bring some structure to the diverse group that was sprouting up on his land. The count was a voracious reader and was delighted to discover one of the foundational documents of the Moravians, a 'Covenant' document penned by the great Comenius himself. To this he added some local law and some of his own thought, and in May 1727 presented it to the warring factions on his estate.

The earliest historian of the eighteenth-century Moravians, Spangenberg, suggested that there were seven aspects of the 'Brotherly Agreement' that reflected the influence of Zinzendorf.[3]

• The need for personal conversion.

• A commitment to simplicity and integrity as marks of a true church.

• A refusal to be hostile to other believers - even when you believed they were not understanding the Scripture as you might.

• The belief that the sin of some believers was their fault, not that of the church. Zinzendorf believed in discipline but not in coercion.

• A wariness of labels and names that might divide rather than unite.

• An active quest for spiritual growth. There was to be no reliance on the blessings of the past. The people of God were to be intentional.

• A readiness to lay aside one's personal desires and be ready to make sacrifices for the sake of others.

These seven aspects captured the heartbeat of a movement that sought to be active, simple, good, peace-making and sacrificial. Turn to 'Vision and Values' (p. 305) to see how we have sought to reflect the thinking of the Moravians and our own distinctive culture in the early twenty-first century.

Zinzendorf arranged for his new community to gather in small groups or 'bands'. In time, this developed into a more formal 'choir system' based on age, sex and marital status. These groups met daily for prayer or worship. Often they would gather simply to sing. Zinzendorf was a prolific hymn-writer so they never lacked new material!

Following a Holy Spirit visitation at an August 1727 communion service, the warring factions in the group finally made public peace. A 24-hour prayer meeting was initiated two weeks later, which would last for 100 years. Twenty-four of the single men and 24 of the single women began an hourly intercession. Their prayers were informed by a weekly meeting where letters and messages from other Moravian Christians were read. This gave the praying believers specific people and places to pray for. In 1732, five years after their pentecostal experience, the group began to go out around Europe and the world to take Christ to the ends of the earth.

An emerging generation

Many of the people in this emerging generation of Moravians would later travel the world as missionaries. The Moravian community at Herrnhut spurred a movement that sponsored 3,000 missionaries in its first 200 years of existence. Many believe that it was one of the wellsprings of the modern mission movement.

The commitment to mission took them to the far corners of the earth. Two missionaries, it is said, sold themselves into slavery to reach the Caribbean community of St Thomas, and others travelled to Greenland. Greenland was to prove a watershed. Moravian historian James Hutton described what happened:

In the past they had discoursed [with non-Christians] about the Fall of Man and the Plan of Salvation; hence forward they gave the people the Passion Story in detail; and the Eskimos themselves soon noticed the difference. At the story of Adam and Eve they had merely wondered; at the story of the Crown of Thorns they wept; and, sometimes, at the baptismal service, their tears dripped into the font.

When informed of the success of the Greenland Mission, Count Zinzendorf said, 'Henceforth, we shall preach nothing but the love of the slaughtered Lamb.' From that time forward Moravian evangelists were schooled in telling the Passion Story - the story of Christ's death on the cross for humankind - as succinctly and as simply as possible.[4]

The Moravians would eventually go to Surinam, Ceylon, South Africa, Cairo, Jerusalem and Baghdad. But they also touched the life of another man whose ministry would take their values and ideas to the far-flung corners of the world.

John Wesley

The impact on Wesley arose partly from their conduct in a terrifying storm. Wesley noted them as he returned from a disheartening trip.

At seven I went to the Germans. I had long before observed the great seriousness of their behaviour. Of their humility they had given a continual proof, by performing those servile offices for the other passengers which none of the English would undertake; for which they desired, and would receive no pay, saying it was good for their proud hearts, and their loving Saviour had done more for them. And every day had given them occasion of showing a meekness, which no injury could move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown down, they rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth. There was now an opportunity of trying whether they were delivered from the spirit of fear, as well as from that of pride, anger, and revenge. In the midst of the psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the main-sail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sang on. I asked one of them afterwards, 'Were you not afraid?' He answered, 'I thank Cod, no.' I asked, 'But were not your women and children afraid?' He replied, mildly, 'No; our women and children are not afraid to die.'[5]

He subsequently visited their Fetter Lane church in London. It was here at an extended prayer meeting that he first felt the 'strange warming' of real relationship with Christ. One of Wesley's first acts was then to sail for Holland, where he was met by Zinzendorf and escorted back to the Berthelsdorf estate. Methodism, founded of course by Wesley, has helped shape the Christian witness on every continent, not least through its subsequent influence on Holiness, Pentecostal and Salvation Army groups.

The Moravian Church never grew particularly large, even though it was widespread, because of its commitment to Christian unity. Many, perhaps the majority, of its converts were given away to other denominations. However, the influence of the Moravian tradition has been massive, as the brief history above makes clear. The Moravian Texts are today the world's best-selling daily devotional, used by 1.5 million people each day in 50 languages and dialects.

Source: Red Moon Rising

[1] Material about the Ancient Unity is based on an article found at http://www.everydaycounselor.com/archives/sh/shistory.htm

[2] Material in this section draws from John R. Weinlick, Count Zinzendorf (The Moravian Church in America, 1984).

[3] Ibid, p. 82.

[4] James Hutton, The History of Moravian Mission (out of print).

[5] www.everydaycounsellor.com/archives/sh/wesley2.htm

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!

2012-01-20T22:23:00.002+01:00

The Prophet declared it:

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

The wise King explained it:

There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

The Psalmist sang it:

“… no one living is righteous before you. (Psalm 143:3)

The Apostle quoted it:

“As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;” (Romans 3:10)

Wretches, all of us – forever separated from the Love of God, all on our way to an eternity of darkness – isolation and separation – there is no rest for the wicked.

We are helpless: all our technology, our efforts, our wealth, the short lived buzz of power in this world – nothing but distractions – crutches we grasp hold of, to hinder our thoughts from dwelling on the hopelessness of our eternal destiny.

We are in desperate need of a Savior, a Deliverer, a Healer – someone that is not entangled in the web of sin, deception and destruction in which we find ourselves.

Grace is the Hand of God that reaches into our situation, touches us in our uttermost despair – and even when we do not recognize the help, when we reject it and even attack it – this Grace proves itself to be so Amazing, that the Hand stays extended and open. Hoping for a correct response!

It stays extended as we reach out with an open hand of Faith to take hold of the Grace extended to us. At first we are in dire straits – we need to consume all this Grace on ourselves to get healed, restored and delivered. God gives, patiently, expecting nothing in return.

Still we need more Grace as the Work of God goes deeper. The open Hand is still extended, “Come to me, my Child” is the Heart of the Father – longing for a restoration of an intimate Relationship. The closer we get to Him, the more intimate we become with Him, the more we need Grace to dwell in that place. Indeed, without the Grace, we could never approach Him! For He is Holy, Good and Pure!

As we dwell in that intimate Place, our eyes are opened to see Him, we begin to know Him and we experience more of that internal transformation back into His Image once again. We begin to come to a place of Unity with the Son and with the Father – we begin to see as he sees, think as He thinks and this Amazing Grace transforms us so much, that we become instruments of His Grace on this Earth. We start to enter the Rest God has prepared for us.

We become the carriers of His Message, the instruments through which He can manifest His presence on this Earth. We have become His Children, we have entered into His Kingdom, His Kingdom is established in our lives – it has become evident to the World that the Father loves us and that which is done by us, is not of ourselves, but it is the Father working through us. Faith has ignited our hearts, we have attained to the Mind of Christ, we are clothed in His Righteousness! This confirms Testimony of Christ (John 17:20 - 26)

That is why it is written in Philippians 2:1-11:

^1-4If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

^5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

^9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

What an Amazing Grace! It is only this kind of Grace that enables us to live such a life. Amen!

What are terrible times?

2012-01-17T06:05:00.003+01:00

When Jesus Christ came and walked the earth as a human 2000 years ago, the religious system of his day was defined through the law. Now the Law had been given by God to expose sin and to teach people to live a good way in relationship to God and to others. People had taken the law and added their own traditions to it. These traditions defined how the law was understood and provided a measurement as to how well the law was kept. This helped the people to create a system whereby they could manage their relationship with God – if they did certain things; this would be pleasing to God and visa versa. The aim of this religious system was to please God. The only problem was, that the adherence to these traditions was externally focused, that is, as long as people could keep the traditions, they were unaware of the true condition of their innermost being, their hearts. Everything could look fine on the outside, but inside could be filled with dead men’s bones and everything unclean (Matthew 23:27).

The bible teaches us that the religious system of the last days will be different to this. Paul, someone who had grown up with the Law and traditions, was given insight into these last days said the following of them: “They will be terrible times” (2 Timothy 3). Paul continues to define the following characteristics of the religious system of the last days:

Members will be lovers of self
Members will love money
Members will love entertainment

It is of course the aim of this religious system to please God, so the love of God will be preached. The problem will be that the love of other things will have a higher value in the members life than the love of God. The members are not willing to “tolerate healthy doctrine, but with itching ears will surround themselves with teachers who cater to their own desires” (2 Timothy 4:3) That is why Paul says that it will have the form of religion, but will deny its power – the power to transform a life – the power to change a heart! This will be a religious system that has found a replacement for the Gospel of the Kingdom, changing it into a gospel for this world. It will therefore be opposed to Christ and the Message of the offense of the Cross – that people should die to self.

Just as the religious system arose in the time of Christ to stop his message and mission, so will this religious system arise against Christ (Anti-Christ) in the same way, using similar methods. It will define itself as the “true” religion, a protector of the faith and a guiding light through its educated and dedicated priesthood and its aged traditions.

This religious system will arise against Christ and His followers – and the bible teaches us that it will have the following spiritual characteristics:

It will be a resort and dwelling place of demons (Revelation 18:2)
It will enslave the souls of its members (Revelations 18:13)
It will be drunk on the blood of the true followers of Christ (Revelation 17:6, 18:24, 18:20)
It will be responsible for the death of the true Prophets and true Apostles (Revelation 17:6, 18:20, 18:24)

This religious system is a spiritual city called “Babylon”. Therefore the voice from the heavenly city shouts an urgent request to all who have been seduced by her “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4)

As we saw in the beginning, this religious system places a veneer of “righteousness” over its members – painting them “saved” but refuses to deal with the internal issues of the heart – that people truly be transformed back into the image of Christ. Therefore although an external coming out can be helpful, it is only the internal transformation of the heart that will bring true freedom.

Therefore be encouraged to open your heart to the Lordship of Christ (Revelation 3:20), renounce your life in the systems of this world that you may be translated into the Kingdom of the Glory of the Son. Let us strive towards the goal Paul defines, which is to be conformed to the death of Christ so that we may attain to His Resurrection Life in us (Philippians 3:10-11). Because, only as we renounce our lives and embrace His Life, can we become free from the power of deception and attain to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Amen!

A real way to celebrate the coming of Christ!

2011-12-11T15:57:00.000+01:00

It is that time of year again, when we reflect on the coming of Christ to earth – made flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14).

There is a dimension of thought and strategy of the Wisdom of God to which the enemies of God (demons, powers of this age) have no access or understanding. This we understand from the context of the following scriptures:
• „no human mind has conceived the things that God has prepared“ ( 1 Corinthians 2:9 & Isaiah 64:4)
• “None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” ( 1 Corinthians 2:8)
• “And the Light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not.” (John 1:9)

But for those who have been born from above (John 3:3 & 3:7) these things have been revealed by His Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10) – which dwells in us.

Realizing this, we must of course ask ourselves, how can we operate in this dimension – and as such live a life of continual victory against these powers!

Paul explains his apostolic mandate to us in Colossians 1:25-29 and so gives us the answer to this question:

In it I became a minister in accordance with the divine stewardship which was entrusted to me for you [as its object and for your benefit], to make the Word of God fully known [among you] -- The mystery of which was hidden for ages and generations [from angels and men], but is now revealed to His holy people (the saints), To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory.
Him we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and instructing everyone in all wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God), that we may present every person mature (full-grown, fully initiated, complete, and perfect) in Christ (the Anointed One). For this I labor [unto weariness], striving with all the superhuman energy which He so mightily enkindles and works within me.

Paul says that God wanted the riches of the Glory to be brought to all nations that they may be able to take hold of, live out of and live according to this Glory. He says that he is totally committed to this Message (of Christ in us), because it is through this realization that men can become spiritually perfected. His commitment to this Message is enforced through the Power of God at work in him, testifying that the Lord also desires that men lay hold of this great revealed truth, which was previously hidden.

Paul further stresses in Romans 5 that “we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in his life”

The Greek Word translated save here is sozo (G4982) meaning to save, i.e. deliver or protect and used elsewhere in the KJV: heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

So bringing this together, we understand that it is the Life of Christ in us that heals us, delivers us, protects us and makes us spiritual complete.

After many years being involved in the commonly called “deliverance ministry” I realized that it is possible to cast demons out of people, but as long as their soul remained in darkness, they were not really free. It is the entrance of the living Word of God that needs to be laid hold of by the person through their faith. This then brings forth the Light of the Glory of Christ (in them). If this light has started to shine, then they can be guided and protected by this Light and are no longer living in darkness.

As we deny the old self life that tries to define its identity in this world and turn to Christ to receive and become a habitation for His Life, we continue to remove the veil that has blinded us to the true purposes of God in our generation.

Let us commit in this time of reflection to use the situations that are provided us (e.g. through attacks by demon forces) to die to self (for we have been crucified with Christ - Galatians 2:20), so that we can allow the Life of Christ to be manifest in us and finally through us.
As we train our souls to submit in this way to the Lordship of Christ (in us) we attain to the Mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). Entering into the Dimension of the Mind of Christ, we enter into the Rest God has prepared for us where we rest from our works and allow the Power of God to work through us. (Hebrews 4:10). Amen! ?

Let us again welcome and celebrate the coming of Christ into our lives, saying:

“Lord establish your Lordship in us, let your Kingdom come, let you Will be done – Come Lord Jesus, come and be revealed through my Body – which is now your Body. I serve and worship you alone – I am yours and you are mine!” Amen

Sexual unity in marriage leads to Life

2011-09-03T23:04:00.003+02:00

“Haven’t you read,” he [Jesus] replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

This is an interesting verse because Jesus clearly states that God’s original intention was the creation of male and female that these two should be joined together (in marriage) and form a spiritual and sexual unity. This intention of the Creator is questioned today by those that demand that they as homosexuals have a right to get married too. This right demanded does clearly not conform to the God-given and biblically approved understanding of sexual unity.

Although a homosexual marriage is not biblical, the right to choose to enter into a homosexual marriage is. Someone may suppose that he does not believe in God or the bible as a written authority for his life. It is biblical that men have been given a free will to make this decision – even though it is just as clear that this decision against the Creator is not what the bible nor God wants nor recommends. A rejection of God and the bible then removes all biblical constraints in this area and they then have the “freedom” to make this personal choice.

One may attempt to justify his rejection of God the Creator and the bible by saying that he believes in the theory of evolution. It may be pointed out to him that there are no “forefather” mammals such as apes that are homosexual, no “great forefather” reptiles such as snakes that are homosexual, no “great great forefather” amphibians such as salamanders that are homosexual etc. etc. …. because the very idea is against Nature itself.

The reply of the homosexual might be, that he has evolved beyond heterosexuality to homosexuality – but I believe every honest student of evolution would then have to point out to him, that this “evolvement” is bound to last only one generation – because he has reached a dead end in the process. The hard truth is that there is no procreation between homosexuals – and in terms of “survival of the fittest” the chances of their survival stands at null. They have “evolved” into a type of species that cannot survive! They live only for themselves, because they can no longer reproduce!

From this discussion we can understand that in His infinite Wisdom and Love, the Creator has implemented sexual unity in marriage between male and female as the natural way that leads to Life!

For this reason was the Son of God manifest!

2011-06-17T22:58:00.003+02:00

Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” (Mark 7:13)

Although Andrew Murray was undoubtedly a very godly man, especially in the area of prayer and experiencing the deeper life, we still need to apply the Word of God to prove what he said. His statement marked in red below is something that I wish to call attention to:

Quote from Chapter 1: Divine Healing by Andrew Murray (1828-1917)

We see, by the accounts given in the Gospels, that it was more difficult for the Jews at that time to believe in the pardon of their sins than in divine healing. Now it is just the contrary. The Christian Church has heard so much of the preaching of the forgiveness of sins that the thirsty soul easily receives this message of grace; but it is not the same with divine healing; that is rarely spoken of; the believers who have experienced it are not many. It is true that healing is not given in this day as in those times, to the multitudes whom Christ healed without any previous conversion. In order to receive it, it is necessary to begin by confession of sin and the purpose to live a holy life. This is without doubt the reason why people find more difficulty to believe in healing than in forgiveness; and this is also why those who receive healing receive at the same time new spiritual blessing, feel more closely united to the Lord Jesus, and learn to love and serve Him better. Unbelief may attempt to separate these two gifts, but they are always united in Christ. He is always the same Savior both of the soul and of the body, equally ready to grant pardon and healing.

The redeemed may always cry: “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul.., who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases” (Ps. 103:3).

Does Scripture confirm that after the death and resurrection of the Lord the disciples fundamentally changed the way they had been healing and delivering people? Did they from then on require people to first confess their sin and to purpose to live a holy life before they could receive the Grace of God manifested as Healing and Deliverance?

This is a fundamentally relevant question for us today because the vast majority of teachers (in their books and sermons on mp3 and DVD) who teach healing and deliverance (in all their different forms) adhere to the above statement – this means it has such wide acceptance that very few would ever think about questioning it.

Firstly we have to establish that as Andrew Murray confirms above, Jesus did not require people to repent (turn from their sins and live a holy life style) before healing them. This we can clearly see in many examples (Mark 5:1-20 – deliverance and mental healing; Luke 13:10-17 - Jesus expels a spirit of infirmity from the body of a woman)

In John 5:14 we read the following: Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." From the context it is clear that the man at first did not even know who had healed him and only afterwards did Jesus confront him with the need to repent of his sin.

Now we should compare how the disciples healed and delivered after Jesus had risen and ascended to determine if there was any fundamental change in approach – to that which they had learnt from Jesus.

The first example is that of Peter and John at the gate beautiful in Acts 3:1-7. Clearly the beggar looked at Peter and John expecting to receive money. Then in the Authority of the Name of Jesus Peter grabs the beggar by the hand, hauls him up up his feet – healed. No preaching of the Gospel and clearly no repentance by the beggar before he was healed! It was Peters faith in the Authority of the Name of Jesus that resulted in the healing – and this afterwards provided a platform for him to confront the religious leaders with their sin and demand that they repent!

The second example we see in Acts 14:8-10. This Gentile man had been a cripple since his birth. Paul was preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and the cripple man was receiving the message with an open heart. Paul told him to stand up – which he did. There is no account that the cripple man had done any repentance, he had not come forward to repeat some prayer – it is recorded that he had faith to be healed – so obviously Paul was preaching exactly that – that through faith in the Authority in the Name of Jesus people can be healed and delivered. We are sure of this because it is written that faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ preached (Romans 10:14). Afterwards Paul confronts the Gentiles with the need for repentance (Acts 14:15)

Thirdly Paul is harsh with the Christians in Galatia (Galatians 3:1-5) and wanted to know who had bewitched them into thinking that they could receive the Spirit by their own works (e.g. commitment to a holy lifestyle). He also confirms that the Works of Holy Spirit were manifest among them only because they believed in the Victory of Christ over disease and demons through His crucifixion (paraphrased).

I have discovered no biblical confirmation that Christians ministering healing and deliverance in the post resurrection and ascension period fundamentally changed the way that Jesus had healed and delivered. Rather I see a confirmation that it remained unchanged! If we take this teaching that repentance is required first to an extreme situation – in a situation where someone needs to be raised from the dead – we realize that it is totally insufficient. How is a dead person going to first repent and commit to live a holy life before they can be raised from the dead?

Paul describes far more serious consequences resulting from this kind of teaching in Romans 2:1-4. Here Paul warns against judging others and asks if we do not realize that it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance. Once we are of the opinion that people have to first repent before they can be healed – we stand in the very dangerous place of becoming judges declaring that they still have sin in their lives that needs to be repented of – maybe giving this as a reason for them not being healed by our prayer for them. Actually it is most probably the unbelief of the one who ministered healing and/or deliverance that resulted in the person not being healed / delivered.

As Curry Blake has confirmed through the teachings of John G. Lake and his own healing and deliverance ministry, there is no requirement for someone to repent to receive the grace of God. The only requirement is that of Faith – and in the area of healing and deliverance – it is mostly the faith of the one ministering healing and deliverance that is required – as the example of raising someone from the dead confirms!

The example of how Jesus healed and delivered does not negate or diminish the importance of repentance or of stressing the importance of living a holy life in any way. It instead refocuses us on the total victory of Calvary over all sin, disease and demons and allows us to access the Grace of God through faith and not by our own works. Own works are here defined as confessing of sin, breaking of curses, searching for iniquity committed by our forefathers or anything having to do else other than focusing on Christ.

Once people have tasted that the Lord is gracious and have seen His power – they exercise the freedom of Will in choosing or rejecting Him. They need to understand that by rejecting Christ and returning to sin – something worse could happen to them. Not because this is the Will of God, but because the demons are going to build up a better stronghold next time round (Luke 11:24-26).

Let us not be the ones to hinder the flow of God's Grace to people – we are supposed to be channels of His Grace on the earth. The one ministering healing and deliverance has to live in obedience to the Lord by healing and delivering people from the power of satan unto the Kingdom of God (Acts 26:18). These ministers are not to keep backdoors for their unbelief open. Here are some examples what some of these backdoors can be:” It is not God’s will to heal you”; “You have hidden sin in your life”; “There is some undefined curse on your life”; “The iniquity of your forefathers is hindering your healing”; “You don’t have enough faith”; and so on an so forth! Jesus never used one of these backdoors, ever! Nor does the bible record that the first believers did either! We have the Mandate to pray for the sick to be healed - when we become the ones who decide who God will heal and who not, have we then "not discriminated among ourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (James 2:4)

Let us become convinced of what the Bible describes as the complete Victory of Christ over the devil, powers and principalities, all demon power, every sickness, disease and infirmity, every wound and all pain, death and hades! As we develop our understandings through the Word of Christ and refuse to live by the senses trapped in this world and as we reject the traditions of men – we by faith enter into the manifestation of the Kingdom and Will of the Father on this earth (Matthew 6:10)!

In this way we will bring Glory to the Father, destroy the works of the devil and see many enter into the Freedom offered by Christ. Hallelujah! For this reason was the Son of God manifest!

So finally, the Heart of Christ in this matter is revealed in the following:

* “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)

* "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.'" (Mark 2:17)

* “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Matthew 9:13)

Keep your focus to do what Jesus commanded!

2011-03-24T16:16:00.004+01:00

Luke 8:23-25
But as they (the disciples) sailed he (Jesus) fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind (whirlwind) on the lake; and the boat was filling with water, and they were in great danger.
And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we are perishing! Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging waves: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commands even the winds and water, and they obey him.

The disciples find themselves in the midst of a storm, which appears to threaten their lives. They shout to the Lord knowing “that all who call upon the Lord shall be saved”. Bill Johnson remarks that he was always taught that it was an expression of Faith to call upon the Lord when we are in danger. However in contradiction to this: Jesus wakes up, rebukes the storm and then He rebukes His disciples for their lack of faith. Jesus was obviously expecting something very different from His disciples.

He was obviously not expecting that they quietly sit in the boat and pray in their hearts to Him to save them either!
Jesus had earlier told His disciples, “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” (Luke 6:40). So I believe that the expression of Faith that Jesus expected from His disciples was that they should do what He had done, that is, command in the Authority of His Name.

Let us now investigate how we can relate this passage to the current disasters that are shaking the world!

Acts 1:6-8 (New International Version)
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

As we see the increasing number and intensity of apocalyptic images of natural disasters coming upon the earth, we are tempted by feelings of hopelessness – questioning ourselves and not understanding why God is allowing all these things. We read the various confusing interpretations of the book of Revelations and hear so many saying that now is the End of Time!

The early disciples also battled with these thoughts, albeit for different reasons. The Old Testament prophets had spoken of a glorious future for Israel but since returning from the captivity in Babylon things did not appear so great. This caused some of the Jewish people to seek for answers in hidden symbols and numbers that were revealing the Masters Plan. Out of this search for answers the so called early Jewish apocalyptic literature developed.

The influence of the Greek thinking on the early Jewish apocalyptic literature caused people to take a very passive position on current events, because they developed a philosophy that they "knew" the Master's Plan. God would come and restore the Kingdom and there was nothing that anyone could do to change that – one just had to “survive” and remain faithful until that glorious Day!

In the Book of Revelation Jesus the Messiah reveals Himself as the One who is coming and is busy establishing His Kingdom on the Earth. He has clearly stated that we will not know the time of His coming. Despite this so many continue to try and press this book into a specific time schedule.

We need to break the Greek Philosophical View of the End Times (amongst other things by not debating about which Interpretation we subscribe to) over our lives and become active Ambassadors of God, by allowing Him to manifest His Kingdom in and through us. Let the People taste and see that the Lord is Good (through the Fruit of our lives).

Jesus requires and expects us to demonstrate Faith in these times – how do we do that? By doing the things that He would do if he were on the earth today – by healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead and teaching people how to enter and live in the reality of the Kingdom of God. (Actually He is on the Earth – living in His disciples)

This is so different from getting people to come forward in a meeting and repeat some small prayer!
It is also very different from getting people to a meeting where some “anointed one” can perform some demonstration of Power to the delight and amusement of the crowd – where the crowd returns home unaffected and unchanged in their hearts to wait for the next great entertainer!
It is also different to warming a church pew and hearing some orator encourage and motivate people that they too can be successful in this world – occasionally throwing in enough bible passages to convince that this is all happening “in the name of the Lord”!

Jesus is very clear in His command to His disciples:
He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1:4-5)

My paraphrase of the command of Jesus:

Get baptised in the Holy Spirit and then be led by the Spirit to be the witnesses of all I have done – by doing the same things – and teaching people to obey all I have commanded you. Bring them into the Kingdom of God by demonstrating that my Kingdom has come upon the earth – my rule of Authority and Power is already established on the earth – by casting out demons and healing the sick. Oh and by the way, you have to renounce your life in this world if you desire to enter into the fullness of my Kingdom on this earth – you have to die to self to live for me – because it will actually be me living in and through you!

I want all men, woman and children to be delivered out of darkness – now go forth in the Authority of my Name!

... AND DO WHAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU!

Are you dying to live?

2011-02-21T06:30:00.000+01:00

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:24 -25)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. (Luke 8:11)

In the beginning we see that our lives have become empty and devoid of order. It is our experience that we are living in deep darkness, totally without hope. God sees us in this situation and His Spirit begins to move upon us. As we are prepared the Word of God comes to us; God speaks to us meeting us where we are.

As His Words find entrance into our lives, the Light of His Glory begins to shine in us. As this Light shines in us, so God begins to separate us from those things that had caused the darkness. To the degree that we renounce this world and our lives in this world, we inherit the Life that only God can give.

We die to the chaos and darkness of this world and become fruitful citizens of an eternal Kingdom! The symbolism of water baptism has become a reality in our lives. We have been crucified and buried with Christ and now dwell resurrected in heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6)

Think that a godly life is a way to make a profit?

2011-02-10T13:51:00.001+01:00

Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.(1 Timothy 6:5)

Paul wants here to be aware that some people are denying the Teachings of Jesus Christ - regarding holiness, honour, service amongst others - but in their pride and envy cause dispute over words in order to justify their rebellion.

They have persuasive arguments for their position, are doing seemingly right things (like feeding the poor), offer wonderful Christian entertainment and teach on ways to get wealthy and how to have a good positive life in this world. They have redefined the biblical concept "Church" as a profit making organisation. In effect they have become friends of this world and in so doing have made themselves enemies of God.

We are warned to withdraw ourselves from such people and situations, because our eternal life could otherwise be endangered:

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

Instead we are well advised to flee these things and to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (1 Timothy 6:11)

What are you waiting for?

The powerlessness of the Will

2011-02-07T13:51:00.001+01:00

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
(Romans 7:18 – 20 KJV)

Paul illustrates quite clearly here that his will is not so free and not so powerful, but it has been taken captive by sin. He acknowledges what is good and even decides that this is what he wants to do, but finds out that he fails to do this. Sometimes he finds himself doing exactly that which he has decided is evil and does not want to do. So, a free will alone is not sufficient to enable us to do that which we will to do because we perceive it to be good. What can we do?

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13 KJV)

Paul provides the solution for this problem we face. We use the free will we have to appeal to a higher authority, that is, the Authority of God, who dwells inside of us through His Spirit. We appeal that He would put to death the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) in us.

On what basis can the Spirit do this in us?

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. (Romans 6:3-8)

The basis is the statement of faith, that “old man is crucified with him”. As we believe this in our hearts and confess it with our mouths the spiritual reality of the Truth begins to manifest itself in our lives.

This is how salvation works, how healing works, or any other Truth that we take hold of and desire to see manifest in our lives and upon the earth. It starts as a confession on our lips and ends as a reality of the Nature of Christ formed within us. Martin Luther said this was fulfilment of what we expressed when we got baptised in water (Introduction to Romans).

The real experience of this truth in our lives, i.e. where the Word has become Flesh within and through us, delivers us from the power of sin, from the world and from the prince of the power of the air. This is real deliverance!

This is the wisdom of the cross demonstrating its power in our lives – not just an empty doctrine that is distant from our perception of reality! Praise the Lord for His Grace in our lives!

I think therefore I am?

2011-01-19T10:07:00.000+01:00

I think therefore I am - Descartes

This is the application of the scientific approach to philosophy – I only accept what I can prove. I can only prove that I exist – because I am aware that I think. Everything else could be an illusion.

This thinking places man at the centre of his provable universe. This thinking empowers not only mistrust towards God, but towards all creation and society – because there may be nothing else. The only way forward for him is to eat from the tree of good and evil – that is to decide for himself what is good and what is not good - out of his own perspective. This has now become the ultimate self-centered life! One who is so ensnared through this self-centeredness is led in a downward spiral towards a deepening reality of spiritual darkness – which leads to death.

And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16 – 17)

Where is the Gospel of the Kingdom?

2011-01-06T21:18:00.001+01:00

The Mega-Church Movement is moving forward with influence and power: Great packaging, professional entertainment and positive self-assuring messages, but where is the Gospel of the Kingdom and the evidence through accompanying Signs and Wonders? Is a pure and Holy Bride being prepared for the Coming of the King? Are disciples being produced that are willing to deny self, the world and confront and destroy the spiritual forces of darkness?
What was that thing called the Great Commission all about?
[Matt 23: 25 - 28]

http://vimeo.com/4521963

Habakkuk 1:5 (Amplified Bible) ⁵Look around among the nations and see! And be astonished! Astounded! For I am putting into effect a work in your days [such] that you would not believe it if it were told you.

The compromise with the World will bring forth the Judgement of the Lord on a people who call themselves by the name of the Lord but are actually misusing His Name to build a Kingdom of this world - that they can make their name great and enjoy the pleasures thereof:

Exodus 20:7

You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

2 Timothy 3 ¹BUT UNDERSTAND this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]. ²For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. ... ⁴[They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. ⁵For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].