The Coming War against the Religious Spirit

The Coming War against the Religious Spirit

Below are excerpts from:  THE SPIRIT OF RELIGION OR THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS - Cheryl McGrath

…. This war will personally involve every born-again believer, and ultimately each and every believer will find themselves having to choose sides. In this war, we will find the enemy among us, up close and personal, in our midst, and even living inside of us. The Holy Spirit is even now leading the church into the conflict of the ages, the war against the spirit of false religion. The Holy Spirit and the religious spirit have constantly been at war since the creation of man, but as the time for the return of the Son of God draws nearer, this war is set to escalate dramatically.

One thing is for certain in this particular war - if we don't learn to recognize and resist the influence of false religion in ourselves first, we will not be able to stand against it manifested in the world. To overcome in this war, it is absolutely imperative to firstly acknowledge that in the flesh nature of each one of us dwells a measure of false religion.

…The religious spirit focuses on the power of sin, rather than the power of God.

… The religious spirit is often overly concerned about defending God's honor, (Matt 9:3). In fact it's usually more concerned about God's honor than God is.

…The religious spirit leans to exclusivism and isolation, and satisfies itself with good works. It separates itself with the attitude - "I am good, you are bad, therefore you will contaminate my goodness."

…Notice that the religious spirit often gives the devil too much attention and God too little glory. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, tells us to discern the holy from the demonic by the fruit that's manifested (Matthew 12:33).

…The religious spirit loves to accuse by quoting scriptures but has no love of the truth. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, utilizes God's word to convict and to free, rather than to condemn.

…The religious spirit confuses traditions of man with the holiness of God. This is utter deception.

…Having failed to destroy the work of God by argument and accusation, the religious spirit will try to use confrontation and disdain.

… The religious spirit is often so convinced of its own righteousness it is unteachable. It is divisive and factional.

… The religious spirit will also embrace compromise in order to avoid persecution.

… False religion will cause us to walk in the "goodness" of the flesh, rather than the righteousness of Christ. It was a different spirit.

"But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now." (Gal 4:29)

Those who are coming into freedom from the religion of the flesh will always be persecuted by the religious spirit. The religious spirit displays a counterfeit holiness and a fleshly fear of God. The Holy Spirit, however, brings forth in us a genuine, scriptural fear of God, the fruit of which is a deep desire for holiness (2 Cor. 7:1) You cannot truly walk in holiness without an increasingly deep fear of God. Fear of God is more than reverence for Him. It is knowledge of Him, Who He is, and the holiness of His character. As the Holy Spirit progressively reveals in us a growing knowledge of God we become increasingly aware of His absolute sovereignty and authority, which in turn brings us to a place of awe that He should be so merciful to us. We cannot become aware of our need for redemption apart from the revelation of the Holy Spirit, and we cannot fear God apart from the ongoing sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

When we submit to false religion, we are proclaiming that Christ died for nothing. It's time to war against the spirit of religion, within ourselves, and wherever else we find it in the world or in the church.  [end quote]

The religious spirit is the most deceptive spirit in Satan’s arsenal.  Why?  Because it is so good at appearing ‘godlike.’  It’s one goal is to impede the progress of the seeker.  It offers an appealing, reasonable, even scriptural substitute for the crucified life, convincing the believer that they are doing or have done all that God requires.  The primary goal of the enemy of our souls is to prevent us from coming into an intimate relationship with God; from ever reaching full spiritual maturity.  It will use any and every avenue available to try and thwart the fulfillment of our calling to come out and ‘follow me.’   There is nothing off-limits to the religious spirit… not our families, not our ministries, not our friendships.  Every single part of our life that God has touched and is working a change in us… is fair game.

This spirit is so successful in its efforts for several reasons.  One being because we as a people do not believe that we can be deceived.  Two being we fail to make an ongoing practice of honestly examining our own hearts.

‘BabylonThe Great,’ penned by Isaac Penington in 1659, is incredibly timely and pertinent for this hour.  He lays out how religious spirits operate and deceive those who would follow Christ.  Here is an excerpt:

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.

 

The paths we are most familiar with are those of religion, where the focus is on the outward appearance; what is readily seen with the natural eye, and judged from our knowledge of good and evil.  It takes the discernment of the Holy Spirit to separate the true from the false.  The carnal mind is very adept at judging, but is incapable of doing so righteously. 

As was quoted in the opening… This war will personally involve every born-again believer, and ultimately each and every believer will find themselves having to choose sides. In this war, we will find the enemy among us, up close and personal, in our midst, and even living inside of us.

The religious spirit is not troubled when we see new light in an area, it just adapts itself to maintain its appearance as being that light that we now see.

Jesus gave us a parable in Luke 6:39-46  “And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

The religious spirit will assure us that we see clearly, that we are ‘right,’ while our brother is not, that we are obeying all of Christ’s commandments.  The one thing the religious spirit will never do is encourage us to examine our own hearts, or turn the other cheek when we feel we have been injured.  It will only let us follow Jesus’ commandments in a superficial, never a sacrificial, way.   Our Lord tells us in Matthew 5:44  “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” 

May we be made acutely aware of the nature of the war we are engaged in.  It is not a war against flesh and blood, against brothers and sisters, but against spiritual wickedness in high places; a spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of people.  We all have need of being purified by the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit.  We all need to have our minds renewed, our thoughts brought into subjection to the mind of Christ, till we seek His Glory alone, and not our own.

 

Thank God, that as we seek Him with an honest heart, He will expose the religious spirit that is striving to maintain a foothold, within us.  We can only be set free…. by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is not a quick, one-time event, but a continuing process, as we daily submit to and grow in the Lord.

We should know that we are always manifesting one spirit or another.  And what others see is not always what we assume we are projecting.  To be set free ties in with the previous posting here on “Humility.”

“Shut up yourself, therefore, in this form of Humility; all good is enclosed in it; it is a water of heaven, that turns the fire of the fallen soul into the meekness of the divine life, and creates that oil, out of which the love to God and man gets its flame.  Be enclosed, therefore, always in it; let it be as a garment wherewith you are always covered, and a girdle with which you are girt; breathe nothing but in and from its spirit; see nothing but with its eyes; hear nothing but with its ears. And then, whether you are in the church or out of the church, hearing the praises of God or receiving wrongs from men and the world, all will be edification, and everything will help forward your growth in the life of God.”

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” John 13:34-35.

Amen & Amen,

Cathy Morris

Humility: The Beauty of Holiness

Humility: The Beauty of Holiness

by Andrew Murray

Notes

NOTE A

"All this to make it known the region of eternity that pride can degrade the highest angels into devils, and humility raise fallen flesh and blood to the thrones of angels. Thus, this is the great end of God raising a new creation out of a fallen kingdom of angels; for this end it stands in its state of war betwixt the fire and pride of fallen angels, and the humility of the Lamb of God, that the last trumpet may sound the great truth through the depths of eternity, that evil can have no beginning but from pride, and no end but from humility. The truth is this: Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you. Under the banner of the truth, give yourself up to the meek and humble spirit of the holy Jesus. Humility must sow the seed, or there can be no reaping in Heaven. Look not at pride only as an unbecoming temper, nor at humility only as a decent virtue: for the one is death, and the other is life; the one is all hell, the other is all heaven. So much as you have of pride within you, you have of the fallen angel alive in you; so much as you have of true humility, so much you have of the Lamb of God within you. Could you see what every stirring of pride does to your soul, you would beg of everything you meet to tear the viper from you, though with the loss of a hand or an eye. Could you see what a sweet, divine, transforming power there is in humility, how it expels the poison of your nature, and makes room for the Spirit of God to live in you, you would rather wish to be the footstool of all the world than want the smallest degree of it." - Spirit of Prayer, Part 2, p. 73, Edition of Moreton, Canterbury, 1893.

NOTE B

"We need to know two things: 1. That our salvation consists wholly in being saved from ourselves, or that which we are by nature; 2. That in the whole nature of things nothing could be this salvation or saviour to us but such a humility of God as is beyond all expression. Hence the first unalterable term of the Saviour to fallen man: Except a man denies himself, he cannot be My disciple. Self is the whole evil of fallen nature; self-denial is our capacity of being saved; humility is our saviour... Self is the root, the branches, the tree, of all the evil of our fallen state. All the evils of fallen angels and men have their birth in the pride of self. On the other hand, all the virtues of the heavenly life are the virtues of humility. It is humility alone that makes the unpassable gulf between heaven and hell. What is then, or in what lies, the great struggle for eternal life? It all lies in the strife between pride and humility: pride and humility are the two master powers, the two kingdoms in strife for the eternal possession of man. There never was, nor ever will be, but one humility, and that is the one humility of Christ. Pride and self have the all of man, till man has his all from Christ. He therefore only fights the good fight whose strive is that the self-idolatrous nature which he hath from Adam may be brought to death by the supernatural humility of Christ brought to life in him." - W. Law, Address to the Clergy, p. 52. (I hope that this book of Law on the Holy Spirit may be issued by my publisher in the course of the year.)

NOTE C

"To die to self, or come from under its power, is not, cannot be done, by any active resistance we can make to it by the powers of nature. The only true way of dying to self is the way of patience, meekness, humility, and resignation to God. This is the truth and perfection of dying to self... For if I ask you what the Lamb of God means, must you not tell me that it is and means the perfection of patience, meekness, humility, and resignation to God? Must you not therefore say that a desire and faith of these virtues is an application to Christ, is a giving up yourself to Him and the perfection of faith in Him? And then, because this inclination of your heart to sink down in patience, meekness, humility, and resignation to God, is truly giving up all that you are and all that you have from fallen Adam, it is perfectly leaving all you have to follow Christ; it is your highest act of faith in Him. Christ is nowhere but in these virtues; when they are there, He is in His own kingdom. Let this be the Christ you follow.

"The Spirit of divine love can have no birth in any fallen creature, till it wills and chooses to be dead to all self, in a patient, humble resignation to the power and mercy of God.

"I seek for all my salvation through the merits and mediation of the meek, humble, patient, suffering Lamb of God, who alone hath power to bring forth the blessed birth of these heavenly virtues in my soul. There is no possibility of salvation but in and by the birth of the meek, humble, patient, resigned Lamb of God in our souls. When the Lamb of God hath brought forth a real birth of His own meekness, humility, and full resignation to God in our souls, then it is the birthday of the Spirit of love in our souls, which, whenever we attain, will feast our souls with such peace and joy in God as will blot out the remembrance of everything that we called peace or joy before.

"This way to God is infallible. This infallibility is grounded in the twofold character of our Saviour: 1. As He is the Lamb of God, a principle of all meekness and humility in the soul; 2. As He is the Light of heaven, and blesses eternal nature, and turns it into a kingdom of heaven, - when we are willing to get rest to our souls in meek, humble resignation to God, then it is that He, as the Light of God and heaven, joyfully breaks in upon us, turns our darkness into light, and begins that kingdom of God and of love within us, which will never have an end." - See Wholly for God, [The whole passage deserves careful study, showing most remarkably how the continual sinking down in humility before God is, from man's side, the only way to die to self.]

FOOTNOTE: The whole dialogue has been published separately under the title Dying to Self. A Golden Dialogue. By William Law. With Notes by A.M. (Nisbet & Co.) Everyone who would study and practice humility will find in this golden dialogue what it is that hinders our humility, how we are to be delivered from it, and what the blessing of the Spirit of Love is that comes to the humble from Christ, the meek and lowly Lamb of God.

NOTE D

A Secret of Secrets: Humility the Soul of True Prayer. - Till the spirit of the heart be renewed, till it is emptied of all earthly desires, and stands in an habitual hunger and thirst after God, which is the true spirit of prayer; till then, all our prayers will be, more or less, but too much like lessons given to scholars; and we shall mostly say them, only because we dare not neglect them. But be not discouraged; take the following advice, and then you may go to church without any danger of mere lip-labor or hypocrisy, although there should be a hymn or a prayer, whose language is higher than that of your heart. Do this: go to church as the publican went to the temple; stand inwardly in the spirit of your mind in that form which he outwardly expressed, when he cast down his eyes, and could only say, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." Stand unchangeably, at least in your desire, in this form or state of heart; it will sanctify every petition that comes out of your mouth; and when anything is read or sung or prayed, that is more exalted than your heart is, if you make this an occasion of further sinking down in the spirit of the publican, you will then be helped, and highly blessed, by those prayers and praises which seem only to belong to a heart better than yours.

This, my friend, is a secret of secrets; it will help you to reap where you have not sown, and be a continual source of grace in your soul; for everything that inwardly stirs in you, or outwardly happens to you, becomes a real good to you, if it finds or excites in you this humble state of mind. For nothing is in vain, or without profit to the humble soul; it stands always in a state of divine growth; everything that falls upon it is like a dew of heaven to it. Shut up yourself, therefore, in this form of Humility; all good is enclosed in it; it is a water of heaven, that turns the fire of the fallen soul into the meekness of the divine life, and creates that oil, out of which the love to God and man gets its flame. Be enclosed, therefore, always in it; let it be as a garment wherewith you are always covered, and a girdle with which you are girt; breathe nothing but in and from its spirit; see nothing but with its eyes; hear nothing but with its ears. And then, whether you are in the church or out of the church, hearing the praises of God or receiving wrongs from men and the world, all will be edification, and everything will help forward your growth in the life of God - The Spirit of Prayer, Pt. 2, p. 121.

Link to all chapters

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

THE  SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:” Ephesians 1:4-9.

All goodness and pureness becomes manifest in creatures because of the divine grace, through the sovereignty of God, who is the only Good. The divine grace is the means, the eternal being purposed to conform all creations to HIS image and likeness. The work and the fruit of divine grace, that comes through the Sovereignty of God has nothing to do with the soul that willeth or runneth (Romans 9:16). It is true, the Sovereign grace manifests itself within the soul when the soul heeds the call, but in truth the fruit of the work has nothing to do with the Soul. The more the soul gives up its self life, the more the sovereign grace is manifest. This divine grace was before the foundation of the world, free from every work of the creature. The degree of the work of the sovereign grace is proportional to how much the soul has ceased from its own work, which is basically a cessation of the old life, to be daily governed by supreme divine grace.

This is the mystery of predestination, it is an end of the work of the creature, which is self, by receiving supernatural aid through the work of the sovereign grace daily. In the Old Testament, we can find the Sovereignty of God through the divine grace mostly manifested itself on the children of Israel, but in the New Testament the entire adamic race has the invitation to partake in this divine grace daily because of the work at Calvary.

One may ask, “how do I partake in this divine sovereign grace in my daily life?” First our answer to such a seeker is, he cannot find the sovereign grace without, it manifests itself within. Once a depressed soul was under confusion, because he knew the power of the sovereign grace in rich and prosperous life but not in poverty, belittlement, shame, rejection, and tribulations, found the truth below:

“But where shall wisdom be found? and where [is] the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It [is] not in me: and the sea saith, [It is] not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed [for] the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it [shall not be for] jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom [is] above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom? and where [is] the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, [and] seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom; and to depart from evil [is] understanding.” Job 28:13-28.

Job did not find the answer in the depth, a type of natural wisdom, riches, sea, grave, etc., but He found that only God know the way thereof. Now God is a spirit, who communicates to HIS children through HIS spirit in them. No soul can know God without a practical knowledge of HIS sovereign grace or aid. The greater the trials, the greater will be a manifestation of the sovereign grace, when the soul surrenders all to HIM and allows HIM to work. This brings in a greater practical knowledge of God.

Let not any soul deceive his/her self that that he can come to know the sovereign grace by any other means. Religious activities, reading Christian books, etc will leave you dead unless you submit your heart and prayerfully seek the power of the sovereign grace, who is Christ, to keep you pure in your daily activities. This brings in divine wisdom, as you walk in the spirit, by doing what you are hearing from its Leadership.

The soul that will come to a practical knowledge of the mystery of the work of the sovereign grace, must be brought in to situations which his/her natural ability cannot withstand; in the form of temptations, trials, afflictions, rejection, loneliness, etc. This is where the Sovereign grace works to manifest its power. Without these trials the soul cannot appreciate the work of the sovereign grace, for only the thirsty will ask for water. The Sovereign grace hides our nature, the old life or weakness, through the manifestation of its power within the soul. This is predestination, sovereignty, Divine election, it is all about HIM.

“For ye are dead, and your life (the old life) is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.” Colossian 3:3-6.

Oh ye sons of men, who have become Sons of God, keep the faith working in patience, though it might not yet appear what ye shall be. Be not discouraged because you do not know were HE is leading you. Be strong through HIS mighty strength. Endure the trials, though you are like Job who was forsaken by all, including his dear wife, who thought it good that he might curse God and die. Oh Curse not God by listening to the voice of rotten self, but hold your integrity, for HE is trying you. Can’t you sing like Job “When he has tried me I shall come forth like pure gold”? Let this be your song daily; he will supply the strength to endure, for it is not HIS will that you be taken away by affliction because of the lack of strength. Have you stumbled on the way? It is still not yet finished with you. The enemy will whisper words of condemnation that you are finished. It is not true, look unto your deliverer with a contrite heart, and refreshment will be giving to raise you above your weakness and failure, bringing you unto victorious living; but return not unto your foolishness.

Oh the redeemed of the Lord scattered all over the world, you are the joy and the apple of HIS eye. Keep celebrating the reality of the divine predestination by clinging on HIM as your daily strength. It is high time, to be uninvolved in useless and unprofitable activities. Lay aside all malice, hatred, envies, evil speaking and love and pray for those who despitefully speak against you. Wish their good and redemption, not their ruin. This is the day of Divine Love, and separation from the works of self clinging on the works of sovereign grace.

Let everything that has breath PRAISE HIM, who is the CREATOR and SAVIOR OF ALL. AMEN.

James Jarjou

Knowledge... But Not As We've Known It - Lynette Woods

Knowledge... But not as we've known it


by Lynette Woods

Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Heb. 5:14

Most of us know that in the Garden of Eden there were two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. And because we know that the Tree of Life is good and represents God's Son, we usually conclude that the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil is bad. Being prompted to go deeper and find out more about this, I discovered that knowledge is very rarely spoken of in negative terms in the Scriptures. God said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6) and we are told to value and search for it (Prov. 2:1-6). The Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil is not mentioned again after Genesis, so I went back to look at the beginning....

We are told that everything that God made and placed in that garden was "very good" (Gen. 1:31). Presumably that included the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil because the Bible does not state otherwise, instead it says, "And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." That challenged my understanding, as I had always thought of this tree as being "evil", because I thought it represented my knowledge of good and evil.

However, instead of saying that the Tree of Knowledge represented our knowledge, the Bible seems to suggest that it represented God's knowledge of good and evil. He said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil," and even the enemy said, "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil". Doesn't that sound as though this knowledge was God's, that this was HIS knowledge rather than our own?

The fact of the matter is that relying on our own understanding and knowledge is simply our nature; we don't have to eat that fruit, we simply ARE it! Without even thinking, we accept our own knowledge of good and evil all the time. But this Tree is not about MY knowledge, I wasn't in the Garden of Eden, but God was. It represents HIS Knowledge.

The Tree of Knowledge

Some people have taken out the word “knowledge” and think of this Tree as being the "tree of good and evil". But this is the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. That word for “knowledge” in the Hebrew means perception, discernment, understanding, wisdom… and Christ is our Wisdom: “Christ Jesus has become for us Wisdom from God” (1 Cor. 1:30), "Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col 2:3). My knowledge must now come from a new source: Christ as the Tree of Knowledge! This Knowledge is not a thing that can be apprehended mentally, this Knowledge is a Person who is KNOWN, just as the Tree of Life is a Person we live through. The knowledge/perception that comes from knowing what is good or bad is something personal and something that cannot be given to another.

This begs the question of why God prohibited Adam and Eve from eating from this Tree in the first place. Why did He tell Adam that he would die (spiritually) on the day that he ate that fruit? Perhaps because he would have been accessing the Knowledge of God without having first eaten/assimilated His Life, therefore it would bring death. What is another term for knowing what is right and wrong, good and evil? The Law! This explains why eating that fruit brought death, "since through the law comes knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20). It also explains why God then gave the Law; it had all become legal instead of relational, they had chosen the Law over Life. And so Christ came to fulfill the Law and bring Life. Knowledge without Life, even a perfect knowledge of what is right and wrong, brings death; just written words (head knowledge, the law) kills, but the Spirit brings Life (2 Cor. 3:6).

It may also have been an issue of timing; God may have wanted Adam to choose to eat from the Tree of Life before sharing with him His Knowledge/Discernment of good and evil. You cannot know God intimately until you first have His Life in you, until you have been birthed into His Family. You can't have any real knowledge of what your Father likes and dislikes and considers to be good or evil, unless you have been born as His child and live with Him!

Neither the Law, nor the Tree of Knowledge, were the problem in the Garden of Eden; the problem was in man and still is... "The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh." (Rom. 7:12-14). Over and over in the Bible we are told that the Law (the instruction) of God is good, holy, and right, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul." (Psalm 19:7). Today we seem to have lost sight of this. Jesus said that He did not come to do away with the Law, but to perfectly fulfill it (Matt. 5:17).

Our Father in His wisdom does not trust just anyone with His Knowledge and revelation; too many would serve themselves with it. Instead, knowledge and revelation are linked with intimate relationship in Life; the deeper the relationship, the deeper the revelation and knowledge. Jesus loved His disciples, yet He revealed more of Himself and His heart to those who knew Him intimately. Only three were close to Him, with only one being the closest.... It was all about relationship then, and still is now. Even in our human relationships we do not reveal much of who we are to people we don't know very well; the fullest revelation and knowledge is reserved for those we know and trust. And because of our respect and love in the relationship, we do not reveal all that we know to others (2 Cor. 12:1-4).

The Offence

In the Garden of Eden it was not the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil that was the problem; it was the fact that Adam and Eve didn’t believe or trust God. Their unbelief and distrust was an offence and violation in God's eyes and caused the break in their relationship with Him.

For some reason, we focus on the Tree and vilify it and think it was the problem! But Adam and Eve chose to trust themselves and their own knowledge and judgment before they ever took one bite of that fruit. Their suspicions had been aroused, “Did God really say…?” They no longer believed or trusted God. The fact is that if they had trusted God instead of themselves, they would never have done what He had told them not to do.

I see myself right there. We make our own judgments based on our knowledge all the time, and they are usually wrong. So often I trust in what I see and think I know is right or wrong (my knowledge) instead of searching and asking God for His Knowledge and then believing what He shows me. This was the big issue for the Israelites in the wilderness, their unbelief prevented them from entering into the Promised Land of Rest (symbolizing Christ): "We see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter His rest” (Heb. 3:16). Just as the Israelites died in the wilderness, so Adam and Eve were sent from the garden and from His Rest to a comparative wilderness where they would have to work and labour until they too died. Because of their unbelief they were not allowed to eat from the Tree of Life.

The issue of trust and belief is important in any relationship, and clearly God values it: "I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered His people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe" (Jude 1:5). This belief is not merely mental assent of something you believe to be true, but the kind of belief in your heart that makes you trust and have faith no matter what. When you think about it, not trusting God makes NO sense at all! HE is in control of this universe; He created us, loves us, and knows us! So why on earth do we not trust Him? Simply because each of us grows up believing a lie: that we can trust ourselves and our knowledge, and that we know what is best for ourselves. We basically believe that we are God - the lie that was introduced in the Garden of Eden. It is only when God Himself shatters this illusion that we can begin to see rays of Truth bursting through: He is in control, I am not. He can change things, I cannot. He knows what is best, I do not. My knowledge is totally redundant.

The Two Trees

So there were two trees in the garden… and those two trees go together, it is a Law of Life! When we eat the fruit of the Tree of Life (Christ), we also need to eat from God's Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, because if we go by our own knowledge of good and evil, we just get it wrong all the time. Not only is it impossible for us to keep the laws of God, it is also impossible for us to know what is good and what is evil unless we have Christ's Life and Knowledge. There are many instances in the Bible where God broke His own laws, the prime example being Jesus Himself breaking the Sabbath and many other laws, because HIS Knowledge, and His Law is perfect and transcends our understanding of it! And I am not thinking of the Law as commands or rules that must be obeyed, I am thinking of God's Perfect Law as summed up and fulfilled in Christ (Matt. 5:17,18) Who has given us a new "law", the Law of Life, Love and Liberty! "Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God." (Rom. 10:4). It is about belief, trust and faith in the heart, and not about what we do or don't do according to external laws and rules. This Knowledge is not about knowing and following the rules in your head, but knowing and following the Man in your heart!

Accepting and eating God’s Knowledge of good and evil is vital, because in and of ourselves, we don't have a clue. Yet many treat this Tree of Knowledge with disdain saying, "don't judge, don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". But if you don't accept God's Knowledge of good and evil, then you will either rely on your own incorrect knowledge, or compromise and accept anything and everything. The very nature of God - which is holiness - separates, sets apart, distinguishes and judges between what He knows is good or evil.

Often judging and discerning are put in the "too hard basket" because we have to seek Wisdom and rely on the Spirit of Life and the Spirit of the Knowledge of God in order to discern and judge correctly. If you just say "you must not judge" that makes it so much easier, but that is going back to using a law instead of depending on Life! The law becomes "you must not judge" instead of spending time asking Christ for His Knowledge and discernment in each situation. People often use the plank in the eye example for not judging, but seem to miss the fact that Jesus went on to say, "first get the beam of timber out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the tiny particle out of your brother’s eye". He wasn't saying don't judge at all, but deal with yourself first, and then you will be able to judge/see clearly and help your friend.

Due to this mindset that the knowledge of good and evil is bad, many just reject knowledge altogether and so reject judging and discerning. Consequently, today there is an awful mixture of good and evil, truth and error, and a lack of knowledge and discernment. God's people are destroyed just as Hosea prophesied (Hos. 4:6) and as Isaiah also prophesied: "My people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge."

Light to See

We desperately need the Life and Knowledge of God summed up in His Son Jesus Christ. After Father had shown me these things, He then brought me across these words written many years ago by T. Austin-Sparks which I found very encouraging (italics are mine):

"Who can fail to see that this garden is a type of Christ! Is He not the tree of life? Is He not the river of life? Is He not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Is not such knowledge in a secret way bound up with Him, to the end that through Him it should be known? Are not the deepest secrets of God concerning good and evil bound up in the mystery of the person of Christ? He is the fruit. He is the health. He is the nourishment. In a word, He is the sum of the knowledge of the glory of God. Christ is set forth in type by that garden....

“God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, planted a tree of life, open to man, and a tree of light (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) which, while man was under probation, was kept from him, under a prohibition. It is well to remember that true light only comes along the line of the obedience of faith. It was not that God was withholding essential knowledge from man, but was testing him as to his faith in Himself, and as to his obedience of faith.... The knowledge must be living, must be linked with life. You can eat of the 'tree of knowledge' - I mean that other tree of knowledge, the knowledge of the Lord, of heavenly things - but even so, you must have the "tree of life" to keep the balance. Knowledge and life correspond, go together."

I was very interested that he referred to the Tree of Knowledge as the Tree of Light, "The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psalm 19:8). God's Knowledge gives insight and enables us to see what we could not see before. I am not thinking for one moment of head knowledge or "knowledge" that we accumulate from others. That is man's knowledge, not God's Knowledge. I am talking about first hand experiential knowledge, the full, correct knowledge (epignosis) of Christ that changes you from the inside out because it is the knowledge, perception and insight that comes from intimate relationship! This Knowledge enables you to say, "I have SEEN!" It is the eyes of our hearts being enlightened (2 Cor. 4:6, Eph. 1:18).

It is only when we have seen something for ourselves that we then have real knowledge that can be recounted to others. You cannot describe the breathtaking awe of Niagara Falls until you yourself have stood within two feet of that enormous volume of water cascading over the edge. And even after recounting what you have seen for yourself, you cannot make another see it unless they too go and see for themselves. Then they will know... because they too have seen! Seeing is something intensely personal, just as knowledge is. I can tell you what I have seen and know of Christ, but that cannot compare with the delight and depth of knowledge you experience when you too see, hear and know Him for yourself. May each of us see and know for ourselves how beyond words and beyond our knowledge Christ Jesus is!

This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Phil. 1:9-11

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And The Lord Shut Him In - Guy Morris

AND THE LORD SHUT HIM IN


In Genesis chapters 6th through the 9th chapters we have a record of a man by the name of Noah. What is so interesting about Noah and his family is it is so much like what many of us are living and are getting ready for right now as we hear from the Holy Spirit of our Father. Yes, there is another flood coming only this time it will be a flood of fire that will cover the earth. A great deal of what is written in Revelation will come to its fulfillment.

If you were in Noah’s shoes in today’s world, would you keep quiet about it and just prepare yourself or would you try to tell people?

I have tried to tell people about this even though I have difficulty in my old age. I am glad others are speaking out also. Many will make fun, saying things will continue on just as it always has. Others have been told by church leaders that they will not be here when the things of Revelation begins which is a lie. The things that are coming will be great trials of faith by fire. Many people will pray to die and will not be able to do so. This is why our God will shorten the days just for the sake of the saints.

This world as it is will come to an end. I have seen a vision of it and God has been speaking to me ever since I have been 6 years old of a place of rest and safety from the very day the flood begins. It is very much like the time when God was bringing the world to its end in Noah’s day. Noah and his family obeyed the Lord in preparing a place according to God’s instruction and when it was finished God had them enter a door and the Lord shut them in. The Lord for years has been telling those who have ears to hear to prepare, prepare, prepare.

The only difference is Noah and his family built a very large boat called an ark. Inside this vessel were many rooms and inside, food and everything they had need of was placed according to the instructions of God.

There were eight souls which was Noah, his wife, three sons and the wife to each of his sons that` survived that flood. Plus there were many animals, creeping things after its kind and every fowl after his kind, and every bird of every sort. They went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein the breath of life is. They went in male and female of all flesh as God had commanded him AND THE LORD SHUT HIM IN and the flood began to increase and cover the earth. The ark floated.

It is so much like the days of Noah except today it is God preparing a place for us though His Son Jesus just like a bridegroom preparing a place for His bride. He said in John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many staying places, residences.) if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Every thing you have need of is inside our Father’s House called the Kingdom of God. He said in Matt.6:31-34 “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the nations of this world seek :) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

When Jesus came to pay the price of our sins on the cross with His Own Blood, be resurrected and to sit with our Father preparing a place for us. He spoke of a time when He would come and receive us unto Himself. He spoke that His coming would be (as the days of Noah were so also His coming would be.) As in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the Ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For a moment, can you put yourselves in the shoes of the people… of those inside the door and those on the outside. Many would be banging on the door wanting to be let in to the safety of God’s refuge. I for one would not want to be on the out side with a door closed that I could not open.

Jesus speaks of this happening again. He speaks of it in a form of a parable in Matt. 25

What kind of world was it that Noah and his family lived in? God Himself answers by saying that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, 6:5. (Sound familiar?) In another verse God says the earth is filled with violence. In chapter 6:12 “God looked upon the earth and behold it was corrupt; for all FLESH had corrupted his way upon the earth. In 6:13 God said to Noah, the end of all FLESH is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence though them and behold I will destroy them with the earth.”

I would like to bring something to the forefront here. Did you notice there was not one word about Satan when God was speaking to Noah of why He was bringing the world in those days to an end?

The problem was and is the flesh and the lust of it that corrupts.

This problem with the flesh has always been the main problem since the fall of man. Satan used it to build all the kingdoms of the world. He even offered them and the glory of them to Jesus if He would worship him. Satan owned all the kingdoms of this world. He built these kingdoms by the wants of the flesh.

THE PROBLEM IS IN NOAH’S DAY THERE WAS NO WAY TO OVERCOME THE FLESH. But now there is. Now Jesus defeated Satan on the cross and you people that are born again into the family of God need not to fear Satan or the one they call the devil for greater is He that is in you then he that is in the world. God has given to us the Holy Spirit to live within us; teaching us the truth on how to follow Jesus and be an overcomer to the wants and lusts of our flesh. We (deny) our selves as we carry our cross to follow Jesus to the death of our flesh. We take the Words of Jesus to heart and obey the commandments to the very best of our ability. We do it because of our love for Him and our faith in the LORD AND HIS PROMISES. For faith works through love. The Holy Spirit taught us this kind of love because while we were yet sinners Jesus died for us. No greater love is this that a person lay down their lives for others that we might live.

It is sad to hear people who call themselves Christians today speak of how tired they are of hearing about the flesh and the carrying of our cross to bring about the death of it. The first thing I think of is what Paul said. The cross of Christ is foolishness to them that are perishing. The secret of overcoming is obeying the Lord Jesus commandments.

Jesus said in John 14:21 “He that hath my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.”

The flesh hates the commandments of Jesus because the truth of it is every time you are tested in obeying them and you do obey it---then it’s like someone is driving the nails into your hands on the cross you’re carrying. The more you obey them by the love in your heart the more you die a little each day. These are the works that Jesus was looking for in each of the 7 churches of Revelations. Jesus found them in the church of PHILADELPHIA; notice this church was the only church God set before them an open door.

It is written that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Today we have some people just like Noah and his family. They also have found grace from the Lord. They also are being told what to do before the flood comes. They are also being told the purpose of the fire for you see the time is coming that the old Devil called Satan is going to lose his control of the nations. Our God is going to bring forth a war which will place Jesus Christ as king over all nations and people. Satan is going to get kicked out of heavenly places never again to return and accuse our brother and sisters as he is today.

The troubles in this world are only going to get worse as time goes on. But there is a rest and peace for the people of God. It’s just down a narrow road and through the door of Fathers house.

Matt 24:42-47 “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.


Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and WISE servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.”

These wise ones are spoken of again in the parable of the ten virgins, but the Lord also speaks of five of them who are foolish. The foolish virgins are the Lord’s people who have Jesus the Holy Seed of God in them only they were slow in preparing for the Lords coming. They are also people who have allowed others to preach to them a different gospel than is written in the scriptures. They are also those whom the Lord speaks of in Matt. 24:48-51 right after the Lord speaks of the wise ones, He says, “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

We have this type of people with us to day. I believe the Lord wants us to pray for them but leave them alone; the Lord knows how to take care of His own.

We will also show you them in the book of Revelation, but now let us see what happens to them in this parable. Matt. 25:6-10 “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”

This word translated into the word marriage means two become one. The wise become one with Jesus Christ. We see this word wise in the book of Daniel also, chapter 12:3 “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” Also 12:9 “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”

There are many things that you may not agree with me on these things and I want you to know that is perfectly alright. But I will not be able to change it because I did not receive these things by any means of man. I received them by revelation of Jesus Christ.

In the book of Revelation we see these two groups. I believe the blowing of the trumpets is the beginning of the war between Satan and the world he wants to control and Jesus who God has given all authority to set up His Kingdom. In Daniel 12:1 We see what the Lord will bring about--- “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

It is a time of FIRE and we see the wise on the inside of the door which are under the wings. Rev. 12: 1 “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:”

This woman represents Spiritual Israel with the crown of twelve stars which are the twelve Spiritual tribes spoken in the 7th chapter of this book. The woman is clothed with the light of day, meaning Jesus Christ. The moon is under her feet meaning she has overcome this light that rules the night. It represents Babylon and all the many gospels it has created in her confusion.

Within this woman is a man child which will come forth and be caught up to God and His Throne. They will be sent into the world with power to preach an everlasting Gospel to every nation. These are men much like the apostles in the first generation only instead of 12, there will be 144,000.

This woman I also believe will help the man-child preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to every nation before the end of this age has arrived. Notice the protection that is as a result of being on the inside of the door. Rev.12:5-8 “and she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”

These scriptures show you these two groups. Those who are inside the door and under the wings of the Lord and you see the protection given to these wise ones. Rev12:13-17 “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

The remnant of her seed is the group not in the door. Rev.11:1-2 “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

The Holy City is the Spiritual City of heaven, the true bride of the Lord. It is not the city in the east which the Lord calls Sodom and Egypt, Rev 11:8

I say these things to stir you up lest we become tired in our labor to enter the rest our Lord has prepared for us or be turned aside from becoming one with our Lord Jesus Christ; for He knows who He can use and who He cannot.

May the Holy Spirit have His way with you as He Leads you to be one with Jesus Christ.



A brother in the family of God


Even so come Lord Jesus


Guy


It is a wonderful thing about the door that was offered to the Philadelphia church because there was a lot of persecution still going on in those days. This door that was opened to this church is the same door you read about in chapter 4:1. This door when it is opened to you no man can shut it and when Jesus closes this door, no man can open it. You can also read about this same door in the parable of the ten virgins. In this the Lord Jesus speaks about two classes of God’s people; the wise ones and the foolish ones.

From: Going With The Wind

The Spirit as Wind

The wind is often unpredictable and blows one way one minute and then changes and blows another the next and who knows why or where or when it will blow next! In a similar way, to those who are of the earth, the people of the Spirit (wind/breath) may sometimes appear unpredictable or changeable as they go wherever the Spirit blows, but to God it proves that He is truly in control of us and that we are adjustable and teachable and willing to be blown and directed according to His Wind.

As a family we recently went through a large cornfield maze and got thoroughly lost for a couple of hours! The maze was made in the shape of an America's Cup sailing yacht and had interesting facts about sailing on plaques throughout the maze. I know very little about sailing, but one of these facts hit me with its spiritual truth every time we came across it in the field, which was, unfortunately for us, more than just once! It said:

"Apparent wind is the wind you feel as you move yourself forwards; true wind is the wind you feel when you stand still and perceive what direction the true wind is blowing."

This 'fact' challenged me about perceiving what Spirit/Wind we are discerning and sensing; is it apparent wind or true Wind? Sometimes we can be so busy doing things "for God" and carrying on with what our own understanding of Him and His ways are, that we may THINK we are going with the Spirit/Wind and doing what He desires simply because we do feel the wind on our face - but we may be mistaking apparent wind for the true Wind. It may be just apparent wind caused by our own action and ability and therefore not true wind which we are sensing. In order to go on, we must stop! The true Wind/Spirit is often only discerned when we stop moving and stand still and wait - THEN we may perceive which direction the Wind is truly blowing in and can then 'go with the flow'!

Father sometimes brings me to a standstill with a phrase which we teach our children when they are learning to cross a street: "Stop, Look and Listen". Before taking one step, they must be sure that the way is clear. The same is true with us and our Father, He will sometimes tell us to stop, look and listen - STOP our action and be still, LOOK to see what He wants us to see now that He has brought us to a halt, and LISTEN and wait to hear what direction He would now have us go in and how and when He wants us to proceed. When we stop we no longer feel the apparent wind but can then sense the true Wind; and we may need to change direction or change course as a result.

Our self-made apparent wind may be something which was initially the direction of the true Wind. We may have begun going in a certain direction with the flow of the Spirit behind us to support and empower, only to miss the prompting to Stop, Look and Listen and so missed the Wind change and carried on sailing along in the power of our own strength and ability instead. Wind is unpredictable. It can change and blow in another direction in an instant which is why our Father will occasionally prompt us to stop so we can once again sense the True Wind rather than just the apparent wind. This is one way in which He can test us to see whether we are intent on going on obliviously or whether we are sensitive to Him and His voice. It will reveal whether we will listen and then just carry on, or whether we will not only listen but also obey and be adjustable to which direction He wishes to go in at any given point in time. We are not to be blown about by every wind of doctrine (by the breath/wind originating from man - Eph 4:14) but blown by the true Wind of God.

Going with the Wind/Spirit of God is vital. I have often told Him the obvious: "Father, I cannot get through this day if You do not go with me as my Strength and Life." Eventually He told me to "Stop, Look and Listen" to what I had been saying... and in stopping, looking and listening I realized that I needed to turn those words around and instead say "Father, I cannot get through this day if I do not go WITH YOU as my Strength and Life." He is going on and He knows exactly what direction He is going in! It would be ludicrous to hop onto a yacht to go sailing and say to the wind "Please go with me today, I cannot get anywhere unless you go with me" as though we were in control of where we were going and were expecting the wind to blow us in the direction we planned to go; yet we often treat the Wind/Spirit of God in this way. We first need to stop, look and listen to discern and know which way the Wind is blowing and then simply yield and submit to His direction as He blows us where He desires to, and we go with Him!

Wind is essential to nature just as the Wind of God is essential to us. One morning as I was sitting in our garden, my eye was caught by a small seed which was being blown about by the wind. It was clear from its design that it was created to blow through the air to wherever the wind took it! Eventually it landed on some stones. But it didn't stay there for more than a few seconds because another gust of wind came and blew it up into the air again. It slowly floated back down and landed on some bricks. Again it didn't stay there for long because the wind picked it up and carried it away; the seed was specially designed so that it would keep going with the wind - waiting until it was deposited into the right environment of moist, soft soil to settle in and germinate and grow. It had no control over where it was blown to, whether that was way up into the air or onto stones or soil. The seed did not determine where it would land or what spot was most suitable for it; that was determined by the Wind, and the same is true with us as His seeds.

In the Bible we are likened to being His garden and the Wind blows on us to bring forth the perfume and fragrance of His Life from us (Song of Solomon 4:16). However, the wind can be both very gentle and very powerful, it may be beneficial or destructive and it is referred to as both in the Bible. Strong, stormy winds can easily destroy what is made by man; but what is planted by God will stand and actually be strengthened by the storm's winds. Ezekiel spoke of the wind of God's anger blowing down what was not solid and of God and thus revealing their true nature and exposing the foundations (Ezekiel 13:10-15). A similar message was given by Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27 - the house (person) that is not built and established on Him and His Life, who only hears but does not obey, will collapse when the Wind blows strongly. Powerful winds can blow down, destroy and uproot - or they can test for strength and depth of roots. Wind strengthens trees and is necessary for blowing away dead leaves, branches and flowers; getting rid of the old to make way for new growth and to blow seeds to where they can bring forth new life.

May we be those who not only perceive the direction of the Wind but who also submit to His Wind and go with Him to wherever He chooses to blow us for His glory!

"You have called me a garden, Oh I pray that the north wind and the south wind may blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out in abundance for You in whom my soul delights." Song of Solomon 4:16.

"Going With The Wind"

by Lynette Woods

Being A Trumpet - Lynette Woods

Simply 'Being'...

Simply “Being”


For well over three years, the Lord has been impressing upon me the need to ‘simply be’…. which is much harder to do than one might think. We are all programmed (in our thoughts and emotions) as to how we respond to our environment. We do this in many ways. Much of what we say and do is done automatically. We don’t always have the time and distance from many situations that arise to formulate what we would consider a proper response. Because things happen ‘in the moment,’ our responses are what they are, and many times we wish afterwards that we would have reacted differently. Who among us have never uttered words that we later wished we could take back; or lashed out ‘in the moment’ in a way that was contrary to how we know we should have responded? Sometimes we are at a complete loss as to what the ‘proper’ response would even be. (When I say ‘proper response’ I am not referring to what is acceptable or appropriate according to societies standards, or religious standards, but what kind of response is indeed pleasing in God’s sight).

‘Walking in the Spirit’ is not automatic; it must be learned. And this learning happens in the spiritual, just as it does in the natural. As babes we are given much grace… but as we mature we are held more and more accountable.

It is quite unsettling to learn that when we are given to see the things in others that are not pleasing in God’s sight… it is because they are in us as well. Our flesh is what we must die to. We can be in complete mental agreement with this requirement, yet we soon learn that we are incapable of crucifying our own flesh. It takes a working of the Spirit within us to accomplish this feat. In fact, dying to self is our greatest obstacle to ‘walking in the Spirit.’ Yet as we continue to seek Him, we will be brought to the place where we too will say from the depths of our heart… “…Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” Isaiah 6:5.

Learning to ‘simply be’ is progressive…“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” 2Co 3:18.

Initially, we see all the negatives; the religious spirits, the errors, the injustices, and want to fight against them. It takes us a while to discover that seeing in others… does not equate with being totally free of in ourselves. Jesus said, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” Mat 7:2. And in Luke 6:37-38 “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” We may feel thoroughly right and justified in our judgments on our brothers and sisters regarding some matter… until the Holy Spirit begins applying that same judgment to our own life; our own conduct; our own words. Then, it suddenly takes on a whole new look and feel.

Our religious concepts, doctrines, beliefs, attitudes, and let us not forget our works, can give us great comfort and security in regards to our spiritual stature and righteousness. So it can come as a great surprise when even those things that we thought were good and acceptable are stripped away from us. These may have been good commendable things in and of themselves, and have value and merit. But they also contain mixture. We did the absolute best we could do given our ability and level of understanding, but they are not something for us to glory in. Rather they are stepping stones along our pathway… to know God. Paul put it well in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Religion, for all of its splendid appearances, does much to keep us separated from God, by diverting our focus away from the personal, intimate relationship with God and onto peripheral things about God. Personally, I was blown away when I read the writings of Isaac Penington. Babylon The Great, written over 400 years ago, clearly lays out how religious spirits operate in the life of even the most sincere believer. Religion allows us to confidently critique everyone but our self. What we often fail to fully comprehend is that while we are looking at everyone else, the Spirit of the Lord is judging ‘the thoughts and intents of our heart.’ When we see the religious spirit in others, know that it is in us as well.

A religious mindset sees God as being apart from us. A verse such as 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” …projects the possibility of seeing Him and being like Him into some future appearing, and not now. This is a subtle negation of the truth. The truth is; “Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him” John 14:23.
“For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]” Ephesians 2:10.

We can rest assured that the path which God has purposed for us to walk, is not the path we would have chosen for ourselves. Many times along the way, we will encounter things that will cause us great suffering. We become dependent upon the Lord for all things, no longer leaning on the arm of the flesh. It is a fearful thing to lay down all of our accumulated knowledge and experience, and just Rest in God. We have been so indoctrinated in how to please men; how to meet their expectations; that to stop considering how things might appear is unnerving. Yet if we would come to the place in our relationship with God, that we can ‘Simply Be,’ that is exactly what we must do.

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” Romans 8:9.

Amen & Amen


Cathy Morris


3/05/2011

Why Are You Seeking Jesus?

Why Are You Seeking Jesus?

“Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks: When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed” John6:23-27.
The thought that millions of Christians around the world are seeking “Jesus” is something practical and we have not much to debate or aguement about it. Yet we will state this without fear or favor that, like the multitudes in His early days in Israel, many of these multitudes are not seeking the man JESUS himself but the temporal benefits they know they can gain in Seeking after Him.
It is like the question within is always “what temporal benefit will I gain in seeking after the holiness of Jesus?” In the initial stage, they seek some of his holiness, but along the way the holiness becomes no longer important or desirable for they have seen something the flesh can glory in, though as a “Christian.” In the initial, it was Holiness and the “things” but along the way it becomes the “things.” “Get this and that one, grab this, control that one, compete with this” on and on with a lot of endless foolishness, greed, envies, carnality, strife and lust.
When most of these souls find the luxury, fame or riches of the many “Leaders” of Christendom contrary to the lifestyle of the holy apostles, they easily become captivated by this wind of deception, and become part of the rat race. So we have endless seekers, but seekers of vain and temporal things, the meat that perishes, not the eternal one which perish not.
Some can pray and fast in order to preach or teach well with unction, not primarily for the sake of the extension of the kingdom but to gain some recognition, respect, fame and many other foolish and childish things. This is all that they battle as Christians. This is their Land of Canaan, not victorious holy living daily. When you talk about the fulfillment of dreams or the fullness of our inheritance in Christ, this is just what they see. It is very true. If this is absent then nothing is exciting, it is all about making a “Ministry” not possessing divine life.
There are others who know Jesus as only the prince of peace and sometimes because of a hard sinful husband, wife or children they seek Jesus only for a good and peaceful home in their families. This is beautiful and is part of the heart of the Lord but when that becomes the only interest of the seeker then it is selfishness. To such souls if this is not fulfilled, then they can forsake Christ. This is all they battle in Life as a Christian. If the wife for example is living in sin, then the husband who is the seeker will also join her, because that is the foundation of his peace, not the Lord. These things are so common; men’s hearts are not fixed on the Lord alone. They must substitute him with something; fame, riches, wife, husband, etc.
There are a lot of prayer meetings, but if the prayers of the righteous availleth much, it will be true that the prayers are not from the lips of righteous men because they avail not in bringing the hearts of men towards Eternal things, for they ask and receive not because they ask to consume it upon their lust, in trying to make names and to build a page of History. History making, records, men pleasing and flesh seeking is the mark of modern day Christianity. Even in the very thing which has its order from the Lord, the modern day Christian must make something to build a name, be it giving a message from the Lord, preaching the gospel to sinners, websites, gifts of the spirit, ministry work etc. It is a terrible Idolatry and a hindrance to the coming of the True Glory of the Lord in the corporate body of Christ. There is a lot of the authority and glory of Christ we are yet to see, but how can a blind sensual modern Christianity, with its many impure “converts” be entrusted with such divine authority.

The Soul that must seek the Bread that endures to Life eternal:

1. Must be willing to be separate and willing to be nothing to every man but JESUS. He must recognize that those that compete with men see only men, but those that see God endure to be approved and seek honor from HIM alone.

2. He must choose to be the Last, for He must learn that God only chooses the things that are despise by prideful sinful flesh, and base thing to bring to naught things that are mighty. Let him forget the desire of making a name for himself, but let HIM with a single eye put his/her affection in the eternal things above.

3. Let him not waste his/her time in vain and unprofitable activities, but Let him Live like a stranger and a true pilgrim seeking a better Country. Let this be HIS pursuit, that is, to enter the Eternal country, he/she is seeing with the spiritual eye.

Men find it difficult to see the difference between seeing something and possessing it, having spiritual knowledge in the head and making that knowledge Life in you. This is the purpose of meat, it is to give life, if you do not chew it though you have it in your mouth it will not give you Life. The meat of the words we speak from the Lord must be made alive in us. Let us Stop our hypocrisy and vain confession and seek to eat the meat that endures for eternity.

Amen
James Jarjou

James 4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

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