"QUESTIONS"
....And when He [Jesus] left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him, to catch Him in something He might say.... Luke 11:53-54 NASB
"question" - an interrogative sentence calling for an answer; an inquiry;
In the earthly ministry of Jesus there were many who asked Him "questions". Some, such as His disciples, truly desired to know more about the Kingdom and the plan of God [most of the time - although they did slip into seeking after a position of prominence at least once] while others, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes attempted to trick Him into "blaspheming" their perception of how the law was to be perceived and carried out in - order to rid themselves of His "convicting" presence in their midst. It is the "motivation" behind questions that one must beware of. There are only two different potential motives behind each question that one would ask with regard to Truth and the Will of God : God-serving [righteous] or self-serving [unrighteous]. The one who is walking with their heart "wholly given" to the will of the Father and, thus, keeps their "spirit-man"[inner man] in dominance over their soul and body [flesh] will ALWAYS be able to discern the difference between the two.
Any "question" asked out of a Spirit of love and obedience ALWAYS has as its goal or motivation, a deeper knowledge of Gods Will - either individually or corporately speaking - where the Church and the Kingdom are concerned.
Any question asked out of a "spirit of fear" [pride or selfishness] ALWAYS has as its deepest motivation the "justification" of one's own actions [sin] and agenda. When one is confronted with a question that is posed [presented] out of a spirit of fear [unrighteous contention or self-exaltation] it must be met with "silence". It may not always be a "complete" silence. For it is certain that the Holy Spirit will give the words needed [if called for in that moment] to minister "light" to the questioner, in order that their "motives" [self-desire, and the self-agenda that is its spontaneous fruit] might be exposed, and that they might be led to the place wherein they are found seeking the will of the Father, alone.
Another danger behind a question asked by one influenced and motivated by pride or rebellion [unrighteousness] is that they are always seeking to "lead" the hearer into a perfect agreement with themselves [their "own" views or "revelation"]. This type of spiritual confrontation can [and most always does] produce great "pressure" - a pressure that if not resisted can lead one into compromising the will of God for their life and ministry.
Therefore, it is certain that we [those who are truly seeking first the Kingdom, and to be righteously motivated in ALL things] must take heed of the source [origin] of not just "questions", but of all the words that are spoken to us. We need to be established in the light [revelation] of God's Word that we might NEVER allow ourselves to be influenced by darkness or the fear of man - in any way. We also need to continually be found guarding our heart with ALL diligence in order that our hearts remain pure - so that we are not ignorant of any schemes of the Evil One against us - at any time. In these days, there are still those in the midst of the congregations who "allow" themselves to be used by the Evil One to attempt to confuse and trick those whom the Father has sent as "gifts" to His people and, of course, it is these ones that we must especially beware of. But to those who "ask" with "holy hearts": it is certain that God will give the necessary light and wisdom to meet the deepest need of their heart in that moment. Let us be those who stand ready to not only discern all things properly in the power of the Holy Spirit but also those who stand ready to deliver the perfect [necessary] word - in any given moment - that will set the captives free from their "own" pursuits.
Related Scriptures: Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 11:27-33; Mark 12:11-34; Luke 20:19-40; Mark 4:24-25; John 18:19-23; 2 Timothy 2:26; 2 Timothy 3:16-17;
Glenn H. Jackson
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Combines Are Coming...
Once I started seeing this religious spirit, which Penington's writings made so blatantly clear to me, I see it everywhere. The desire to be lifted up, to be in control, to be 'right' all the time. No meekness or humility to be found. The only thing I can work on, is rooting it out where it is hiding in me. We are blind if we can only see the errors in others, but cannot see ourselves. God is faithful to expose the works of darkness that are buried deep within, and bring them out into HIS light, dispelling them. I was reminded of a paper the Lord gave me a few years ago, 'The Combines Are Coming'
I believe that we are even now in the process of being cut-off from all that we have known, and being thrown up into the combine, that we might have the veil (chaff) removed and be able to see for the first time. Its a scary thing to experience, and a blessed thing at the same time. Many won't want to go on for the fear. It is very unsettling to see ourselves as we are, apart from God. If we are in need of humbling, seeing ourselves in our own righteous rags will do it. I pray that He will finish the work He has begun in us; that we be willing.
God bless,
cathy
I believe that we are even now in the process of being cut-off from all that we have known, and being thrown up into the combine, that we might have the veil (chaff) removed and be able to see for the first time. Its a scary thing to experience, and a blessed thing at the same time. Many won't want to go on for the fear. It is very unsettling to see ourselves as we are, apart from God. If we are in need of humbling, seeing ourselves in our own righteous rags will do it. I pray that He will finish the work He has begun in us; that we be willing.
God bless,
cathy
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Separating The Religious Flesh From The SPIRIT OF LIFE
Separating The Religious Flesh From The Spirit Life
“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 1:3-11.
Separating the religious flesh from the spirit life is the work the Holy Spirit performs within the heart of all who will surrender to HIM. All things, right up to the resurrection life, are at our disposal. We can be partakers… if we are willing to surrender everything in our life to God. At every step along the way, we can be confident that the religious flesh will loudly declare, “I am righteous!” “I have obeyed!” In an effort to keep the seeker blind in the area that the SPIRIT of LIFE requires us to lay down at the Master’s feet.
To grow up in Christ, is to partake of the divine nature; to be set free from all of our own desires and longings according to this life, and allow them to be replaced with the desires of God’s heart. The religious flesh is proud and confident in its own knowledge; quick to pass judgment. Brother Kevin in New Zealand recently shared a paper entitled ‘Divine Counsel and Warning,’ in which he stated:
“Mankind fell through gaining knowledge.
We all have to surrender knowledge back to Christ to walk in His Spirit of revelation and personal revival.
When knowledge remains dominant in us, and uses the written word to justify its existence, knowledge dominates the spirits rightful position in our hearts.
This is the cause of a stalemate within us, and largely prevents personal revival.
The fruit of this stalemate is defensiveness, being offended and using knowledge to justify ones self and the lack of the fire of the Holy Spirit.”
Our religious flesh glories in our knowledge about God, while our Spirit Life is completely satisfied and fulfilled in simply knowing HIM intimately. There is no more devious adversary than the religious flesh. Would that each one of us would examine our own hearts. “Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” 1 Corinthians 13:5-7. How quickly it becomes apparent that we are incapable of walking in this kind of love, in our own strength and understanding.
Contrary to what the religious spirit would have us believe, we cannot do one ‘acceptable’ thing for God… except... by His Spirit. Right now, we are all being tried and tested… so as by fire. It is very painful, even excruciating, which is why the religious flesh will avoid it as long as possible. We are all making choices every day, consciously and unconsciously. God is “Cleaning House.” And we are that house.
“This great clean up work will not only be the Lord coming forth with His angels to do that which He has promised to do but will also have a clean up work that we will be called on and expected to do as we have the veil removed and see much more clearly how we can work in being a better over comer. It will begin as the Lord has declared in Matt 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.
There will be some real decisions we will have to make as the Lord calls on us, showing us what to do. Also the word of the day will be…..TO REPENT, CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING. YOU HAVE NOT GONE THIS WAY BEFORE AND THAT WHICH IS BEFORE YOU IS THE AGE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Everyone from the greatest to the least among us will be called on to throw down at the feet of Jesus every word that we have idolized as truth, that is not. Many of these untruths are stumbling blocks thrown in our path to hinder our walk to Jesus and Jesus’ walk to us. We will be called on to make our path straight and level between us and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Guy Morris).
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.
“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” 1 John 1:6-10.
Not one of us is exempt from the influence of the religious spirit. It is part and parcel of the working of the god of this age. Yet we have the assurance that if we ask God to reveal it to us, HE WILL DO exactly that.
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” Matthew 21:22. Keep pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Know who your real adversary is, and that the battle is the Lord’s. May we walk in the Spirit of Life, and shun the Religious Flesh in all of its many disguises.
Amen & Amen
Cathy Morris
11/28/2010
“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 1:3-11.
Separating the religious flesh from the spirit life is the work the Holy Spirit performs within the heart of all who will surrender to HIM. All things, right up to the resurrection life, are at our disposal. We can be partakers… if we are willing to surrender everything in our life to God. At every step along the way, we can be confident that the religious flesh will loudly declare, “I am righteous!” “I have obeyed!” In an effort to keep the seeker blind in the area that the SPIRIT of LIFE requires us to lay down at the Master’s feet.
To grow up in Christ, is to partake of the divine nature; to be set free from all of our own desires and longings according to this life, and allow them to be replaced with the desires of God’s heart. The religious flesh is proud and confident in its own knowledge; quick to pass judgment. Brother Kevin in New Zealand recently shared a paper entitled ‘Divine Counsel and Warning,’ in which he stated:
“Mankind fell through gaining knowledge.
We all have to surrender knowledge back to Christ to walk in His Spirit of revelation and personal revival.
When knowledge remains dominant in us, and uses the written word to justify its existence, knowledge dominates the spirits rightful position in our hearts.
This is the cause of a stalemate within us, and largely prevents personal revival.
The fruit of this stalemate is defensiveness, being offended and using knowledge to justify ones self and the lack of the fire of the Holy Spirit.”
Our religious flesh glories in our knowledge about God, while our Spirit Life is completely satisfied and fulfilled in simply knowing HIM intimately. There is no more devious adversary than the religious flesh. Would that each one of us would examine our own hearts. “Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” 1 Corinthians 13:5-7. How quickly it becomes apparent that we are incapable of walking in this kind of love, in our own strength and understanding.
Contrary to what the religious spirit would have us believe, we cannot do one ‘acceptable’ thing for God… except... by His Spirit. Right now, we are all being tried and tested… so as by fire. It is very painful, even excruciating, which is why the religious flesh will avoid it as long as possible. We are all making choices every day, consciously and unconsciously. God is “Cleaning House.” And we are that house.
“This great clean up work will not only be the Lord coming forth with His angels to do that which He has promised to do but will also have a clean up work that we will be called on and expected to do as we have the veil removed and see much more clearly how we can work in being a better over comer. It will begin as the Lord has declared in Matt 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.
There will be some real decisions we will have to make as the Lord calls on us, showing us what to do. Also the word of the day will be…..TO REPENT, CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING. YOU HAVE NOT GONE THIS WAY BEFORE AND THAT WHICH IS BEFORE YOU IS THE AGE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Everyone from the greatest to the least among us will be called on to throw down at the feet of Jesus every word that we have idolized as truth, that is not. Many of these untruths are stumbling blocks thrown in our path to hinder our walk to Jesus and Jesus’ walk to us. We will be called on to make our path straight and level between us and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Guy Morris).
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.
“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” 1 John 1:6-10.
Not one of us is exempt from the influence of the religious spirit. It is part and parcel of the working of the god of this age. Yet we have the assurance that if we ask God to reveal it to us, HE WILL DO exactly that.
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” Matthew 21:22. Keep pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Know who your real adversary is, and that the battle is the Lord’s. May we walk in the Spirit of Life, and shun the Religious Flesh in all of its many disguises.
Amen & Amen
Cathy Morris
11/28/2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Hindrances To Fullness of Life
What God has made clean you must not call unholy. (Acts 10:15).
"Who was I that I could withstand God?" Now what we have here is that, over against the sovereignty of the Spirit, was the fixed tradition of Peter in the one case, and the same in the case of those at Jerusalem who "contended with him" for doing what he did. On a later occasion Peter fell into the same old traditional snare and Paul had to contend with him very strongly about it. The point is that the Lord was making for spiritual increase, but an obstacle encountered was this unpreparedness to leave room for the sovereignty of the Spirit. If a child or servant of God in his or her secret walk and history with God is led to move in a way that is not according to the recognized and established system, but new and different, and seemingly in violation of all the accepted and fixed conventions or associations, there is all too often a repetition of what took place in Jerusalem; a suspicion, a contention, and an opposition.
Now, dear friends, look here: we have got to take ourselves honestly in hand over this or we may be found to be "withstanding God" and "limiting the Holy One"... Do you not recognize that every movement of God down the ages has been in conflict with something that men believed to be the Divine order, and those concerned have been regarded as doing the Devil's work? It was so with Christ, and it was so with apostles. It has been so again and again when God has moved to enlarge His people by ignoring their fixed framework of custom. It is so easy to use thoughtless and misapplied slogans, or apply fragments of Scripture wrongly (such as, "By their fruits ye shall know them"). Very often such damaging dagger-thrusts are only because of a failure to give the Lord room and right to take some of His children by a way that is new, unusual, or very strange... So we see that for all enlargement and increase we must leave room for God to do new things, strange things, things that we cannot understand for the moment. We only put ourselves outside of His intention to enlarge spiritually if we bind Him to our own fixed judgments.
"Who was I that I could withstand God?" Now what we have here is that, over against the sovereignty of the Spirit, was the fixed tradition of Peter in the one case, and the same in the case of those at Jerusalem who "contended with him" for doing what he did. On a later occasion Peter fell into the same old traditional snare and Paul had to contend with him very strongly about it. The point is that the Lord was making for spiritual increase, but an obstacle encountered was this unpreparedness to leave room for the sovereignty of the Spirit. If a child or servant of God in his or her secret walk and history with God is led to move in a way that is not according to the recognized and established system, but new and different, and seemingly in violation of all the accepted and fixed conventions or associations, there is all too often a repetition of what took place in Jerusalem; a suspicion, a contention, and an opposition.
Now, dear friends, look here: we have got to take ourselves honestly in hand over this or we may be found to be "withstanding God" and "limiting the Holy One"... Do you not recognize that every movement of God down the ages has been in conflict with something that men believed to be the Divine order, and those concerned have been regarded as doing the Devil's work? It was so with Christ, and it was so with apostles. It has been so again and again when God has moved to enlarge His people by ignoring their fixed framework of custom. It is so easy to use thoughtless and misapplied slogans, or apply fragments of Scripture wrongly (such as, "By their fruits ye shall know them"). Very often such damaging dagger-thrusts are only because of a failure to give the Lord room and right to take some of His children by a way that is new, unusual, or very strange... So we see that for all enlargement and increase we must leave room for God to do new things, strange things, things that we cannot understand for the moment. We only put ourselves outside of His intention to enlarge spiritually if we bind Him to our own fixed judgments.
By T. Austin-Sparks from: Hindrances to Fullness of Life
Friday, November 26, 2010
Learning The Truth - T. Austin-Sparks
Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. (John 7:18).
You and I are going to face God sometime. We are going to come face to face with God literally in eternity and then the question is going to arise, Has God at any point failed us? Shall we be able, on any detail, to say, Lord, You failed me, You were not true to Your word? Such a position is unthinkable, that ever any being should be able to lay a charge like that at God's door, to have any question as to God's truth, reality, faithfulness. The Holy Spirit has been sent as the Spirit of truth to guide us into all the truth, so that there shall be no shadow whatever between God and ourselves as to His absolute faithfulness, His truth to Himself, and to all His word. The Holy Spirit has come for that. If that is true, then the Holy Spirit will deal with all disciples in the School of Christ to undercut everything that is not true, that is not genuine, to make every such disciple to stand upon a foundation which can abide before God in the day of His absolute and utter vindication. But in order that this may be so, you and I, under the Holy Spirit's teaching, have to be dealt with very faithfully, and have to come to the place where we are perfectly adjustable before God, where there is all responsiveness to the Holy Spirit, and nothing in us that resists or refuses the Holy Spirit, but where we are perfectly open and ready for the biggest consequence of the Holy Spirit putting His finger upon anything in our lives needing to be dealt with and adjusted. He is here for that.
The alternative to such a work of the Holy Spirit being allowed to be done in us is that we shall find ourselves in a false position, and it is far, far too costly to find ourselves in a false position, even though it only be on certain points. This is a false world we are living in, a world that is carried on upon lies. The whole constitution of this world is a lie, and it is in the very nature of man, though multitudes do not know it, but think they are true. They are trying to build the world on a false foundation. The Kingdom of God is altogether other. It is built upon Jesus Christ, the Truth.
You and I are going to face God sometime. We are going to come face to face with God literally in eternity and then the question is going to arise, Has God at any point failed us? Shall we be able, on any detail, to say, Lord, You failed me, You were not true to Your word? Such a position is unthinkable, that ever any being should be able to lay a charge like that at God's door, to have any question as to God's truth, reality, faithfulness. The Holy Spirit has been sent as the Spirit of truth to guide us into all the truth, so that there shall be no shadow whatever between God and ourselves as to His absolute faithfulness, His truth to Himself, and to all His word. The Holy Spirit has come for that. If that is true, then the Holy Spirit will deal with all disciples in the School of Christ to undercut everything that is not true, that is not genuine, to make every such disciple to stand upon a foundation which can abide before God in the day of His absolute and utter vindication. But in order that this may be so, you and I, under the Holy Spirit's teaching, have to be dealt with very faithfully, and have to come to the place where we are perfectly adjustable before God, where there is all responsiveness to the Holy Spirit, and nothing in us that resists or refuses the Holy Spirit, but where we are perfectly open and ready for the biggest consequence of the Holy Spirit putting His finger upon anything in our lives needing to be dealt with and adjusted. He is here for that.
The alternative to such a work of the Holy Spirit being allowed to be done in us is that we shall find ourselves in a false position, and it is far, far too costly to find ourselves in a false position, even though it only be on certain points. This is a false world we are living in, a world that is carried on upon lies. The whole constitution of this world is a lie, and it is in the very nature of man, though multitudes do not know it, but think they are true. They are trying to build the world on a false foundation. The Kingdom of God is altogether other. It is built upon Jesus Christ, the Truth.
T. Austin-Sparks
Divine Counsel and Warning
DIVINE COUNSEL AND WARNING
“Therefore, holy brothers, called to be partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus…” Hebrews 3:1.
We need the restoration of the true apostolic ministry as was established by Jesus and imparted from Him to His chosen and called apostles.
The apostolic ministry is the foundation that the true church, the body of Christ was established on.
Jesus Christ has not lost His victory or his power and He never told us we would have times of walking with out the fullness of His true ministry.
We are the limitation, not Christ. Waiting for revival implies that Christ is restrained in some way.
It is us who have strayed from the foundations that Jesus laid.
When we walk on the foundation of the rock who is Christ, we will see the restoration of His true glory.
Humans are and always will be the limitation to Christ’s true ministry being restored .
A word of warning for those who seek the restoration of the true ministry of Christ.
Consider the life of Jesus. Consider the knowledge He had of Gods kingdom, yet He was 30 years of age before He was called by God to serve in His ministry.
A problem we face today, is that many go early using the knowledge they have gained , but with out the fullness of Christ that is needed to truly serve.
Much of what is done today is academic, lacks true stronghold breaking authority, and because of this, tends to only reach existing christians.
To truly serve Christ is to reach the lost. To do this requires His full anointing . To receive this requires being in step with Christ’s plans and will for our lives.
We could spend years in our own ministry, using our knowledge to promote the truth of Christ, only to find out one day that this is the very thing Christ wants us to lay down in order to move on and truly serve Him.
There is only one true ministry, it is Christ and His authority manifest through us .
Mankind fell through gaining knowledge.
We all have to surrender knowledge back to Christ to walk in His Spirit of revelation and personal revival.
When knowledge remains dominant in us, and uses the written word to justify its existence, knowledge dominates the spirits rightful position in our hearts.
This is the cause of a stalemate within us, and largely prevents personal revival.
The fruit of this stalemate is defensiveness, being offended and using knowledge to justify ones self and the lack of the fire of the Holy Spirit .
It is in this way that the written word can be elevated and separated from the full anointing of the Holy Spirit.
All knowledge, even of scripture has to be surrendered back to Christ to bring personal revival and the restoration of the full anointing of Christ.
All knowledge has to be surrendered back to God to restore the relationship mankind had before the fall.
All knowledge of scripture has its true meaning revealed through Christ, the Spiritual Word of God.
His servant, Kevin
Brothers and Sisters:
Don’t get trapped short of the place Christ is leading you to.
Don’t get trapped into battling the works of the enemy before Christ has led you to your true destination in Him.
Be willing to lay down everything you think you know about what Christ wants you to do in this life.
Then we will see the restoration of Christ’s true ministry, with the signs and wonders confirming the authority that Christ gives to those who take up their cross and follow Him.
“Therefore, holy brothers, called to be partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus…” Hebrews 3:1.
We need the restoration of the true apostolic ministry as was established by Jesus and imparted from Him to His chosen and called apostles.
The apostolic ministry is the foundation that the true church, the body of Christ was established on.
Jesus Christ has not lost His victory or his power and He never told us we would have times of walking with out the fullness of His true ministry.
We are the limitation, not Christ. Waiting for revival implies that Christ is restrained in some way.
It is us who have strayed from the foundations that Jesus laid.
When we walk on the foundation of the rock who is Christ, we will see the restoration of His true glory.
Humans are and always will be the limitation to Christ’s true ministry being restored .
A word of warning for those who seek the restoration of the true ministry of Christ.
Consider the life of Jesus. Consider the knowledge He had of Gods kingdom, yet He was 30 years of age before He was called by God to serve in His ministry.
A problem we face today, is that many go early using the knowledge they have gained , but with out the fullness of Christ that is needed to truly serve.
Much of what is done today is academic, lacks true stronghold breaking authority, and because of this, tends to only reach existing christians.
To truly serve Christ is to reach the lost. To do this requires His full anointing . To receive this requires being in step with Christ’s plans and will for our lives.
We could spend years in our own ministry, using our knowledge to promote the truth of Christ, only to find out one day that this is the very thing Christ wants us to lay down in order to move on and truly serve Him.
There is only one true ministry, it is Christ and His authority manifest through us .
Mankind fell through gaining knowledge.
We all have to surrender knowledge back to Christ to walk in His Spirit of revelation and personal revival.
When knowledge remains dominant in us, and uses the written word to justify its existence, knowledge dominates the spirits rightful position in our hearts.
This is the cause of a stalemate within us, and largely prevents personal revival.
The fruit of this stalemate is defensiveness, being offended and using knowledge to justify ones self and the lack of the fire of the Holy Spirit .
It is in this way that the written word can be elevated and separated from the full anointing of the Holy Spirit.
All knowledge, even of scripture has to be surrendered back to Christ to bring personal revival and the restoration of the full anointing of Christ.
All knowledge has to be surrendered back to God to restore the relationship mankind had before the fall.
All knowledge of scripture has its true meaning revealed through Christ, the Spiritual Word of God.
His servant, Kevin
Brothers and Sisters:
Don’t get trapped short of the place Christ is leading you to.
Don’t get trapped into battling the works of the enemy before Christ has led you to your true destination in Him.
Be willing to lay down everything you think you know about what Christ wants you to do in this life.
Then we will see the restoration of Christ’s true ministry, with the signs and wonders confirming the authority that Christ gives to those who take up their cross and follow Him.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Be Reconciled To God...
Be Reconciled To God…
For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that if One died for all, then all died;
And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake.
Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a purely human point of view, in terms of natural standards of value.
No, even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now we have such knowledge of Him that we know Him no longer in terms of the flesh.
Therefore if any person is ingrafted in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation, a new creature altogether; the old, previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away.
Behold, the fresh and new has come!
But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself, received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation, that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him.
It was God personally present in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against men their trespasses, but cancelling them, and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).
So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We, as Christ's personal representatives, beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor now offered you and be reconciled to God.
For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin, Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of the righteousness of God… what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness ”
The Apostle Paul
2 Corinthians 5:14-21 [Amplified].
For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that if One died for all, then all died;
And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake.
Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a purely human point of view, in terms of natural standards of value.
No, even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now we have such knowledge of Him that we know Him no longer in terms of the flesh.
Therefore if any person is ingrafted in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation, a new creature altogether; the old, previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away.
Behold, the fresh and new has come!
But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself, received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation, that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him.
It was God personally present in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against men their trespasses, but cancelling them, and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).
So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We, as Christ's personal representatives, beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor now offered you and be reconciled to God.
For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin, Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of the righteousness of God… what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness ”
The Apostle Paul
2 Corinthians 5:14-21 [Amplified].
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Just What Is Being a Respecter of Persons?
We are charged, first and foremost, to Love GOD with all our heart and mind and soul, and then to love one another. We cannot do anything for God from our flesh or in our own strength and understanding. We are totally dependent upon HIM for the ability to do anything in a manner that is acceptable to HIM. We must love one another, but at the same time, we cannot be a respecter of persons. The moment we do that, we step on a slippery slope where we lose our footing and cannot regain our balance. We allow our opinions and emotions to enter in to the equation, and in that state we cannot clearly hear the voice of the spirit. We are always in danger of missing the mark. Religious spirits are just waiting for the smallest chink in our armour to open up so that they can enter in with all manner of self-justifications for wrong-doing. Sadly, we give them far too many opportunities.
“For there is no respect of persons (partiality, that is, favoritism) with God” Romans 2:11.
As we strive to die to our flesh, and walk in the Spirit, we are seeking, but we are still distracted by many things. While trying to bring our Doctrine in line with the Doctrine of Christ, we find our beliefs, our attitudes, our desires, are all being rearranged. We often find ourselves alone and cut off from the fellowship we once enjoyed with other believers. This isolation is in itself more than many can bear to endure. Along the way, we are connected with other souls that are seeking God in a deeper measure as well. This fellowship is sweet, and much needed, yet we must at all times remain true and focused on Christ, and not one another. There are multiple warnings or admonitions given in both the Old and the New Testaments, concerning our being a respecter of persons, which we would be wise to pay heed to. Consider these:
“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” Acts 10:34-35.
“And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons (favoritism, partiality) with him” Ephesians 6:9.
“But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons” Colossians 3:25.
“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons” James 2:1. “But if ye have respect to persons (to favor an individual, show partiality), ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” James 2:9-10.
“And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” 1 Peter 1:17.
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” 1 Peter 1:22.
“These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage” Jude 1:16.
“Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee” Deuteronomy 16:19-20.
“And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts” 2 Chronicles 19:6-7.
“These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment” Proverbs 24:23.
I found the information I shared on 'Bonds' to be a real eye-opener. Between the bonds we form with others, attacks from religious spirits, and being a respecter of persons, we should clearly realize that in our own strength we cannot overcome, that we know nothing yet as we ought, and that we are dependent upon God to cleanse and transform us into His sons and daughters.
I heard an analogy back in the 70's; a brother shared that the Lord had shown him that when God gives us warnings, it is not always in a booming voice with gongs clanging... There are railroad crossing warnings, with flashing lights and gates that drop down to block forward progress. Trains blow their whistles, it’s hard to miss the signs. Then there are traffic lights.
If you are driving down the street and come to an intersection, you can see that the light is red, warning you to stop. However it is a very simple thing to pull down your visor or put your hand up and block that red light from your field of vision. You can then run right through that intersection, and if no one else is coming the other way, you may make it. However, it is more likely that you will be broadsided by the traffic running with the green light. Warnings are there to protect, not to find a way of blocking or getting around. Point of the message was simply, it is the easiest thing in the world to disregard or not 'see' a warning from God. We can be willfully blind. We have to be receptive and listening. We have to be ‘willing’ to receive correction, and heed God’s warning to us.
I have certainly been learning a lot these past weeks, and not in a manner that I would have chosen. But I trust God that He is doing a work in all of us, and since He is the Potter and we are the clay, I choose to accept all these things as from His hand. "Not my will, but thine be done."
God bless,
Cathy
Just What Is Being a Respecter of Persons?
“For there is no respect of persons (partiality, that is, favoritism) with God” Romans 2:11.
As we strive to die to our flesh, and walk in the Spirit, we are seeking, but we are still distracted by many things. While trying to bring our Doctrine in line with the Doctrine of Christ, we find our beliefs, our attitudes, our desires, are all being rearranged. We often find ourselves alone and cut off from the fellowship we once enjoyed with other believers. This isolation is in itself more than many can bear to endure. Along the way, we are connected with other souls that are seeking God in a deeper measure as well. This fellowship is sweet, and much needed, yet we must at all times remain true and focused on Christ, and not one another. There are multiple warnings or admonitions given in both the Old and the New Testaments, concerning our being a respecter of persons, which we would be wise to pay heed to. Consider these:
“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” Acts 10:34-35.
“And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons (favoritism, partiality) with him” Ephesians 6:9.
“But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons” Colossians 3:25.
“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons” James 2:1. “But if ye have respect to persons (to favor an individual, show partiality), ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” James 2:9-10.
“And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” 1 Peter 1:17.
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” 1 Peter 1:22.
“These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage” Jude 1:16.
“Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee” Deuteronomy 16:19-20.
“And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts” 2 Chronicles 19:6-7.
“These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment” Proverbs 24:23.
I found the information I shared on 'Bonds' to be a real eye-opener. Between the bonds we form with others, attacks from religious spirits, and being a respecter of persons, we should clearly realize that in our own strength we cannot overcome, that we know nothing yet as we ought, and that we are dependent upon God to cleanse and transform us into His sons and daughters.
I heard an analogy back in the 70's; a brother shared that the Lord had shown him that when God gives us warnings, it is not always in a booming voice with gongs clanging... There are railroad crossing warnings, with flashing lights and gates that drop down to block forward progress. Trains blow their whistles, it’s hard to miss the signs. Then there are traffic lights.
If you are driving down the street and come to an intersection, you can see that the light is red, warning you to stop. However it is a very simple thing to pull down your visor or put your hand up and block that red light from your field of vision. You can then run right through that intersection, and if no one else is coming the other way, you may make it. However, it is more likely that you will be broadsided by the traffic running with the green light. Warnings are there to protect, not to find a way of blocking or getting around. Point of the message was simply, it is the easiest thing in the world to disregard or not 'see' a warning from God. We can be willfully blind. We have to be receptive and listening. We have to be ‘willing’ to receive correction, and heed God’s warning to us.
I have certainly been learning a lot these past weeks, and not in a manner that I would have chosen. But I trust God that He is doing a work in all of us, and since He is the Potter and we are the clay, I choose to accept all these things as from His hand. "Not my will, but thine be done."
God bless,
Cathy
Following The Glory - James Jarjou
FOLLOWING THE GLORY
THE MYSTERY OF THE WORK OF THE GLORY
The Glory of the Eternal Divine Being is the magnificent expression of HIS DIVINE NATURE, which is a realm of Eternal Joy, and unspeakable Happiness independent of any created thing. It is the Divine Power, which connects both the Adamic and Angelic creation IN TO THE DIVINE NATURE. In reality, is a Divine force of attraction which takes the affections and desires, of both the Adamic and Angelic creation, into the Creator. Without the Glory, there can be no True hunger of the heavenly Life. The absence of the Glory, is always a result of seeking Joy somewhere outward, independent, of THE HOLY DIVINE NATURE. The Glory is accompanied with divine revelation. The Glory of the Eternal being, in itself varies in degrees, depending, on the degree of death; we partake in removing our affections, in outward and created things.
To make a Few points about the Glory:
1. The Glory reveals the nature of Christ or HIS KINGDOM, with its Eternal Riches.
2. The Glory, is in levels, and is proportional, to the Level of death of our self Lives.
3. The appearing of the Glory is always a Call, to enter Higher Glory.
THE POWER IN THE GLORY
With the evidence, and undisputable Truth from the Scriptures, it is solidly clear that, there were many things the LORD was teaching HIS disciples, which they never understood until HE WAS GLORIFIED. Now the question is when was this GLORIFICATION? Some will not hesitate, to tell us, it was the Outward death, HE personally went through Calvary. This is partly True, because the ETERNAL GLORY was only manifested to the Adamic creation, Because of HIS death on the cross. Yet, on the final minute HE gave up HIS last Breath, the disciples where still hiding in a room. The resurrection on the third day, met them still in spiritual blindness, of the Eternal Glory. Though, there was a manifestation, and a measure OF HIS GLORY, when HE personally appears among them, after the resurrection, yet there was still a high measure of spiritual Blindness. Nothing can be plainer than this truth, when HE answered Peter, about the Disciple whom HE LOVED after HIS resurrection:
“Jesus saith unto him, if I come, what is that to thee? follow me . Then went this saying among the the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet JESUS said not unto him, he shall not die, but if I will tarry till I come what is that to thee” (John 21v 21-23 ).
“When they therefore were come together, they asked of HIM , saying LORD will thou at this time again restore the Kingdom to Israel? And HE said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Heavenly Father has put in HIS OWN power” (Acts 1v6-7).
The immaturity and carnality of the disciples, even after the resurrection, is practically clear from the above scriptures. We will not waist our time here, with the many infallible proofs, that it was not until they tarried to wait, on the upper room that A HIGHER GLORY OF THE LORD became manifest within their lives, practically, from the Day of Pentecost. These timid, fearful, and spiritual blind believers became the Lions, with prophetic insight, about the kingdom, from the Day of Pentecost. Whole abominable sinful Nations, where changed, from the Power of The Glory of Pentecost, within these tiny uneducated believers. Oh that a blind Christendom, will stop dishonoring, the Power and the Glory of the Cross, with endless theologies and dogmas, about what Christ accomplished for us on the Cross, while denying the call, to enter and Follow HIM in denying the lust of the flesh, the pride of Life, and seeking HIM, in unceasing prayers and occasional fasting. There is no Glory, without Communion and intimacy with the LORD. The History of the Church, is full of yielded vessels, who after partaking a measure of the daily cross, influenced, the conversion of whole communities and Nations, with simple anointed messages, because of the coming of a measure of the Eternal Glory, within their individual lives.
Have you ever wondered, why with Just a simple word, the LORD called HIS disciples to forsake family, friends and profession to Follow HIM? It was the manifestation of the Glory, which made the difference. The Power in HIS words where accompanied, with a manifestation of HIS Glory, to HIS Chosen ones. They easily follow HIM, not without Pain in the flesh, but the Joy in the Spirit so far superseded, the Pain in the Flesh, that they heeded the Call. Who is so unwise, to think that it was so easy in the flesh, for the disciples to forsake all and follow HIM? They will not have cry to HIM, “Behold we Forsake all”.
It is solidly recorded, in the history of the Church, about men and women who in the period of their martyrdom, jubilate and sang songs of adoration, as they say farewell, to a corrupted and a cursed generation. My Brother and Sisters, it was the Manifestation, of a measure of the Eternal Glory, which made the difference. Of the Holy, Saintly, Stephen the Martyr, it was recoded in the scriptures:
“But He being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into Heaven and SAW THE GLORY OF GOD, and JESUS standing on the Right hand of God, And Said Behold I see Heaven Opened and the SON OF MAN standing on the right HAND OF GOD. Then they Cried with a Loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witness laid their clothes at a young mans feet, whose name was Saul.
And they Stoned Stephen, Calling upon God, and Saying, Lord JESUS receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a LOUD voice LORD lay not this to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7v55-60).
Friends, these Victorious martyrs show, the Glory, not just with the Natural eye, but their spirits, where in communion with the Heavenly kingdom, in a higher altitude of Divine consolation. Nothing was important in that hour, but HIS PERFECT WILL. With the practical evidence of this discussion, it is should be so clear, that the so called prosperity Gospel , worldliness , wild music , Carnal Dancing and that Abominable fleshy carnal practice called Christian Dating, in “Christians Gatherings” etc, is a sign of the Departure of the Glory. What can keep our sensual and worldly youths, with Fretful Elders, in endless meetings and programs? With the departure of the Glory, only Entertainment, and smooth words from sensual preachers can keep this religious activities alive.
One morning of these days, in a hurry of knowing the Latest message from my email, I was depressed by an abominable email, from of one of those so -called Christian Nations title, “Can a Homosexual be Christian”. Imagine someone to ask you, is Satan Godly? I will make a General plead to every Christian I know, never to forward me such an abominable email. The best I can do for such Professing Christians is to invite them, in our heathen Nation, and take them to a heathen, to preach them the Counsel of God in that matter. After that, they can pack and Go Home. It is of these Insane debate the Apostle wrote “But shun profane and Vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness ” (2timothy2v 16).
When the Glory departs from the “Church” at Large, the world changed the Church from its original Callings, into its methods and Systems. Should the Glory return to the “Church” at Large, the World will either be influence to Godliness through the “Church”, or it will remain a separate entity from it. How can two work together except they agreed, never can it be. When the Glory Depart the “Church” agree with the world, but when the Glory return the World will either agree with the Church, or remain separate from it.
POSSESSING THE GLORY
“And behold, one came and said unto him, Good master what shall I do that I may have eternal Life? And HE said unto him why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God (Note HE was not saying HE is not Good, but HE was asking on what ground is HE calling HIM good, knowing that he did not recognize HIM as God) but if thou will enter into LIFE keep the commandment. He Saith unto him, which? JESES said, thou shall do no murder, thou shall not commit Adultery, thou shall not steal, thou shall not bear false witness, honour thy father and mother: and, thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man , saith unto HIM, all these have I kept from my youth up: WHAT LACK I YET. JESUS, said unto him if thou will be perfect go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shall have treasures in Heaven and come and follow me. But when the Man heard these sayings, He went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. ” (Matthew 19v 16-22).
The Story above is a thrilling amazing story, of a hungry young rich man. He knew the Glory of the Old covenant, in keeping the moral Law, but knew something was still lacking. He needed a higher glory to enter perfect Peace . We know, there are quite a majority of professing Christian who did not know, there is a Glory in keeping, even the moral Law of God , through the natural gifts of Long suffering , bestow on all the Adamic creation, even after the Fall. It is on this Witness, Gods judges and destroys whole Nations which trample the Moral Law, all over the Old Testament, and even the New Testament. (Read Luke 10v 13-15, Luke 13v1-5). No Sober man, will ague the fact that HIV Aids, and many others diseases are a result of trampling the moral Law, by a Vain and shameless Generation. This has nothing at all to do with possessing Eternal Life, but it attract God mercy and protection, within a certain community of people.
This Young Rich man is an example of someone who Gain a measure of victory and possessing a measure of the Glory, in deny excess youthful lusts and Vanity but Lost a Higher Eternal Glory; because the price was so costly.
1. The Former dealt with the outward practical sins the latter deals with the Root of every rebellion and self dependence of God.
2. In the former, his hope of survival was practical, because of the visible riches, while in the Latter, his hope of survival was going to be daily trusting God, for the Supply of His needs.
3. In the former, His godliness could easily be proven, by his material possession, while the Latter his godliness will hardly be vindicated, in a materialistic world.
4. The former divided His heart, while the latter will unite His heart wholly to God.
5. The former, will have attracted so many friends, because of the riches, while the latter will send all the many flattering friends away.
These are some of the things, this young man practically knew were to befall him, if he had responded to the call. Now, all the many years of the former Glory was lost, after rejecting the Call for a Higher Glory. How many times, has the LORD with Eternal mercy of compassion, strives with a lot of HIS Children, to forsake all, even the former blessings HE bestow on them, to start afresh with HIM, in Child like dependence, just to received a Sadden Face like the young rich ruler; from blind, Carnal children. We can run in to programs, conferences, books and like the young rich man crying “LORD what is lacking in my Life, I have not committed any practical sins but look how dry I am, I want more of you,” but when the mind of God, becomes manifest in calling us to walk the unknown and the unpredictable, we calmly disappear covering our nakedness with religious figs, in forms of activities and programs. A few respond, just to later return to their religious Vomit, though mostly with hidden evil agendas, with only a tiny minority making it through.
One thing about the Heavenly Glory, it can only remain at the fixed divine appointed time. It is always onward. We can only follow it in increasing magnitude by a continual dying to our self life, in following the mind of the Spirit, or we will lose it. There is a traditional saying so common among Pentecostals that, new converts are always Zealous for the LORD. The Truth is, there is always an unspeakable joy, when any new measure of HIS glory is being experienced. This is what makes the difference. Along the Line in most of Gods people, this Heavenly experience, becomes replaced by mere meetings, programs, and doctrines which only feed the mind and not the spirit. Revelation is lost and so the Glory departs The Scripture makes it so clear that we are to change, in to HIS Image from one measure of HIS glory into another, not just one (2corinthians 3v18).
THE MANIFESTATION OF THE GLORY
“And HE saith unto them all, If any man come after me , let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it : but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantage, if he gain the whole world and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the son of man be ashamed, when he shall come (the manifestation) IN HIS OWN GLORY, AND IN HIS FATHER AND OF THE HOLY ANGELS” (Luke 9v 23 -26).
Our Traditional interpretation of the above quoted scripture only point this wonderful truth, to those plain outright sinners .Those still in the curse, who shall without dispute, drop in the Eternal Fire of Hell if they do not repent. Yes this is inclusive, but it goes far, far deeper than that. This speaks of the Daily life of the true believer, as he partake a measure of:
1. DENYING SELF:
This is what it means to partake in the Dead of the Cross. Our selfish nature is evil and so contrary to the Divine Nature which is Governed by a Life of meekness, purity, and joy in the Holy Ghost. If we are to keep the Glory of the LORD, and move with it to a higher Glory, we must cease from our defensive self, and patiently seek the Mind or will of God , in everything. It is so humbling to the Flesh, to be Governed by the Spirit. In the Death of the Cross, we experience the shame or offence of the cross in the flesh. At many times we must appear foolish and childish to a world, totally governed by the Natural senses. This is the Offence of the Cross. And the apostle wrote “For I think that God has set us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ sake, but ye are wise in Christ (these where not fully going through death and so appear wise to the world), but ye are strong: ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place. And labour working with our hands: being reviled we bless: being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed we intreat: WE ARE MADE AS THE FILTH OF THE WORLD , AND ARE THE OFFSCORING OF ALL THINGS UNTO THIS DAY” (2Corinthians 4v 9-13 ). Before Glory we must start through death, daily.
2. LOSING OR SELF LIVES:
In losing our lives, we enter the Burial after Death. This is the divine Consolation we receive from the Father after dying to self in obeying the Mind of God; what was at one point a pain in the flesh, in obeying the voice of HIS Spirit, becomes a normal daily activity. Paul was partaking in the burial when he wrote “I glory in infirmities , weakness’ etc ” for HE knew until He abandond himself to the LORD in ceasing from his own works, he can never know the power of the Cross. At this point our affection is completely in nothing but the will of the Heavenly Father. This is the divine union, where our self live submits to be possessed and lead by the Holy Spirit in all things.
This was why the LORD made it clear, if we are ashamed of this divine progressive work in following Him Through death and burial, we can never partake HIS resurrection or glory . This is what it means for HIM to be ashamed of us.
HIS RESSURECTION OR APPERING IN GLORY
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the SON OF MAN BE ASHAMED, WHEN HE SHALL COME IN HIS GLORY, AND HIS FATHER AND OF THE HOLY ANGELS” (Luke 9v26).
From the preceding scripture above we can find HIS APPEARING or the Glory of His resurrection can be in three, we have:
1. HIS COMING IN HIS OWN GLORY
2. HIS COMING IN HIS FATHER
3. HIS COMING IN HIS HOLY ANGELS
1. HIS COMING IN HIS OWN GLORY
HIS coming in HIS own glory is the manifestation of HIS GLORY in a human bodily form, in revealing a measure of HIS GLORY TO HIS CHILDREN. HIS earthly day in Israel is an example of the Manifestation of HIS glory in body form. It is true that many saw his body, but the Glory was not reveal to them. When the LORD visits us through a bodily Form, if it we are to partake in HIS GLORY there must be an immediate inward revelation of a measure of HIS Glory, though we see HIM without our Body. Any glorified appearance of the LORD is always within our spirits; but HE does this to communicate to our senses using even our natural eyes, to see a symbolic of the HOLY HEVEANLY Glory. A True bodily visitation of the LORD, reveals HIS holy pure nature within us, and there is always a deep cry within our spirits to be conformed to HIS image; IN RIGHTEOUNESS AND HOLINESS. This visitation can either be in dreams, visions or a point where our natural eyes see this symbolic Visitation. This type of visitation has been a comfort to many Saints, after Going through a period of death, and burial of the Cross. The LORD uses this mighty visitation to strengthen and keep them moving. The LORD does not use this mechanism to speak to all of HIS Children, a reason only known to HIM.
2. HIS COMING IN HIS FATHER
In the Glory of this type of Heavenly Visitation, the LORD directly speaks to our spirit, without the aid of any instrument or bodily visitation. In this Kind of visitation HE reveal himself as the Creator , and the oneness of the Son and the Father become revealed into our spirits. Our spirit becomes so submissive to the HOLY SPIRIT that without any audible Voice, a spiritual understanding of the Kingdom becomes revealed to our spirits. In this type of visitation, Heavenly mysteries become revealed to our spirits, within a short period of time. This is accompanied with unspeakable joy of Glory. This manner of Visitation could also be audible but no image is seen.
3. HIS COMING IN HIS ANGELS
This is the point the LORD uses to speak to HIS children through Instruments. It could literally be Angels, Human vessels, Scriptures , books, nature etc. This is the Most widely form of communication the LORD uses to speak to HIS children. Yes, if it is HIM speaking into the spirit, there is always a manifestation of HIS Glory in it. This method of Divine Leading is not to be confused with the natural human wisdom, people gain from reading books written by saints, Scripture or listening to Preachers without a revelation in the spirit. There is always a glory in any new Truth which is revealed into our spirits, in any of the means above. Many Modern Evangelists have made the so called sinners prayer a doctrine, but my friend, if the Holy Spirit did not communicate to their spirits and reveal a measure of the Glory, they will ever remain strangers to the new covenant.
There is no True new covenant fellowship with believers, though we gather together in the body, if the Holy Spirit does not communicate our spirits. Nothing can keep True body fellowship, with the freedom of contribution of every member under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, but the presence of the Glory.
When I remember a few years ago, how the LORD directed us to different Christian fellowship. Every New connection under the direction of the LORD was always glorious. Oh how many times, have we felt a little measure of the Glory, in our new found fellowship group even with all the darkness and imperfection? The LORD never allows us to see the Darkness in the initial stage lest that becomes a stumbling block. Yes we were promoters of preachers; we were made to believe “The man of God” is to be treated with extreme honor and adoration. Out of a pure motive we accepted those abominable teachings, thinking we are pleasing the LORD. We saw both the poor and rich, give and give to these preachers and we taught it was a counsel from heaven, “that the man of God should be enriched”, while the poor and the widow remain obscure and forgotten, . Yet at the appointed time the Glory departed from us for a higher invitation. We hardly knew it was an invitation. The LORD first helps us see the darkness we never saw before.
Sometimes we receive bitterness and criticism when we rebuked the evil spirit of fashion, because the LORD helps us see it was wrong. Oh the pain of saying Farewell to all and follow the unknown.
I use this personal testimony to help us see the Basis of fellowship. New covenant fellowship is a divine communion of our father through other members in speaking to our spirits. When the purpose of these is accomplished, the temptation is always to idolize the Gifts He bestow on us while forgetting the Giver. A doctrine and an Idol is often made after every manifestation of HIS gifts. The results in the departure of the Glory, and if we did not follow it in denying ourselves and ceasing from our own works, every evil work will be manifested in the very gathering which was directed by the LORD. Spiritual wisdom will be given to us on how we are to keep the Glory and how to follow a higher measure in the unknown and unpredictable, if we do not drop our daily cross, in death and burial.
James Jarjou
Gambia, Africa
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Christ's Approval and Acceptance
Christ’s Approval and Acceptance
As we partake of the love of the Father – on a daily basis – we gain an “abiding” revelation of the fact that we already have his perfect approval and acceptance in Christ.
...."But a throng came together again, so that Jesus and His disciples could not even take food. And when those who belonged to Him [His kinsmen] heard it, they went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of His mind - beside Himself, deranged!......... Then His mother and brothers came, and standing outside they sent word to Him, calling [for] Him. And a crowd was sitting around Him,, and they said to Him, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside, asking for you. And He replied, Who are My mother and My brothers? And looking around on those who sat in a circle about Him, He said, See! Here are My mother and My brothers, for whoever does the things God wills is My brother, and sister, and mother!".... Mark 3:20-21, 31-35 Amplified Translation
Jesus warned us many times in His earthly ministry not to allow ANY earthly relationships to ever transcend our relationship with God. There are still many in the church who have little understanding of the fact that Jesus was/is not trying to demean the importance of our earthly relationships but rather bring them to the place wherein we would continually experience the fullness of the Father's intended blessing in all of them - from family, marriage and children to friends, and even the people on the streets of our cities. Jesus said, "Who are my fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers but those who do the will of God!" He was a true servant - one who continually had His priorities straight. Because He was in continual right-standing with the Father [as we should be] His "inner man" was continually in a place of dominance [authority] over His soul [mind, will emotions] and body, and this "allowed" Him to continually bring the love and blessing of the Father into the lives of all those who crossed His path. Our call as the Body of Christ is to be a perfect extension of this very thing and so we, too, must rise above the "fear of man" - and the pursuit of the "approval" [even praise] that is extended by those who we will "compromise" our walk to agree with in some form to obtain it. In this time, the Father [through a continually deeper working of the Cross] is "wresting" any remaining vestiges or ground of self-sufficiency and mistrust [rooted in the fear of failure and disapproval of "flesh and blood"] from the hearts of all those who truly love Him. In just the same way that Satan spends an entire lifetime seeking to "transfer" his fear [through the continual bombardment of the mind with his lies], pride [arrogance] and self-sufficiency [independence] into our lives - the Father desires to "transfer" His precious and tender love and "trustworthiness" [faithfulness] into our hearts. As we partake of the love of the Father - on a daily basis - we gain an "abiding" revelation of the fact that we ALREADY have his perfect approval and acceptance in Christ and, thus, all striving before man ceases and we can THEN move forth in the true boldness and "God-assurance" that allows us to continually walk above the "fear of man". This sets us free from the BONDAGE of seeking the approval and acceptance of anyone apart from the Heavenly Father [through our obedience and heart-desire to please Him]. If one seeks after the acceptance and approval of "flesh and blood" to ANY degree then quite simply they are a "compromise" going somewhere to happen. It is only from this position of perfect deliverance from the "fear of man" that we are truly free to do ALL that we are called to do. It is also in this position that His precious and perfect abiding love continually casts out ALL fear. Not only in us but as we, ourselves, are free - in all those who cross our path that truly desire to be free themselves.
"wrest" - to pull or force away;
Related Scriptures:
Matthew 10:34-39 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Galatians 2:10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
1 John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him, because he first loved us.
Glenn H. Jackson
link to source
As we partake of the love of the Father – on a daily basis – we gain an “abiding” revelation of the fact that we already have his perfect approval and acceptance in Christ.
...."But a throng came together again, so that Jesus and His disciples could not even take food. And when those who belonged to Him [His kinsmen] heard it, they went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of His mind - beside Himself, deranged!......... Then His mother and brothers came, and standing outside they sent word to Him, calling [for] Him. And a crowd was sitting around Him,, and they said to Him, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside, asking for you. And He replied, Who are My mother and My brothers? And looking around on those who sat in a circle about Him, He said, See! Here are My mother and My brothers, for whoever does the things God wills is My brother, and sister, and mother!".... Mark 3:20-21, 31-35 Amplified Translation
Jesus warned us many times in His earthly ministry not to allow ANY earthly relationships to ever transcend our relationship with God. There are still many in the church who have little understanding of the fact that Jesus was/is not trying to demean the importance of our earthly relationships but rather bring them to the place wherein we would continually experience the fullness of the Father's intended blessing in all of them - from family, marriage and children to friends, and even the people on the streets of our cities. Jesus said, "Who are my fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers but those who do the will of God!" He was a true servant - one who continually had His priorities straight. Because He was in continual right-standing with the Father [as we should be] His "inner man" was continually in a place of dominance [authority] over His soul [mind, will emotions] and body, and this "allowed" Him to continually bring the love and blessing of the Father into the lives of all those who crossed His path. Our call as the Body of Christ is to be a perfect extension of this very thing and so we, too, must rise above the "fear of man" - and the pursuit of the "approval" [even praise] that is extended by those who we will "compromise" our walk to agree with in some form to obtain it. In this time, the Father [through a continually deeper working of the Cross] is "wresting" any remaining vestiges or ground of self-sufficiency and mistrust [rooted in the fear of failure and disapproval of "flesh and blood"] from the hearts of all those who truly love Him. In just the same way that Satan spends an entire lifetime seeking to "transfer" his fear [through the continual bombardment of the mind with his lies], pride [arrogance] and self-sufficiency [independence] into our lives - the Father desires to "transfer" His precious and tender love and "trustworthiness" [faithfulness] into our hearts. As we partake of the love of the Father - on a daily basis - we gain an "abiding" revelation of the fact that we ALREADY have his perfect approval and acceptance in Christ and, thus, all striving before man ceases and we can THEN move forth in the true boldness and "God-assurance" that allows us to continually walk above the "fear of man". This sets us free from the BONDAGE of seeking the approval and acceptance of anyone apart from the Heavenly Father [through our obedience and heart-desire to please Him]. If one seeks after the acceptance and approval of "flesh and blood" to ANY degree then quite simply they are a "compromise" going somewhere to happen. It is only from this position of perfect deliverance from the "fear of man" that we are truly free to do ALL that we are called to do. It is also in this position that His precious and perfect abiding love continually casts out ALL fear. Not only in us but as we, ourselves, are free - in all those who cross our path that truly desire to be free themselves.
"wrest" - to pull or force away;
Related Scriptures:
Matthew 10:34-39 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Galatians 2:10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
1 John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him, because he first loved us.
Glenn H. Jackson
link to source
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Bonds That Hinder
Bonds That Hinder
Perhaps the greatest hindrance to the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in this hour can be expressed in a single word; bonds. The existence of these bonds have been the greatest deterrent to the maturing and subsequent manifestation of the sons of God.
It is Satan’s intent to keep God’s sons from functioning in the realm of the spirit. As the sons of God, we must walk free; we must understand how we have been fettered.
"The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows. The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked." Psa 129:3-4 We are talking about “cords” that bind; “cords” that keep you from becoming.
Bonds that exist between people can be a source of some of the greatest detriment to our spiritual growth. Bonds are a function of our soul, and that is what makes them so dangerous. They are created through sympathy, obligation, expectations, fear, physical exchanges, anger; and a host of other emotional responses or reactions.
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household” Mat 10:34-36.
What is Christ speaking of here? He is speaking of bonds; of the relationships born out of obligation and sympathy. He is also addressing the principle of being unequally yoked. He is speaking about the detriment bonds can have for a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
You may have thought that Christ meant something more “literal” with this scripture; that it could literally be your own household? Very possible; however what Christ is really addressing are the bonds of relationships that we have – specifically the unequally yoked relationships of the soul.
The more we understand the principles that govern the realm of the spirit; the more we will move into a functional relationship in the spirit. As a people we are called to be “in the world”, but “not of it”. We are also admonished to “be all things to all people,” yet neither of these are possible until we have understood and experienced how the bonds we form with others affect us. Instead of carrying the power to create and release, soul-bonds carry the ability to demean, intimidate and destroy.
“But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” Gal 5:15-16. Paul was dealing with several issues in the Galatian church because the relationships that existed in the church were on the wrong level. The bickering and arguing began to take a toll on the people within that church. You had those who were reaching into a deeper walk in the spirit, only to find their energy siphoned off by those walking according to the flesh, or soul. This problem faced Paul not only in Galatia, but in most of the churches.
Most everyone living today functions from the soul; people don’t really know any other way of relating. What is the buzz word used so often these days… “bonding.” “Having a time of bonding.” There has not been any real understanding or teaching of the difference between spirit and soul.
It is very simple; if you walk in the spirit, as the word speaks, then you truly will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Romans 8:4). Your relationships and the mode of your relating will be spiritually grounded.
For those who are walking into this day of spirit, there is a growing awareness and sensitivity coming. People are beginning to become more aware of this issue of bonds. They are beginning to sense and feel the existence of bonds within their life, even if they have not known what to call it.
Paul saw the great jeopardy of bonds within the churches.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” 2 Cor 6:14-18.
There is no bond that is good, for bonds are a function of the soul – not the spirit. As long as bonds exist then your ability to see and to hear are blocked. Simple. If you do not achieve this then you are constantly hindered with the oppression of another that hinders your spiritual sight. You cannot carry the baggage of the soul and enter into a spiritual oneness with Christ. If you want to be one with the Lord; you must break the bonds you have had that you might rise and experience a ‘spiritual oneness’ with Christ.
We have spoken many times about knowing who you are. This is crucial because the Lord wants you to know who you are – and who He is within you. The tremendous jeopardy of bonds is that they bring you to the point where you cannot know yourself. Why is that? Because bonds block your spiritual sensitivity. It is like taking a walk on a beautiful day except the clouds are out blocking the sun.
So often, the thought you carry are not yours. The oppression you feel; not yours. You are carrying that which has been transferred upon you. And your ability to see the Lord and commune with Him in hindered to the degree that you are still fettered with the bonds you carry. As shocking as this may sound, the truth is that 90% of your problems are not your own. You many think not; but you haven’t realized how much you have been under as the worlds of evil have sought to keep you under a cloud of oppression.
Our progress in God does not depend so much upon our efforts “to become” as upon our ability to cut the cords and the anchors that have held us back. And what are these cords and anchors? The bonds we carry.
Let’s go back to 2nd Corinthians for a moment.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” 2 Cor 6:14-18.
Paul was pointing out the problems with bonds. As long as your relationships are born of the soul – born of insecurities, needs, wants, expectations, or obligations, then you have linked yourself to those individuals and all of the baggage that they carry. That is a bit sobering!
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” James 4:8.
So, what do bonds do? They cloud and inhibit your awareness, they block your oneness in the Spirit, and they yoke you into the double mindedness of the very one with whom you are bound to. It may not be your double mindedness, but that does not matter. If you are bonded to them, then it will have your address on it as well (James 1:8).
It can seem relatively easy to discern or identify the obvious relationships you might have that are incorrectly feeding off of you, but the real issue lies at being able to discern the bonds that you are not aware of. This takes some real perception to understand how you are relating and how you are allowing yourself to be related to which is creating these relationships on the wrong level.
If bonds continue unchecked and un-dealt with, then you can count on the fact that your ability to see and function in the realm of spirit will be seriously hindered. For those who have not had much teaching on the existence of bonds, it can be very difficult to discern them. That is how subtle this is. That is why you must guard your eyesight – for walking in the spirit takes a great deal of sight.
We need to understand the far reaching ramifications of bonds or soul level relationships and how easy it has been for the satanic powers to hinder and significantly delay the manifestation of the kingdom. Christ understood this clearly when He said that He gave Himself to no man (John 2:24) He knew what was in man. This will become our experience as well. More than we know, we have given ourselves to relationships and obligations, born out of our misperceptions and lack of understanding. In essence; our immaturity. We have been growing and maturing in Christ; we have walked as children – but now we are to walk as sons.
As long as this issue is kept on the sidelines or hidden, then there will not be an acute understanding of the far reaching effects that the existence of bonds are having. They are singularly the most deadly force that prevents the release and manifestation of the kingdom within you.
If you are running this race anchored and fettered, then no matter how hard you run it will be very difficult for you to break the tape. We know that there is a direct correlation to “seeing the Lord” and “being changed;” and until you deal with the bonds in your life, you are not going to be able to see clearly. If you do not see – you will not change.
We are called to be “in the world” but not “of it.” This cannot happen until you are able to cut the moorings of the bonds and attachments of the soul and walk as the spiritual person you are. The issue of bonds is the basis of all effective spiritual warfare against the saints, and it is also at the crux of why God’s sons are not maturing more quickly.
We have mentioned previously that over 90% of your problems are based upon transference that is working through bonds. As long as soul-bonds are allowed to remain; then there will be no fulfillment of Romans 8 and the freedom of the sons of God. Like everything else in our walk with God; this must be experienced. No one can tell you or convince you; you must experience it first hand.
For too long we have walked before the Lord with a bag with holes in it. He has desired to pour forth a deeper measure of His Spirit, yet we have not been able to contain the releases and blessings. The bonds and attachments would siphon away the blessing in an instant.
I don’t know if you have ever experienced a real release and blessing from the Lord. Then immediately went out and shared this blessing, only to find that almost overnight it just disappeared. We have. Your most precious commodity is your ability to see. If you compromise that by allowing bonds, relationships and attachments born of the soul life, then you have just compromised your greatest gift. You have compromised the very aspect that will carry you into the deeper things of the Lord; your ability to see. A walk with God is not born of liturgy or doctrine; it is born of experience; a daily unfolding experience of living in His presence.
Why are you admonished not to be bound with unbelievers? Is it perhaps because of some type of judgment you will incur by association? In a way, perhaps, but that is not the point. The blindness that rests upon the unbeliever, and that includes your dear brother or sister in Christ as well, can be transferred to you in a moment of time. Transference through the bonds of sympathy and relationships of the soul is deadly. The clutter, confusion, and blindness that might exist on your brother or sister can be so easily “dumped” on you. We all know the term, “dumping.” How people can dump their garbage on another. It is a crude term, but I believe we understand how easy it is to transfer the oppression off of one individual onto another.
In many instances we are dealing with a judgment that is resting upon the “old order”, those who chose not to walk on into the deeper things of God. The anointing leaves and what is left are the dealings of God upon an apostate group, or individual. These are hard words, but the concern is that ye “be not a partaker of her sins.” To those who have chosen a different path, who have determined the cost was too much to pay, there exists a judgment or dealing of God. If you are not careful, you too will become a partaker of their sins – by association – through the operation of soul bonds and attachments that were allowed to remain.
We are dealing with a spirit world – the realm of the spirit. We are dealing with entities and energies, whether angelic or demonic, who are set to help us; or who are set to significantly try to hinder what God is establishing. You have to understand that at any juncture the spirit world will take full advantage to hinder your progress and growth if at all possible. What is the greatest way to do that? Transfer the blindness of another upon you. I am speaking of bonds, for bonds are deadly; because your vision, and your sight – a commodity so precious – can be lost. You can lose your sight and not even know you have lost it. This alone should keep us on our faces before HIM.
Excerpts from 'The Manifestation of the Sons of God' by Edward Kjos
Perhaps the greatest hindrance to the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in this hour can be expressed in a single word; bonds. The existence of these bonds have been the greatest deterrent to the maturing and subsequent manifestation of the sons of God.
It is Satan’s intent to keep God’s sons from functioning in the realm of the spirit. As the sons of God, we must walk free; we must understand how we have been fettered.
"The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows. The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked." Psa 129:3-4 We are talking about “cords” that bind; “cords” that keep you from becoming.
Bonds that exist between people can be a source of some of the greatest detriment to our spiritual growth. Bonds are a function of our soul, and that is what makes them so dangerous. They are created through sympathy, obligation, expectations, fear, physical exchanges, anger; and a host of other emotional responses or reactions.
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household” Mat 10:34-36.
What is Christ speaking of here? He is speaking of bonds; of the relationships born out of obligation and sympathy. He is also addressing the principle of being unequally yoked. He is speaking about the detriment bonds can have for a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
You may have thought that Christ meant something more “literal” with this scripture; that it could literally be your own household? Very possible; however what Christ is really addressing are the bonds of relationships that we have – specifically the unequally yoked relationships of the soul.
The more we understand the principles that govern the realm of the spirit; the more we will move into a functional relationship in the spirit. As a people we are called to be “in the world”, but “not of it”. We are also admonished to “be all things to all people,” yet neither of these are possible until we have understood and experienced how the bonds we form with others affect us. Instead of carrying the power to create and release, soul-bonds carry the ability to demean, intimidate and destroy.
“But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” Gal 5:15-16. Paul was dealing with several issues in the Galatian church because the relationships that existed in the church were on the wrong level. The bickering and arguing began to take a toll on the people within that church. You had those who were reaching into a deeper walk in the spirit, only to find their energy siphoned off by those walking according to the flesh, or soul. This problem faced Paul not only in Galatia, but in most of the churches.
Most everyone living today functions from the soul; people don’t really know any other way of relating. What is the buzz word used so often these days… “bonding.” “Having a time of bonding.” There has not been any real understanding or teaching of the difference between spirit and soul.
It is very simple; if you walk in the spirit, as the word speaks, then you truly will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Romans 8:4). Your relationships and the mode of your relating will be spiritually grounded.
For those who are walking into this day of spirit, there is a growing awareness and sensitivity coming. People are beginning to become more aware of this issue of bonds. They are beginning to sense and feel the existence of bonds within their life, even if they have not known what to call it.
Paul saw the great jeopardy of bonds within the churches.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” 2 Cor 6:14-18.
There is no bond that is good, for bonds are a function of the soul – not the spirit. As long as bonds exist then your ability to see and to hear are blocked. Simple. If you do not achieve this then you are constantly hindered with the oppression of another that hinders your spiritual sight. You cannot carry the baggage of the soul and enter into a spiritual oneness with Christ. If you want to be one with the Lord; you must break the bonds you have had that you might rise and experience a ‘spiritual oneness’ with Christ.
We have spoken many times about knowing who you are. This is crucial because the Lord wants you to know who you are – and who He is within you. The tremendous jeopardy of bonds is that they bring you to the point where you cannot know yourself. Why is that? Because bonds block your spiritual sensitivity. It is like taking a walk on a beautiful day except the clouds are out blocking the sun.
So often, the thought you carry are not yours. The oppression you feel; not yours. You are carrying that which has been transferred upon you. And your ability to see the Lord and commune with Him in hindered to the degree that you are still fettered with the bonds you carry. As shocking as this may sound, the truth is that 90% of your problems are not your own. You many think not; but you haven’t realized how much you have been under as the worlds of evil have sought to keep you under a cloud of oppression.
Our progress in God does not depend so much upon our efforts “to become” as upon our ability to cut the cords and the anchors that have held us back. And what are these cords and anchors? The bonds we carry.
Let’s go back to 2nd Corinthians for a moment.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” 2 Cor 6:14-18.
Paul was pointing out the problems with bonds. As long as your relationships are born of the soul – born of insecurities, needs, wants, expectations, or obligations, then you have linked yourself to those individuals and all of the baggage that they carry. That is a bit sobering!
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” James 4:8.
So, what do bonds do? They cloud and inhibit your awareness, they block your oneness in the Spirit, and they yoke you into the double mindedness of the very one with whom you are bound to. It may not be your double mindedness, but that does not matter. If you are bonded to them, then it will have your address on it as well (James 1:8).
It can seem relatively easy to discern or identify the obvious relationships you might have that are incorrectly feeding off of you, but the real issue lies at being able to discern the bonds that you are not aware of. This takes some real perception to understand how you are relating and how you are allowing yourself to be related to which is creating these relationships on the wrong level.
If bonds continue unchecked and un-dealt with, then you can count on the fact that your ability to see and function in the realm of spirit will be seriously hindered. For those who have not had much teaching on the existence of bonds, it can be very difficult to discern them. That is how subtle this is. That is why you must guard your eyesight – for walking in the spirit takes a great deal of sight.
We need to understand the far reaching ramifications of bonds or soul level relationships and how easy it has been for the satanic powers to hinder and significantly delay the manifestation of the kingdom. Christ understood this clearly when He said that He gave Himself to no man (John 2:24) He knew what was in man. This will become our experience as well. More than we know, we have given ourselves to relationships and obligations, born out of our misperceptions and lack of understanding. In essence; our immaturity. We have been growing and maturing in Christ; we have walked as children – but now we are to walk as sons.
As long as this issue is kept on the sidelines or hidden, then there will not be an acute understanding of the far reaching effects that the existence of bonds are having. They are singularly the most deadly force that prevents the release and manifestation of the kingdom within you.
If you are running this race anchored and fettered, then no matter how hard you run it will be very difficult for you to break the tape. We know that there is a direct correlation to “seeing the Lord” and “being changed;” and until you deal with the bonds in your life, you are not going to be able to see clearly. If you do not see – you will not change.
We are called to be “in the world” but not “of it.” This cannot happen until you are able to cut the moorings of the bonds and attachments of the soul and walk as the spiritual person you are. The issue of bonds is the basis of all effective spiritual warfare against the saints, and it is also at the crux of why God’s sons are not maturing more quickly.
We have mentioned previously that over 90% of your problems are based upon transference that is working through bonds. As long as soul-bonds are allowed to remain; then there will be no fulfillment of Romans 8 and the freedom of the sons of God. Like everything else in our walk with God; this must be experienced. No one can tell you or convince you; you must experience it first hand.
For too long we have walked before the Lord with a bag with holes in it. He has desired to pour forth a deeper measure of His Spirit, yet we have not been able to contain the releases and blessings. The bonds and attachments would siphon away the blessing in an instant.
I don’t know if you have ever experienced a real release and blessing from the Lord. Then immediately went out and shared this blessing, only to find that almost overnight it just disappeared. We have. Your most precious commodity is your ability to see. If you compromise that by allowing bonds, relationships and attachments born of the soul life, then you have just compromised your greatest gift. You have compromised the very aspect that will carry you into the deeper things of the Lord; your ability to see. A walk with God is not born of liturgy or doctrine; it is born of experience; a daily unfolding experience of living in His presence.
Why are you admonished not to be bound with unbelievers? Is it perhaps because of some type of judgment you will incur by association? In a way, perhaps, but that is not the point. The blindness that rests upon the unbeliever, and that includes your dear brother or sister in Christ as well, can be transferred to you in a moment of time. Transference through the bonds of sympathy and relationships of the soul is deadly. The clutter, confusion, and blindness that might exist on your brother or sister can be so easily “dumped” on you. We all know the term, “dumping.” How people can dump their garbage on another. It is a crude term, but I believe we understand how easy it is to transfer the oppression off of one individual onto another.
In many instances we are dealing with a judgment that is resting upon the “old order”, those who chose not to walk on into the deeper things of God. The anointing leaves and what is left are the dealings of God upon an apostate group, or individual. These are hard words, but the concern is that ye “be not a partaker of her sins.” To those who have chosen a different path, who have determined the cost was too much to pay, there exists a judgment or dealing of God. If you are not careful, you too will become a partaker of their sins – by association – through the operation of soul bonds and attachments that were allowed to remain.
We are dealing with a spirit world – the realm of the spirit. We are dealing with entities and energies, whether angelic or demonic, who are set to help us; or who are set to significantly try to hinder what God is establishing. You have to understand that at any juncture the spirit world will take full advantage to hinder your progress and growth if at all possible. What is the greatest way to do that? Transfer the blindness of another upon you. I am speaking of bonds, for bonds are deadly; because your vision, and your sight – a commodity so precious – can be lost. You can lose your sight and not even know you have lost it. This alone should keep us on our faces before HIM.
Excerpts from 'The Manifestation of the Sons of God' by Edward Kjos
Relationships in the Body of Christ
Relationships In The Body Of Christ
In Ezekial 47, the prophet describes God’s dwelling place among men. In the Hebrew language, we find hidden meaning of the words. These help us to understand how we become the Restoration Temple, the dwelling place of the Spirit of the True and Living God. In this passage, he is telling about the source of the Living Waters (the fullness of the Holy Spirit) and how we go deeper and deeper into Him, as we obey His commandments in all our relationships. Jesus gave us the key to the Kingdom when He said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22: 37-40.) This is the entrance into the workings of God in your life.
In the framework of His new commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you...Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto Me (Matt. 25:40) we have the conditions for the exposing and bringing down every hidden, dark, and perverted motive in our lives. When God brings together different members of the Body, He begins a cleansing work in both. If we will trust and obey God in our relationship to this one, He will enlarge and give us something neither one had alone. We become new creatures in Christ Jesus as a result of having to deal truthfully with one another, and to stick it out until the purification comes. It is not easy, but the results are Heavenly. Only God could give the grace to endure and face the controversies, ready for His correction where it is needed. Afterwards, it does yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness, and a relationship of trust and reciprocity that is equal to nothing on this earth. What God has joined together truly cannot be separated by man, or by all the demons of Hell.
Somehow, by giving God this channel of our relationship, and waiting upon Him to cleanse and perfect it, we experience a constant digging out, cleansing, and setting in order. The mountains of our preferences and desires come down. The valleys of our despisings are raised. The crookedness of our perverted, manipulating love is straightened out, and the rough edges of our personalities are sanded down. This channel is the valley of the stream of the Living Water as it flows freely between us. God is the source, we are the transporters of His love, mercy, truth, and life. Until we have learned how to allow this flow between us, we are just like little babbling brooks, each separate, not able to make much impact on the surrounding land.
The picture in Ezekiel - is one of a mighty, rushing river, so great that we are carried in it. We do not experience this fullness and power of the Holy Spirit alone. It is the supply for the Body. It must flow out to each member, unhindered by our opinions, prejudices and personality quirks.
In Ezekial 47, the prophet describes God’s dwelling place among men. In the Hebrew language, we find hidden meaning of the words. These help us to understand how we become the Restoration Temple, the dwelling place of the Spirit of the True and Living God. In this passage, he is telling about the source of the Living Waters (the fullness of the Holy Spirit) and how we go deeper and deeper into Him, as we obey His commandments in all our relationships. Jesus gave us the key to the Kingdom when He said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22: 37-40.) This is the entrance into the workings of God in your life.
In the framework of His new commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you...Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto Me (Matt. 25:40) we have the conditions for the exposing and bringing down every hidden, dark, and perverted motive in our lives. When God brings together different members of the Body, He begins a cleansing work in both. If we will trust and obey God in our relationship to this one, He will enlarge and give us something neither one had alone. We become new creatures in Christ Jesus as a result of having to deal truthfully with one another, and to stick it out until the purification comes. It is not easy, but the results are Heavenly. Only God could give the grace to endure and face the controversies, ready for His correction where it is needed. Afterwards, it does yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness, and a relationship of trust and reciprocity that is equal to nothing on this earth. What God has joined together truly cannot be separated by man, or by all the demons of Hell.
Somehow, by giving God this channel of our relationship, and waiting upon Him to cleanse and perfect it, we experience a constant digging out, cleansing, and setting in order. The mountains of our preferences and desires come down. The valleys of our despisings are raised. The crookedness of our perverted, manipulating love is straightened out, and the rough edges of our personalities are sanded down. This channel is the valley of the stream of the Living Water as it flows freely between us. God is the source, we are the transporters of His love, mercy, truth, and life. Until we have learned how to allow this flow between us, we are just like little babbling brooks, each separate, not able to make much impact on the surrounding land.
The picture in Ezekiel - is one of a mighty, rushing river, so great that we are carried in it. We do not experience this fullness and power of the Holy Spirit alone. It is the supply for the Body. It must flow out to each member, unhindered by our opinions, prejudices and personality quirks.
Excerpt from:
True & Counterfeit
We are truly entering into the hour when the fulfillment of all the types and shadows found throughout the Scriptures, are being made manifest as the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. This is part of a comparative study done years ago by Mary Lois Burns. Definitely something to chew on:
God will separate the precious from the vile. He will build the Holy Temple in us and our relationships, as we continue to allow Him to separate us from the works of the flesh. These must be replaced with the Fruit of the Spirit. God gave it to me as:
ISHMAEL: Means God will hear my prayer and do what I am asking. I will rule and God will help me.
ISRAEL: Means "He will have power with God." God will rule with Jacob as His chosen agent. I will cooperate with the Lord and do all that He tells me to do.
Ishmael and Israel each had 12 sons. Each one represents a gateway:
They are listed as follows, with the Counterfeit of the Holy City (sons of Ishmael), followed by the True-the New Jerusalem (sons if Israel):
1.Nebajoth - Fruitfulness “Look how many I have led to the Lord.”
Judah -Yield to God's authority, do right by others, keep heart right before God.
2. Kedar - mourn for the dead; sack cloth, sacrifice for others, heavy burden.
Asher -The joy of the Lord is our strength. Prosperity and filled with Holy Spirit.
3. Adbeel - Chastened by God. I am suffering for Jesus. Every work of the enemy calls for my surrender to suffer for others salvation.
Naphtali- Learn to stand against the enemy robbing your inheritance in the Lord.
4. Mibsam - Fragrance No matter what, they smell like a rose. Must be sweet, patient and kind at all times.
Benjamin - Full grown son stands for truth and justice, no matter how it looks to others. Become a fool for Christ.
5. Mishma - You must hear all that I am doing for the Lord. My testimony proves I am spiritual.
Simeon - Your ability to hear and obey the Lord. Be still, let God be God.
6. Duman - To be dumb. I must not speak any evil. Be quiet about wrong. Love offenders sacrificially.
Dan - We must learn to judge and reject that which is not God.
7. Massa - The burden of the Lord. Tribute, porterage, doom teller.
Manasseh – Receive and give forgiveness for past wrongs. Forget the past; Move on.
8. Harder - The glory of God must be theirs. Covet the places of honor.
Reuben - Begin to see yourself and others with God's eyes.
9. Tema - Have to be right all the time. Must prove their point.
Ephraim - Let God be the judge and fruit producer.
10. Jetur - Encircled, enclosed by customs, habits, ancestral error. Intolerant of differences.
Zebulen - Fit dwelling place for God's Spirit. God's presence is your only boundary.
11. Naphish - Breathed on by God; Filled with the Holy Ghost; Busy building and doing things for God.
Issachar - The one who hears and obeys, does business with and for God.
12. Kedemah - Must be first, have control and dominate. Have already known and done what you are trying to share.
Gad - When God's justice and love of truth are established in you, God's authority is manifest by the truth, not by acknowledgment of your position by men.
May we not be afraid to honestly examine our own hearts. When we ask God to cleanse us and make us ‘vessels of honor, fit for the Master’s use,’ know that He will begin to do just that. In the process, He will expose everything hidden within our heart that is rooted in our flesh. All we have known has been the gateways of the sons of Ishmael, the religious mindset which fosters self-righteousness disguised as truth, love, and obedience.
The counterfeit sounds good, looks good, but is a lie. The counterfeit, that passes for the true, can flourish because it uses man’s soul power; while the True cannot be moved in except by the Spirit of the Living God. We are called to enter into the New Jerusalem, to walk as the sons of Israel. Know that every day, in all that we do, we are walking as one kind of son or the other.
True & Counterfeit
God will separate the precious from the vile. He will build the Holy Temple in us and our relationships, as we continue to allow Him to separate us from the works of the flesh. These must be replaced with the Fruit of the Spirit. God gave it to me as:
ISHMAEL: Means God will hear my prayer and do what I am asking. I will rule and God will help me.
ISRAEL: Means "He will have power with God." God will rule with Jacob as His chosen agent. I will cooperate with the Lord and do all that He tells me to do.
Ishmael and Israel each had 12 sons. Each one represents a gateway:
They are listed as follows, with the Counterfeit of the Holy City (sons of Ishmael), followed by the True-the New Jerusalem (sons if Israel):
1.Nebajoth - Fruitfulness “Look how many I have led to the Lord.”
Judah -Yield to God's authority, do right by others, keep heart right before God.
2. Kedar - mourn for the dead; sack cloth, sacrifice for others, heavy burden.
Asher -The joy of the Lord is our strength. Prosperity and filled with Holy Spirit.
3. Adbeel - Chastened by God. I am suffering for Jesus. Every work of the enemy calls for my surrender to suffer for others salvation.
Naphtali- Learn to stand against the enemy robbing your inheritance in the Lord.
4. Mibsam - Fragrance No matter what, they smell like a rose. Must be sweet, patient and kind at all times.
Benjamin - Full grown son stands for truth and justice, no matter how it looks to others. Become a fool for Christ.
5. Mishma - You must hear all that I am doing for the Lord. My testimony proves I am spiritual.
Simeon - Your ability to hear and obey the Lord. Be still, let God be God.
6. Duman - To be dumb. I must not speak any evil. Be quiet about wrong. Love offenders sacrificially.
Dan - We must learn to judge and reject that which is not God.
7. Massa - The burden of the Lord. Tribute, porterage, doom teller.
Manasseh – Receive and give forgiveness for past wrongs. Forget the past; Move on.
8. Harder - The glory of God must be theirs. Covet the places of honor.
Reuben - Begin to see yourself and others with God's eyes.
9. Tema - Have to be right all the time. Must prove their point.
Ephraim - Let God be the judge and fruit producer.
10. Jetur - Encircled, enclosed by customs, habits, ancestral error. Intolerant of differences.
Zebulen - Fit dwelling place for God's Spirit. God's presence is your only boundary.
11. Naphish - Breathed on by God; Filled with the Holy Ghost; Busy building and doing things for God.
Issachar - The one who hears and obeys, does business with and for God.
12. Kedemah - Must be first, have control and dominate. Have already known and done what you are trying to share.
Gad - When God's justice and love of truth are established in you, God's authority is manifest by the truth, not by acknowledgment of your position by men.
May we not be afraid to honestly examine our own hearts. When we ask God to cleanse us and make us ‘vessels of honor, fit for the Master’s use,’ know that He will begin to do just that. In the process, He will expose everything hidden within our heart that is rooted in our flesh. All we have known has been the gateways of the sons of Ishmael, the religious mindset which fosters self-righteousness disguised as truth, love, and obedience.
The counterfeit sounds good, looks good, but is a lie. The counterfeit, that passes for the true, can flourish because it uses man’s soul power; while the True cannot be moved in except by the Spirit of the Living God. We are called to enter into the New Jerusalem, to walk as the sons of Israel. Know that every day, in all that we do, we are walking as one kind of son or the other.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Religious Flesh - Babylon
Religious Flesh – Babylon
Babylon---the spirit of iniquity--imitation of Zion
Babylon--stands for confusion. Religious confusion--a lie
Babylon--represents Satan's way.
All that is false--hidden or open--lie of the flesh.
Babylon has a whore
New Jerusalem has a Bride.
Babylon sits on a Beast (Anti Christ)
All religion is Babylon--religious flesh. It has many god's and many temple's. Total confusion of the True because flesh cannot know the TRUE GOD.
Two ways are God's Way and Satan's way. The place to deceive people is concerning religion.
When God said you cannot join Christ with a prostitute He meant Babylon, (religious flesh) and The Spirit of the Living God. It will not mix.
Right, everyone knows that, those who are called forth from Babylon. We came out of Babylon for a reason, to get Babylon out of us.
Over thirty years ago I was called out of Babylon. The Lord began the work of creating a new creation in me. Let there be Light. Religious flesh, which was God's enemy because there was much religion in me--knowledge, searching for scriptural knowledge was where It was at, and where God started. John 5:18 You search and investigate and pore over scripture diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them.
Babylon---the spirit of iniquity--imitation of Zion
Babylon--stands for confusion. Religious confusion--a lie
Babylon--represents Satan's way.
All that is false--hidden or open--lie of the flesh.
Babylon has a whore
New Jerusalem has a Bride.
Babylon sits on a Beast (Anti Christ)
All religion is Babylon--religious flesh. It has many god's and many temple's. Total confusion of the True because flesh cannot know the TRUE GOD.
Two ways are God's Way and Satan's way. The place to deceive people is concerning religion.
When God said you cannot join Christ with a prostitute He meant Babylon, (religious flesh) and The Spirit of the Living God. It will not mix.
Right, everyone knows that, those who are called forth from Babylon. We came out of Babylon for a reason, to get Babylon out of us.
Over thirty years ago I was called out of Babylon. The Lord began the work of creating a new creation in me. Let there be Light. Religious flesh, which was God's enemy because there was much religion in me--knowledge, searching for scriptural knowledge was where It was at, and where God started. John 5:18 You search and investigate and pore over scripture diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Song - Cheryl McGrath
THE SONG
Listen, be still! Can you hear it? A song carried by the Wind. Such a yearning, longing, indescribable sound. Rising Heavenward. Now soft and barely discernable, now louder, clearer, lifting and falling like waves on the sea. There never was such a sound heard through all the ages this earth has known. You won’t hear it in the clammer of a big city, but it is there. You won’t hear it in the silence of the dessert or the roar of the ocean, but it is there just the same. You won’t hear it in the frenzied cheers of the sports stadium or the raised voices of houses of government, and you will seldom hear it in the well ordered hymns or hallelujahs of the Sunday service. But it is stronger and more compelling than any of them. It is the Song of the Bride.
“Make haste my Beloved”.
It is a song impossible to bear but impossible to ignore. If you are a singer of it you will know how it tears you, wounds you and discomforts you. Yet you cannot do other than sing it. You chose this Song above all others. You chose it in the darkest hours when your faith was tested almost beyond what you could bear. You chose it in the loneliness when your enemy’s voice taunted and mocked you for continuing to believe when all hope was seemingly lost. You chose it when heartbreak and despair were your constant companions but you refused to partake of the world’s offering of wine mixed with myrrh. You chose it every time you bowed your head and silently whispered “Yes Lord, Your will, not mine” though tears stained your face and pain stabbed your heart. You chose this Song because somewhere in the midst of confusion, sorrow, and doubt you caught a glimpse of something greater than your pain, something beyond beauty, beyond wonder, beyond anything you had yet seen. And through gritted teeth a cry rose from a place within you that you didn’t know existed: “Yes, Lord, I want You more than life itself and by God’s grace I will pursue You!”
And so the song was both conceived and born in you. The Spirit breathed, the seed was planted and the journey was begun. Many who started out with you have fallen by the wayside. Many stopped singing the Song when other more seductive songs beckoned. You too were tempted, but when all was said and done the other songs with all their promises never could satisfy you like the one that called you onward. Soon the songs that had seduced your companions faded and merged into one monotonous discord, a sound you could hear in the distance but could not sing.
And still the Song grew until you ceased knowing whether you sang the Song, or the Song sang you. The Song and you became part of each other and you no longer knew how to be anything other than a singer of the Song. Those who once had been your companions in the Song but had stopped singing now stand apart from you like familiar strangers. Though they may smile and greet you, they quickly move away for they must sing their song, and you must sing yours, and the two can no longer meet. You chose the Song. Or did the Song choose you?
“Make haste my Beloved.”
The Song cannot be heard by those who do not sing it but if ever they should briefly catch its echo, it is not beautiful to their ears and they soon turn away. The Song is not always melodic. Often, increasingly often, the Song consists of unutterable groans and sighs. And even though you are a singer of the Song, you do not always understand it. Sometimes the Song flows freely, even erupts, from the deepest places of your being. At other times it is drawn from you through tearful anguish. Yet the Song cannot be stopped. You cannot explain to others why the Song compels you on or how deeply embedded it has become in you, so you have stopped trying to explain or justify the Song. You just keep singing it through joy and sorrow, victory and defeat, life and death.
There are others who sing the Song and if you should happen to cross their paths you recognize a fellow singer because you recognize the Song. More than that, you recognize the Source of the Song. And though such encounters may be few, they have become one of your greatest joys. When those who sing the Song come together Heaven stops to listen. For the Song was born in Heaven and returns to Heaven and is loudest and most glorious when sung in unison by the singers of the Song.
“Make haste my Beloved.”
If you still yourself long enough you will hear the Song. You will hear it within yourself and you will hear it rising from the four corners of the earth to the highest Heaven. And though you sing the Song, you will wonder at the Song and you will wonder how you became a part of it, and you will know that though you chose the Song, yet you were also chosen to sing it. Not because your voice was beautiful or strong, but because the Song is costly and yet you said ‘yes’. You have paid the price for the Song and you will continue to pay it. And yet, the Song to you and to all who sing it, is priceless.
A sinner woman sang the Song and the Song was louder than her sins. “And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil...... Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."*
Peter sang the Song and learned that love is costly. "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" It was not enough for Peter to simply love the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom is to be loved more.**
Stephen sang the Song and forfeited his life. “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"..... and they cast him out of the city and stoned him...... ***
Paul sang the Song and lost his history, his reputation, his nation and ultimately his life. “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ...”****
The Song has been sung by a countless army of men, women and children throughout the centuries, whose names and faces are mostly forgotten on this earth but celebrated in Heaven. Many are they who have tried to kill the Song but the Song only becomes sweeter. Many are they who try to imitate the Song, but the Song only shines brighter. There is but one Song and those who sing it are becoming one, for the Song draws them and binds them with unbreakable ties.
The Song is part of the greatest mystery ever known. It is sung on mountaintops and in prison dungeons. It is sung from rice paddies to executive suites. It is sung in the night and each hour of the day. It is sung in the least expected places by the least expected voices.
And so the Song grows: louder, richer, higher. Above all else that happens on this earth, the Song has Heaven’s attention. The Song is, in fact, Heaven’s priority. The Song has always been, but has always waited to be sung as it is now being sung. And as this irresistible Song continues to grow in power and beauty, it wafts Heavenward. Creation groans, the hosts of Heaven stand ready, and the Bridegroom sets His Face. At a moment already written in eternity, Heaven will no longer hold back the Bridegroom from His Bride. He will arouse Himself to make haste to His Beloved, as He promised He would do.
Bride of Christ, hear what the Spirit says:
Keep singing the Song and never cease! Through hardship and toil, through pain, imprisonment, abandonment, betrayal, loss and grief, joy and sorrow, through persecution and tribulation, through the mountains and through the valleys. Keep singing the Song and do not cease until the Beloved makes haste and becomes like a gazelle on the mountains of spices. The Song is rising and the Song is unstoppable. The Song is greater than the darkness and ultimately will overcome it. May you be given ears to hear! May you be given grace to sing until the Beloved wipes all tears from your eyes! And so may you sing for evermore of the One who first sang His own Song over you!
The time of singing has come..... (Song of Solomon 2:12).
Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices (Song of Solomon 8:14).
And the Spirit and the Bride say come! (Rev. 22:17)
*Luke 7:37-48
**John 21:15-19
***Acts 7:55-60
**** Philippians 3:5-11
Cheryl McGrath
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Obstacles To Perfection In My Heart - B. Keith Chadwell
Obstacles To Perfection In My Heart
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
Obstacles or mysteries of God are targeted for those “who are without ” or those who refuse to believe (unbelievers). However, Christians, by not heeding the warnings by Jesus, Paul and old testament lessons about this type of error, stumble over the same obstacles. Even from the beginning, some folks back in church history, obviously, stumbled over this type of obstacle, fell for the lies and we have all been reaping the consequences to one degree or another.
By now, this “leaven” has permeated much of our traditional church eschatology and has become a part of a large, complex, multi headed, doctrinal beast. We should be well aware by now; Anyone, who tries to understand the great mysteries of God with the carnal mind/the flesh, rather than by the revelation of the Spirit will fail.
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
Obstacles or mysteries of God are targeted for those “who are without ” or those who refuse to believe (unbelievers). However, Christians, by not heeding the warnings by Jesus, Paul and old testament lessons about this type of error, stumble over the same obstacles. Even from the beginning, some folks back in church history, obviously, stumbled over this type of obstacle, fell for the lies and we have all been reaping the consequences to one degree or another.
By now, this “leaven” has permeated much of our traditional church eschatology and has become a part of a large, complex, multi headed, doctrinal beast. We should be well aware by now; Anyone, who tries to understand the great mysteries of God with the carnal mind/the flesh, rather than by the revelation of the Spirit will fail.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Let's Talk for a Moment About Religious Spirits
Let’s Talk for a Moment About Religious Spirits
Firstly, we must come to understand just what the religious spirit is and how it operates in the world… and in our lives. Here are some excerpts from ‘The Manifestation of the Sons of God,’ by L. Edward Kjos:
…The underlying spirit behind the operation of the satanic hosts in this hour is a religious spirit. This is the spirit of Lucifer or Satan, a religious spirit that seeks to be as God – to emulate God – to manifest a facsimile of holiness. This very spirit has functioned as a canopy that has spread over the human race since the fall of Adam…
…We have seen the religious spirit in operation throughout the scriptures and through so much of Christianity today. The religious spirit has so many tentacles. If you look closely you will see these tentacles in every aspect of life. The religious spirit is self-serving and judgmental. The religious spirit is the perfect channel for the un-regenerated soul nature. The religious spirit seeks to stand before God, righteous in its own acts, righteous in its own heart, proud and arrogant…
…This religious spirit which has rested as a blanket over mankind, is not relegated to just “religion”; this canopy has known no boundaries. This spirit has created a conditioning that operates through the soul of man; and is in no way limited to churches or organizations…
…This spirit is interwoven within the minds and hearts of all the people who live on the earth today. It is a veil or canopy that enshrouds what we know of reality on this dimension, creating a paradigm shared by all…
…This veil over mankind has been created, fostered and nurtured for thousands of years by this satanic, religious spirit. There is not one who has escaped its manipulations. There is not one who is free from the entrenchment of the god of this age. That is why we are admonished not to be part of this age, to step out of the restrictions and limitations of this age…
We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one. 1Jn 5:19
…The problem the sons of God face, in becoming, has concerned their ability to see and rightly discern. As long as we are bonded or hemmed into a modality of thought or a paradigm of reality that is colored by a religious spirit, we will never see the truth, and we will never change. To see truth, one must step out of that which has hindered the ability for truth to be seen.
We must walk free from this age. To do so we must walk free from the conditioning of our mind that has been created while living under the canopy of this religious spirit…
…The influence and conditioning of this spirit has, up to this point, successfully hindered and hamstrung the people of God from walking into the deep things of the Lord. We see it time and again as we speak to different ones how difficult it has been for so many, to shed the deep conditioning of the religious spirit…
…As long as our view of reality is seen through the lens of the conditioning of this religious spirit; we will never come to the place of knowing. Nor will we come to the place of seeing. Always seeing but not quite understanding. Because of the inability to rightly discern the word of truth, change will always be illusive and unattainable…
…Until man is delivered out of the soul realm; until we fully see the regeneration of the mind, as spoken of in Romans 8, there will always exist this oppression and limitation upon the believer. It is born by the conditioning of the religious spirit; for the religious spirit operates through the soul…
…God is bringing His sons into the plane of spirit. As you transition from a walk born of your soul to a walk in the spirit, you will become less and less prone to the rampant deception that has filled the earth…
…It takes a deep preparation within each one to bring them into the place of sight, and sight is what it will take to see every tentacle and every defilement that has attached itself to you removed…
…How is deception fostered and propagated? We are told in the scriptures that we have come to a time of deep darkness (2 Tim. 3:13), a time where even the elect could be deceived. How does the deception work?
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Gal 5:16
…Deception operates through the soul realm. If you walk in the spirit, you will not be deceived. Deception is created in the sensory realm of the souls by manipulation. This is the jeopardy that the God’s people face…
This coincides with the voice of Isaac Penington, written over 400 years ago: Penington calls the religious spirit by the names of Babylon and whore, but it is the same spirit.
…Lo this is the city which is built up of and filled with images and likenesses of the ways and truths of God, without the life and power.
On her outside there is the likeness of a church, the likeness of a ministry, the likeness of the ordinances, duties, and ways of holiness.
On her inside there is the likeness of the good knowledge, the likeness of repentance and conversion, the likeness of faith, the likeness of zeal for God, the likeness of love to God and his saints, the likeness of the Lamb's meekness and innocence, the likeness of justification, the likeness of sanctification, the likeness of mortification, the likeness of hope, peace, joy, rest, and satisfaction, etc., but the substance, the truth, the virtue of all these is lacking to her; and she herself is found persecuting that very thing, (where it is found in truth), the image of which she cries up…
…This, this is the woman who has bewitched the whole earth for these many generations, and is still changing her dresses and paints, that she might still bewitch people, and sit as a queen reigning over their consciences; but blessed is the light which is arisen to discover, and the power which is able to overthrow this stately, this lofty, this mighty city, and all that take part with it…
… Now here is the wisdom, here is the true eye tried, to see through all the paints of this city, in all the shapes and forms of it; to turn from every street, every house, every chamber, every image and false appearance of truth; every false appearance of ordinances and ways of worship; every likeness of things which this spirit [Satan] forms from the letter [scriptures]; every duty that it thus calls for; every promise of scripture which it endeavors to apply to what it does not belong, that it might lull the soul asleep, and cheat and deceive it of the thing promised. Here, I say, is the true eye tried to turn from all this, and to wait for the raising and redeeming of the true seed of Zion, and for the springing up of the true life and power in it and from it. For as long as this spirit can deceive you with any likeness, you shall never know the truth, nor come to the worship of the true, living God, which [worship] alone is in the spirit, and in the truth…
…The end of all this, of Satan's building up this city, this great city, (thus accurately constructed in the power of deceit, and in the very likeness of Zion), was, and is, that it might be taken for Zion, and be worshipped there as God, and that without jealousy or suspicion. And he has attained his end; his city has deceived and does deceive, it generally passes for Zion among all the inhabitants of Babylon; almost every sort of people recognize and demand it as Zion, in one appearance or other, though all do demand the same appearance; but their own image, way, and worship, every one extols: their own image of the truth, for the truth; their own way of worship, for the way; their own church and family, for the church and family of God. Worshipping here, they worship Satan, and not the Lord: for the Lord cannot be worshipped in any part of Babylon; but the king of Babylon is worshipped in Babylon, and the king of Zion alone is worshiped in Zion. Ah! how deeply do men deceive their souls! They think they believe in God; they think they pray to God, and hope to be owned at length by God, and yet are so far from coming out of mystery Babylon, that it was never discovered to them. But they have either walked in the way of religion and worship they were brought up in, in the apostasy, or perhaps have transferred out of one or two of the broad streets of it, and so by this think they have left Babylon; when the same spirit has set down in another street of the same city, building up another house by the direction of the dark king, and there worshipping the same spirit as they did before; but their souls never knew the fire in Zion and the furnace in Jerusalem, by which the very inwards of their spirits must be cleansed, before the pure eye of life is opened which can see Zion….
… For the true worship lies in the spirit and in the truth, and it is the new birth that God seeks to worship him; but the spirit of man thrusting itself into these things, the Lord abhors and rejects. And this spirit can never be cleansed in this way, and fitted to enter into Christ's bed; but only gets a paint from scripture, and enters into the painted bed and bosom of the harlot, where it remains unrenewed, unchanged, unmortified, in the midst of all its great talk and profession of these things. And thus the Scripture, the holy Scriptures of truth, (which were given forth from the pure spirit of life), the whorish spirit makes use of to estrange from the life. For what persons, who have fornicated from the life, do not make use of the Scriptures to maintain their whoredoms by, and to bewitch others into their whoredoms with?...
…There is a speaking evil of the truths of God. The true knowledge, the true fear, the true worship, the true saints, the true God, the true tabernacle, the true temple, the true heaven, (all which is in the spirit, and is alone revealed and seen there), these are reproached, these are misrepresented, (and the true sight and acknowledgment of them called error, heresy, and sectarianism), by all the blasphemers of Babylon…
… There are only two spirits: the spirit of God and the spirit of Satan, one of which guides all men in their devotion and religion, and one of which they serve within. He who is led by the spirit of God, he serves God, he worships God; he who is led by the spirit of Satan, he serves not God, but that spirit which appears in the temple of God, like God, and gives such demonstrations that he is God, as no flesh can deny. 2 Thes 2:3-4. Here now is the great deceivableness. In profaneness, in manifest wickedness, Satan is easily seen; and men that are found here, it is granted that they are serving the devil; but that he should sit as king in gathered churches, in duties, in ordinances, in ways of self-denial and mortification, and be worshipped here, this is hard to be seen. Yet any of these, into which the spirit of the Lord does not leads, or which are performed at anytime without his spirit, in these he [Satan] is worshipped in...
...Consider this, you who are wise in religion, and are diligently reading the scriptures, and gathering knowledge, and rules of worship, and applying promises, etc. Do you do this in the life and spirit of God; or in your own wisdom, and according to your own understanding? Does not the wisdom of that spirit, which is out of the truth, guide you in your searches after truth? Oh, do you serve that spirit, which the Lord hates, but come back to that, from which, in all this, you err, and which, in all this, you cannot serve and worship. And let not your religion any longer consist in mere practicing what the saints formerly practiced, (for that you may do without the same spirit), but in yielding up to that life, power, and pure spirit that they were led by. And when you are joined to this, then do not prescribe the Lamb the way that he should go, but "follow the Lamb, wherever he goes." Do not tell the Shepherd, (by your gathered wisdom), the way that he must lead you in; but know the voice, and follow it; for this I can truly testify, that if once you come in faithfulness and true light to follow the Lamb, he will lead in paths you have not known, and out of the paths you have known… [end quotes]
I would hope that these excerpts have broadened your awareness of just how pervasive and all inclusive this religious spirit is. Our churches are full of it, as are our cultures, our schools, every aspect of our daily lives are tainted with it. Societies are a graphic display of its cunning, with the flagrant promotion and acceptance of every perversion that God hates. Men calling good evil, and evil good, and loving to have it so.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:12
Let us stop doing those things that ‘seem good in our own eyes.’ Let us diligently seek the Lord God with our whole heart and mind and soul, that we may be set free from everything that we have received that is from this religious spirit. For we have this promise…
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Joh 8:36
And always remember, that the battle is the Lord’s…
“And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands” 1Sa 17:47 .
Firstly, we must come to understand just what the religious spirit is and how it operates in the world… and in our lives. Here are some excerpts from ‘The Manifestation of the Sons of God,’ by L. Edward Kjos:
…The underlying spirit behind the operation of the satanic hosts in this hour is a religious spirit. This is the spirit of Lucifer or Satan, a religious spirit that seeks to be as God – to emulate God – to manifest a facsimile of holiness. This very spirit has functioned as a canopy that has spread over the human race since the fall of Adam…
…We have seen the religious spirit in operation throughout the scriptures and through so much of Christianity today. The religious spirit has so many tentacles. If you look closely you will see these tentacles in every aspect of life. The religious spirit is self-serving and judgmental. The religious spirit is the perfect channel for the un-regenerated soul nature. The religious spirit seeks to stand before God, righteous in its own acts, righteous in its own heart, proud and arrogant…
…This religious spirit which has rested as a blanket over mankind, is not relegated to just “religion”; this canopy has known no boundaries. This spirit has created a conditioning that operates through the soul of man; and is in no way limited to churches or organizations…
…This spirit is interwoven within the minds and hearts of all the people who live on the earth today. It is a veil or canopy that enshrouds what we know of reality on this dimension, creating a paradigm shared by all…
…This veil over mankind has been created, fostered and nurtured for thousands of years by this satanic, religious spirit. There is not one who has escaped its manipulations. There is not one who is free from the entrenchment of the god of this age. That is why we are admonished not to be part of this age, to step out of the restrictions and limitations of this age…
We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one. 1Jn 5:19
…The problem the sons of God face, in becoming, has concerned their ability to see and rightly discern. As long as we are bonded or hemmed into a modality of thought or a paradigm of reality that is colored by a religious spirit, we will never see the truth, and we will never change. To see truth, one must step out of that which has hindered the ability for truth to be seen.
We must walk free from this age. To do so we must walk free from the conditioning of our mind that has been created while living under the canopy of this religious spirit…
…The influence and conditioning of this spirit has, up to this point, successfully hindered and hamstrung the people of God from walking into the deep things of the Lord. We see it time and again as we speak to different ones how difficult it has been for so many, to shed the deep conditioning of the religious spirit…
…As long as our view of reality is seen through the lens of the conditioning of this religious spirit; we will never come to the place of knowing. Nor will we come to the place of seeing. Always seeing but not quite understanding. Because of the inability to rightly discern the word of truth, change will always be illusive and unattainable…
…Until man is delivered out of the soul realm; until we fully see the regeneration of the mind, as spoken of in Romans 8, there will always exist this oppression and limitation upon the believer. It is born by the conditioning of the religious spirit; for the religious spirit operates through the soul…
…God is bringing His sons into the plane of spirit. As you transition from a walk born of your soul to a walk in the spirit, you will become less and less prone to the rampant deception that has filled the earth…
…It takes a deep preparation within each one to bring them into the place of sight, and sight is what it will take to see every tentacle and every defilement that has attached itself to you removed…
…How is deception fostered and propagated? We are told in the scriptures that we have come to a time of deep darkness (2 Tim. 3:13), a time where even the elect could be deceived. How does the deception work?
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Gal 5:16
…Deception operates through the soul realm. If you walk in the spirit, you will not be deceived. Deception is created in the sensory realm of the souls by manipulation. This is the jeopardy that the God’s people face…
This coincides with the voice of Isaac Penington, written over 400 years ago: Penington calls the religious spirit by the names of Babylon and whore, but it is the same spirit.
…Lo this is the city which is built up of and filled with images and likenesses of the ways and truths of God, without the life and power.
On her outside there is the likeness of a church, the likeness of a ministry, the likeness of the ordinances, duties, and ways of holiness.
On her inside there is the likeness of the good knowledge, the likeness of repentance and conversion, the likeness of faith, the likeness of zeal for God, the likeness of love to God and his saints, the likeness of the Lamb's meekness and innocence, the likeness of justification, the likeness of sanctification, the likeness of mortification, the likeness of hope, peace, joy, rest, and satisfaction, etc., but the substance, the truth, the virtue of all these is lacking to her; and she herself is found persecuting that very thing, (where it is found in truth), the image of which she cries up…
…This, this is the woman who has bewitched the whole earth for these many generations, and is still changing her dresses and paints, that she might still bewitch people, and sit as a queen reigning over their consciences; but blessed is the light which is arisen to discover, and the power which is able to overthrow this stately, this lofty, this mighty city, and all that take part with it…
… Now here is the wisdom, here is the true eye tried, to see through all the paints of this city, in all the shapes and forms of it; to turn from every street, every house, every chamber, every image and false appearance of truth; every false appearance of ordinances and ways of worship; every likeness of things which this spirit [Satan] forms from the letter [scriptures]; every duty that it thus calls for; every promise of scripture which it endeavors to apply to what it does not belong, that it might lull the soul asleep, and cheat and deceive it of the thing promised. Here, I say, is the true eye tried to turn from all this, and to wait for the raising and redeeming of the true seed of Zion, and for the springing up of the true life and power in it and from it. For as long as this spirit can deceive you with any likeness, you shall never know the truth, nor come to the worship of the true, living God, which [worship] alone is in the spirit, and in the truth…
…The end of all this, of Satan's building up this city, this great city, (thus accurately constructed in the power of deceit, and in the very likeness of Zion), was, and is, that it might be taken for Zion, and be worshipped there as God, and that without jealousy or suspicion. And he has attained his end; his city has deceived and does deceive, it generally passes for Zion among all the inhabitants of Babylon; almost every sort of people recognize and demand it as Zion, in one appearance or other, though all do demand the same appearance; but their own image, way, and worship, every one extols: their own image of the truth, for the truth; their own way of worship, for the way; their own church and family, for the church and family of God. Worshipping here, they worship Satan, and not the Lord: for the Lord cannot be worshipped in any part of Babylon; but the king of Babylon is worshipped in Babylon, and the king of Zion alone is worshiped in Zion. Ah! how deeply do men deceive their souls! They think they believe in God; they think they pray to God, and hope to be owned at length by God, and yet are so far from coming out of mystery Babylon, that it was never discovered to them. But they have either walked in the way of religion and worship they were brought up in, in the apostasy, or perhaps have transferred out of one or two of the broad streets of it, and so by this think they have left Babylon; when the same spirit has set down in another street of the same city, building up another house by the direction of the dark king, and there worshipping the same spirit as they did before; but their souls never knew the fire in Zion and the furnace in Jerusalem, by which the very inwards of their spirits must be cleansed, before the pure eye of life is opened which can see Zion….
… For the true worship lies in the spirit and in the truth, and it is the new birth that God seeks to worship him; but the spirit of man thrusting itself into these things, the Lord abhors and rejects. And this spirit can never be cleansed in this way, and fitted to enter into Christ's bed; but only gets a paint from scripture, and enters into the painted bed and bosom of the harlot, where it remains unrenewed, unchanged, unmortified, in the midst of all its great talk and profession of these things. And thus the Scripture, the holy Scriptures of truth, (which were given forth from the pure spirit of life), the whorish spirit makes use of to estrange from the life. For what persons, who have fornicated from the life, do not make use of the Scriptures to maintain their whoredoms by, and to bewitch others into their whoredoms with?...
…There is a speaking evil of the truths of God. The true knowledge, the true fear, the true worship, the true saints, the true God, the true tabernacle, the true temple, the true heaven, (all which is in the spirit, and is alone revealed and seen there), these are reproached, these are misrepresented, (and the true sight and acknowledgment of them called error, heresy, and sectarianism), by all the blasphemers of Babylon…
… There are only two spirits: the spirit of God and the spirit of Satan, one of which guides all men in their devotion and religion, and one of which they serve within. He who is led by the spirit of God, he serves God, he worships God; he who is led by the spirit of Satan, he serves not God, but that spirit which appears in the temple of God, like God, and gives such demonstrations that he is God, as no flesh can deny. 2 Thes 2:3-4. Here now is the great deceivableness. In profaneness, in manifest wickedness, Satan is easily seen; and men that are found here, it is granted that they are serving the devil; but that he should sit as king in gathered churches, in duties, in ordinances, in ways of self-denial and mortification, and be worshipped here, this is hard to be seen. Yet any of these, into which the spirit of the Lord does not leads, or which are performed at anytime without his spirit, in these he [Satan] is worshipped in...
...Consider this, you who are wise in religion, and are diligently reading the scriptures, and gathering knowledge, and rules of worship, and applying promises, etc. Do you do this in the life and spirit of God; or in your own wisdom, and according to your own understanding? Does not the wisdom of that spirit, which is out of the truth, guide you in your searches after truth? Oh, do you serve that spirit, which the Lord hates, but come back to that, from which, in all this, you err, and which, in all this, you cannot serve and worship. And let not your religion any longer consist in mere practicing what the saints formerly practiced, (for that you may do without the same spirit), but in yielding up to that life, power, and pure spirit that they were led by. And when you are joined to this, then do not prescribe the Lamb the way that he should go, but "follow the Lamb, wherever he goes." Do not tell the Shepherd, (by your gathered wisdom), the way that he must lead you in; but know the voice, and follow it; for this I can truly testify, that if once you come in faithfulness and true light to follow the Lamb, he will lead in paths you have not known, and out of the paths you have known… [end quotes]
I would hope that these excerpts have broadened your awareness of just how pervasive and all inclusive this religious spirit is. Our churches are full of it, as are our cultures, our schools, every aspect of our daily lives are tainted with it. Societies are a graphic display of its cunning, with the flagrant promotion and acceptance of every perversion that God hates. Men calling good evil, and evil good, and loving to have it so.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:12
Let us stop doing those things that ‘seem good in our own eyes.’ Let us diligently seek the Lord God with our whole heart and mind and soul, that we may be set free from everything that we have received that is from this religious spirit. For we have this promise…
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Joh 8:36
And always remember, that the battle is the Lord’s…
“And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands” 1Sa 17:47 .
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