The Walk

Struggling With God

by Eric Wheeler

eric@sharingtheway.com

Recently I have been thinking about the struggle that life is sometimes. It seems that while we are in this body of flesh, all we seemingly do is struggle! We struggle with sin. We struggle with wrong thoughts and fleshly desires. We struggle with finances. We struggle with relationships. We struggle to understand and to comprehend what God’s purposes are, and what His Holy Spirit is trying to show us and make us into. Let’s face it. We constantly struggle!

As I was thinking about this continual struggle that life is in the flesh, the Holy Spirit reminded me of a verse in the Bible: “And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive [contend] with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” (Gen. 6:3). In declaring this, God, in His infinite mercy, shortened mankind’s life span, so that we humans don’t have to continue this struggle in the flesh for so long. He had mercy on us and “commuted our sentences”, so to speak, so that we don’t have to continue this weary battle forever. Thank God!

When God made this announcement just prior to the Flood, men and women were living to eight and nine-hundred years old! Can you imagine that? I am only thirty-eight years old, and sometimes I get so tired of this struggle that I am just ready to quit. I long for rest. His rest! I get tired of the relentless spiritual battle day after day. I can understand why Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two [life and death], having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.” (Phil. 1:21-24). And again, he said, “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed – always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you…Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight in glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent [physical body], is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a down payment. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (II Cor. 4:8-5:8).

For those who believe, and who have His Holy Spirit, we groan within ourselves to be released from this body of flesh and sin, and to inherit the eternal promises of God. We do not wish to keep on fighting and struggling with this world and with sin forever. For as long as we are in this flesh, it seems that sin and death reign over us. Notice what the Apostle Paul said: “If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you…For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear [death], but you received the Spirit of adoption…The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God…For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. And not only they, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Rom. 8:10-23).

In my struggles and despair, I recently cried out to God for answers. He reminded me of our father, Jacob, and how he “wrestled with God and with man” (Gen. 32:24-28). As Jacob wrestled with God, he refused to quit even though the Lord severely hurt him in the flesh by dislocating his hip. Because of his perseverance, faith, and endurance, the Lord blessed him and said to him, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob [supplanter or deceitful], but Israel [overcomer with God]. For you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” (Gen. 32:28).

Even though Jacob apparently walked with a limp for the rest of his life after this encounter with God (Gen. 32:30-32), he nonetheless was blessed by Him throughout his life, and was granted an eternal position in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 8:11). In other words, he didn’t allow his wounds in the flesh or “flesh wounds” to spiritually kill him! As Jesus said, “You will be hated by all men for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Mark 13:13). By this, Jesus was saying to us that we have to be willing to “go the distance” with God and with man. Like Jacob, we too, cannot give up! We cannot give in! We are in a spiritual battle. We are in a fight. Yes, we are going to get hurt. Yes, we are going to get bruised. Yes, we are going to get battle scars. For the Scripture says, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (II Tim. 3:12). And again, it says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psa. 34:19). And in another place it says, “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” (Rom. 8:36).

Living in the Flesh is Supposed to be a Struggle

God knows we struggle. While we are in the flesh, this is how it is supposed to be! When mankind collectively decided at the Garden of Eden to live according to his own ways and by his own decisions (effectively becoming his own god), he thereby chose to live “in the flesh” (that is, according to the decisions of his flesh) instead of by the spiritual truths of God as revealed by Him. That is why, God said that mankind must learn that “man does not live by bread alone [that is, by the things which sustain him physically], but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God does man live” (Deut. 8:3). Life itself is spiritual. A physical body without an inhabiting spirit is dead (Jam. 2:26). It is nothing but a corpse. Likewise, mankind must come to realize that he is “dead” without the Spirit of God living in him. This is in accordance with the Scriptures. For God said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17). In other words, man is as good as dead in his present state! Jesus confirmed this also. He told the people who rejected Him that they were “dead in their sins” and that they “wouldn’t come to Him that they may have life” (John 5:40; 8:24). As it is written: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Col. 2:13).

By eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, mankind effectively destined himself to a life of struggling with himself and with God. Having the spirit of life in him, he is both a spiritual being and a physical creation (creature). But mankind as a whole doesn’t realize that he is trying to live solely by physical means – that is, according to his flesh – according to his knowledge, his human reason, his earthly senses, and his understanding of the world. But mankind must learn that he doesn’t live by “bread” (physical things) alone. He is both a physical and spiritual being! In a very real sense, he is therefore a divided house! And as God says, “A divided house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). He is in a spiritual battle against himself, his surroundings, and the Spirit of God. This is mankind’s struggle. And all of us, by way of Adam and Eve, chose it.

When we learn to not live solely by what our own eyes tell us or by what our own minds think, but rather by what God says, we then begin to enter into His Rest. This is what the Bible means by “resting from our own labors” and entering into God’s Sabbath Rest. Notice the author of Hebrews writes, “For we who have believed do enter that Rest…For he who has entered His Rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Heb. 4:3-10). In other words, we learn to live by what God tells us rather than by our own judgments and decisions. That is why Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden (the “Paradise of God”) in the first place. They quit believing God, and consequently, were destined to a life of struggling in the flesh and with their flesh until they ultimately died – having accomplished nothing, but death. For God said to Adam (all of mankind), “Cursed is the ground [earth] for your sake. In toil [hard labor] you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread [physical things] till you return to the ground. For out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:17-19).

When we learn to live by what God says – that is, in a constant state of belief in God – by faith, we are then beginning to live and walk in the Spirit and are no longer living and walking according to the flesh. And even though we still inhabit a fleshly body at this present time, we are no longer serving the flesh or following its dictates, but rather, we are now serving Christ and following His commandments by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says it this way: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for goodwill is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the Law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members [body], warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members [body]. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God – [this deliverance will happen] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Rom. 7:18-25)

Even though we grudgingly still sin because we are in this fleshly body, by the grace of God our sins are not attributed to us. They are covered by Him Whom God has made “sin for us” – that is, by Jesus Christ. Notice these Scriptures: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them… For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:18-21). And again, “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin” (Rom. 4:5-8). And in another place, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:3-4).

When we believe God and obey Him, He gives us His Holy Spirit which begins to change us. The Holy Spirit becomes one with our spirit and we then begin to walk according to God’s promptings, teachings, and leadings, instead of according to the dictates, reasonings and lustings of our flesh. Because we serve Him in our minds and with our spirit, He has promised us that in due time He will give us a new body – that is, He will give us a spiritual body to go with our spiritual mind, and will thus consequently destroy our physical sinful body that has been divided against us for so long! The Bible clearly states this: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural [physical] body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, ‘The first Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man…For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (I Cor. 15:42-53). And again it says, “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin” (Rom. 6:5-7).

Jacob’s Example

While we still live in this flesh however, we continue to struggle. Yet we must learn to follow the example of our father Jacob, and learn to overcome by struggling with God, and not against Him! We have to earnestly seek those things which are from above and not let go just as he didn’t. But we cannot use fleshly (carnal) means to do so! That is what Jacob had to learn. According to the Scriptures, there is a right way to struggle and there is a wrong way. Notice what the prophet Hosea said: “The Lord also brings a charge against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways. According to his deeds He will recompense him. He [Jacob] took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed. He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke to us – that is, the Lord God of Hosts. The Lord is His name! So you, by the help of your God, return. Observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually.” (Hos. 12:2-6). Jacob had to learn to wait on God and to rely on Him instead of relying on his own strength and cunning to acquire the things that he wanted. Unfortunately, Jacob had to learn the hard way. But that is why God recorded his story for us, so that we might learn from it.

When Jacob first entered this world in the flesh as a baby in his mother’s womb, he began his life by struggling. Notice what the Scriptures say: “Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her, and she said, ‘If all is well, why am I this way?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples shall be separated from your body. One people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.’ So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau [hairy]. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob [supplanter or deceitful]” (Gen. 25:21-26). Later on when the twin boys grew up, Jacob got his older brother, Esau, to sell him his valuable God-given birthright for a cheap bowl of lentil stew. In addition to this, Jacob also later stole his brother Esau’s patriarchal blessing through deceit (Gen. 27:36).

In every instance, Jacob obviously desired and valued the things of God and the blessings of God more than his brother Esau did. This was right and good. We should greatly value and appreciate the things of God above all else. The only problem is Jacob was acting in the flesh, according to his own carnal sinful ways, and was using his own strength and deceitful methods to attain them. God appreciated his sincere desire and relentless struggle to attain the things of God, but obviously did not approve of his wicked methods.

These allegorical struggles illustrated in the Bible between Jacob and his brother Esau; Jacob struggling with his own carnal nature; Jacob wrestling with God; and Jacob battling his surroundings; spiritually represent our Christian lives and spiritual walks in this world. We are not only battling against our own human natures within us, but as Paul says “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). It is a spiritual battle. That is why we must put on the whole armor of God in order to overcome (see Eph. 6:11-18). Like Jacob, we too are called to be “overcomers with God” (Israel) by using His strength and wisdom, not our own.

As God said to Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb; two peoples shall be separated from your body” (Gen. 25:23). These “two nations” prophetically represented the people of God (Jacob or ”Israel”) on the one hand, and the people of the world (Esau) on the other. They also figuratively represent the difference between the “First Adam” and the “Second Adam” (Christ). Let me explain. The first man Adam was of the earth and cared only for the things of the earth (I Cor. 15:47). He had no regard for the spiritual things of God but only pre-occupied himself with the natural (physical) world – that is, with the things of the flesh (Rom. 8:5). Like his descendant, Esau, Adam also sold his God-given “birthright” for worthless temporal food (“the forbidden fruit”) just to satisfy his fleshly lust and to quench his carnal appetite. Like Esau, Adam too, in a sense, devalued his birthright and sold it for the things of this world. Like so many people, Adam traded his God-given destiny to inherit all things as a son of God for the cheap temporal pleasures of this physical life. He didn’t consider the glory and favor of God his Father to be worth far more than all the temporal riches and pleasures of this physical world. Therefore, just like Esau, he despised his birthright and his Father’s blessing. Sadly, many people today still follow in Adam’s and Esau’s foolishness. For it is written: “He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God [the right of birth or birthright], even to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13).

Through Adam we were all created children of God because Adam was the son of God (Luke 3:38). And yet, like Adam, most people have foolishly chosen to pursue the things of this world rather than the things of God. Like Adam and Esau, many have despised their “God-given birthright and Patriarchal blessing”. But thankfully, when Jesus the “Second Adam” came to this earth as both a son of Adam (that is, as a Son of Man) and the Son of God, He didn’t desire the things of the world. Instead, Jesus rejected the riches and glory of this world for the favor and glory of God. Notice that Satan offered the glory and riches of the world to Him, but He flatly rejected it (Luke 4:5-7). Moses did the same thing. For it is written: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt” (Heb. 11:24-26).

Jacob, too, was a son of Adam. But unlike his brother Esau, he greatly valued his birthright and his father’s blessing. So much so that he tried to use carnal [human] methods and sinful means to get it! This is what God corrected in Jacob – his methodology, not his zeal or his hunger! He deeply craved and coveted his brother’s birthright and their father’s blessing. But Esau despised his birthright (Gen. 25:34), and consequently, he was rejected from receiving his father’s blessing (Heb. 12:16-17). Therefore, God likewise warns us through the prophets, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated” (Mal. 1:2-3; Rom. 9:13). This is a spiritual admonition and warning for all of us. Jacob desperately desired and greatly coveted the family inheritance and blessing. He esteemed it and truly valued it more than Esau did. And because of this, God gave it to him, and completely rejected Esau. This was given as an example and warning for us! It is not wrong to covet the spiritual things of God. But it is wrong to covet your neighbor’s physical possessions. The Word of God says “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, or his wife, or his servants, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exod. 20:17). But it also commands us to, “Covet earnestly the best [spiritual] gifts” (I Cor. 12:31). And again, it says, “Covet [the ability] to prophesy” (I Cor. 14:39). We are commanded to strongly desire and covet the things of God and His blessings and spiritual gifts!

Ask God for His Holy Spirit

The Bible says that “those who are the children of the flesh, are not the children of God” (Rom. 9:8). And it also declares, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). We have to earnestly seek after the things of God which are only available to us by His Holy Spirit. For it is written: “God has revealed them [the things of God] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God… [For] no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God…But the natural [fleshly] man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:10-14). “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26). It is impossible to please God without having His Holy Spirit! This is what the Bible says. Notice: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally [fleshly] minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal [fleshly] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Rom. 8:5-9).

If anyone does not have the Holy Spirit, or isn’t sure whether or not they do, I strongly encourage them to go to God in repentant prayer. For now is the time that the Lord says, “It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh…and whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:17-21). And again He promises, “Seek Me and you shall find Me. Ask, and it will be given to you. Knock, and it will open to you. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me will all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord” (Luke 11:9-10; Jer. 29:11-14). And Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his own heart will flow rivers of living water’…This He spoke concerning the Spirit whom those believing in Him would receive” (John 7:37-39). The Scriptures plainly tell us to ask our Heavenly Father for His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). He wants to give us His Spirit! (see Acts 2:38-39).

For those of us who have His Holy Spirit and find ourselves now struggling, we mustn’t give up! We mustn’t stop fighting. We can’t quit struggling and overcoming! We are in a war! Even the Apostle Paul said at the end of his days, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (II Tim. 4:7). And in another place, he said, “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I discipline my body and bring it into subjection so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (I Cor. 9:26-27).

Brothers and sisters, I know it’s hard. It is hard to be a Christian. I know what it’s like to keep trying to overcome the same habitual sins. You know the ones. The ones that keep ensnaring us. The ones that have become enduring sinful habits that just won’t die. The Bible calls it the “sin which so easily besets us” (Heb. 12:1). I know what it’s like. And we all struggle with them. But we can’t give up! We must continue fighting. We must be willing to keep wrestling until the sun comes up like Jacob did. He refused to quit fighting. We too must keep wrestling and struggling to overcome until the Son comes! For the Bible encourages us that “a righteous man falls seven times, but keeps getting up” (Prov. 24:16). That is what we, the Israel of God, must keep doing. We must keep getting up and overcome with God!

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Church, Debbie Ellis

Spiritual Abuse

By Debbie Ellis
debbiellis@comcast.net

To begin, I would like to thank the moderator of this website for following through with its inception. I think it is a useful forum for those of us Christians in our personal study of the Word and in sharpening and comforting each other in our faith.

And, if I may offer a critic – This type of forum serves a much better way of contemplation and discussion of the subjects that are offered and posted than that of so many “CHAT ROOMS” and other forms on the internet today. There is just something about taking the time to prayerfully write down what you believe before you pass it on. And I pray that what I’m about to offer is a help to those who choose to read it.
I wish to discuss a phenomenon that has been happening in the body of Christ for thousands of years and we (the Church) have been perpetuating it (knowingly or unknowingly) decade after decade. It is that of “Spiritual Abuse.”

The type of Spiritual Abuse I’m referring to is the passing on of false knowledge about that which we Christians profess to honor, praise, and worship as our Heavenly Father, Comforter, Creator and Savior (among many other names we can offer up). Not only about God, but about what He thinks about us.
Please believe me when I say it is not my intent to “BAD-MOUTH” the church. I love the body of Christ (the church) of which I am a part.

In speaking with others about their experiences coupled with my own, I am convinced that there are many, within the church, who have been and continue to be spiritually abused. And it is so subtle and can even be more wounding than other forms of abuse. I know that if you are a counselor, you may balk at that, and I don’t mean to minimize the other forms of abuse that are very real, often talked about, and to which many institutions and clinics are dedicated to help the victims of such abuses. But spiritual abuse (whether intentional or not) put people at odds with their Creator and closest Friend. They question, doubt, and even run from their Source and strongest Support and Ally, Jesus Christ. I have had some of my closest childhood Christian friends tell me in anger, after years of spiritual abuse, that they don’t want to ever hear of or talk about God or Jesus Christ again. So that can have eternal consequences.

First of all I believe we (the body of Christ) can never forget who our Source of [nothing but] the truth is (John 14:6). When we keep reminding each other of this we can be the place of refuge (safety), comfort, love, and grace. Constantly reminding each other who we are in Christ and offering ourselves so that others can see what the love of God does when it transforms us by the renewing of the mind. That is what the body of Christ (the church) was meant to be…..Not a place of ridicule stemming from all sorts of other agendas, no matter how good, righteous, or biblical they may seem to be. I believe this is why there are so many different “Religious Denominations, Sects, and yes, even Cults” in existence in the world today. These agendas get to be more important and more significant in the minds of some who give way to their ego/vanity than the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, and before you know it, another “different gospel” is born. The apostle Paul admonished the church of this very thing a number of years ago (Gal.1:3-9).

We all need to be convinced that there is really nothing significant that we can add to the pure gospel. Jesus Christ is who and what we need to be focusing on. What He has done for us and given to us. Not on the dos and don’ts that someone may think is more important.

I used to be swallowed up in a religious system that preached one of these “different gospels,” so I know of what I speak. For 40+ years I was a victim and a perpetuator of spiritual abuse without knowing it because I accepted and believed what I was being fed. I wore myself to a frazzle trying to be the best follower of an agenda I had been taught and passed on to my own children and others as “The Truth.” And I now believe that most of the teachers from whom I learned didn’t realize that what they were teaching was not the pure gospel that they thought it was. But I’m confident that as they become aware of their True Source, they will be enlightened as to what they really have inside them, just as all of the true believers in the church have.

That is the amazingness of grace and the faithfulness of God.

We can all be thankful that God with His unlimited grace is in control. And the truth of His word has been kept and sanctified throughout history.

Below, I have written down just a few scriptures of which we all need to keep reminding each other.
REMEMBER:
Romans 5:1-having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
5:10-we were reconciled to God
6:2-we who died to sin
6:6-our old man was crucified with Christ
6:11-dead to sin
6:14-not under law but under grace
7:6-we have been delivered from the law
8:1-there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus
8:16-we are children of God
1Corinthians 1:2-those who are sanctified
1:5-you were enriched in everything
6:11-you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified
2Corinthians 2:15-we are to God the fragrance of Christ
5:17-a new creation
Galatians 3:27-clothed with Christ
3:29-belong to Christ and heirs according to the promise
4:7-a son (or daughter) then an heir
Ephesians 1:3-blessed with every spiritual blessing
1:4-holy and without blame before Him
1:7-we have redemption, forgiveness of sins
1:11-we have received an inheritance
2:5-made alive
2:6-raised us up together with Christ, and made us sit with Him in heavenly places
2:10-we are His workmanship
2:13-have been made near to Him
2:19-fellow citizens of the household of God
3:6-fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise
Philippians 1:11-being filled with the fruits of righteousness
2:15-shine as lights in the world
Colossians 1:13-has delivered us from darkness and brought us into the kingdom of God
1:22-holy, without blemish, and free from accusation
2:10-you are complete in Him
3:1-raised with Christ
3:12-the elect of God, holy and beloved
Hebrews 3:1-holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling
1 Peter 1:23-born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible
2:9-a chosen generation, a royal priesthood

None of the scriptures I just listed is based on our performance. These Scriptures are simply a statement of our identity and resources, received as a gift, by faith, made possible by Jesus Christ. For the Christian life to be more than an exercise of positive self-effort in the name of God, we must act by faith in a way that is consistent with who we already are and what we already have because of the performance of a God who is faithful. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all things, have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Offered by Debbie Ellis (a child of the Living God – temporarily living in Colorado, USA)

Please feel free to reproduce, reprint and/or forward as desired. Altering or editing is strictly prohibited. To contact us, send a request to info@sharingtheway.com or visit our website at https://sharingtheway.com/.

Eric Wheeler, Prophecy, Prophesy, Prophet

True Prophets

By Eric Wheeler
eric@sharingtheway.com


Many in Christendom today would say that prophets no longer exist – that they are a thing of the past. But according to Scripture, this is simply not true. The New Testament says that God Himself specifically gave to the Church “some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:11-13). The Bible clearly states that God appointed prophets in the Church (I Cor. 12:28).

The Book of Acts says that there were prophets in the Church during the first century (Acts 11:27; Acts 13:1; Acts 15:32), and that Paul and Barnabas were recognized by the Church as being prophets before they were sent out on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:1). In addition, the New Testament clearly commands that two or three prophets should regularly speak to the assembled congregation of the Church when it gathers together (I Cor. 14:29). The Apostle Paul said that all members should be permitted to prophesy (I Cor. 14:31), and that Christians should earnestly desire the gift of prophecy (I Cor. 14:1; 39). Truly, during the beginnings of the Church, prophets and prophesying were an intricate and important part of daily Church life in the first century.

But where are the prophets and where is prophesying in the Church today? Why doesn’t Christendom as a whole recognize the God-given role of a prophet? Why is prophesying strongly discouraged and, in a lot of cases, rejected by most mainstream Christian churches today? And how can you tell a true prophet from a false one? The Bible has a lot to say about this very important subject, and its statements regarding the role of prophets and prophesying in the Church may be surprising – especially to those in Christendom.

In order to understand the role and ministry of the prophets, it is important to look at what the Scriptures have to say regarding this peculiar calling and greatly misunderstood member of the body of Christ.

The Function of the Prophets in the Church Body

Every member of the Church Body is important and necessary to the overall proper functionality of the Church. The Apostle Paul writes:
“For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body’, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body’, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole [body] were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member [the same], where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’… Now you are the body of Christ [collectively], and members individually. And God appointed these in the Church: First apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” (I Cor. 12:14-30).

Obviously, the answer to Paul’s rhetorical question here is “no!” Not every member of the body has the same function, ability or gift. Not everyone in the Church is an apostle, a prophet, or a teacher. Not everybody in the Church is a miracle worker, has the gift of healing, speaks in tongues, or has the ability to interpret tongues, dreams and visions. That is why we all need each other in the Church to properly function as a body. We need every member with their God-given spiritual abilities and gifts to perform their proper function and role within the Church in order for the Church as a whole to properly function and to spiritually thrive. Otherwise, the Body will be spiritually lame, disabled, sick and handicapped. When a body does not use its eyes, it is blind. When a body does not use its ears, it is deaf. When a body does not use its feet, it is lame. The same is true in the spiritual Body of Christ.

According to the Bible, what is the role or “function” of the prophet in the Body of Christ? Surprisingly, the prophets have a number of God-given responsibilities to perform in the Body. Let’s look at some of them.

Prophets are the “eyes” of the Church (Isa. 29:10). They spiritually “see” things that are coming and that are afar off on the spiritual horizon (Psa. 74:9; Acts 2:30-31). They have the ability to spiritually see what others can’t (II Kings 6:16-17) and to see the future (II Kings 3:11-18). God is the One who gives the prophets their spiritual insight and vision (Lam. 2:9).

God speaks directly to His prophets. “If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision, and I speak to him in a dream.” (Num. 12:6). “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Prophets are sent to tell others what the will of the Lord is. (II Kings 3:11; II Kings 5:8; II Chron. 28:9-11). “I have also spoken to you by the prophets, and gave them many visions, and told parables through them” (Hos. 12:10). They speak what the Lord tells them to speak (Num. 22:38; Num. 24:13; I Kings 22:14). “And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, ‘Repent now every one of his evil way and his evil doings…’ Yet you have not listened to Me, says the Lord.” (Jer. 25:4-7).

Prophets are an example of suffering and patience. “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed, we count them blessed who endure.” (Jam. 5:10-11).

Prophets are the “watchmen” of the Church. They stand in the “watchtowers” of the Church to see what is coming and to warn the people of God. “Son of Man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me.” (Ezek. 3:17). The prophets are charged by God to warn His people and to tell them what He is about to do and what is coming on the horizon. For it is written: “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7). They are responsible to warn the people of God that danger and judgment are coming. They sound the trumpet, so to speak. In addition to warning the people, they are also responsible to proclaim God’s good news. Let’s look at some examples of both of these responsibilities in the Bible.

Warning of impending danger, calamity, and/or judgment

“And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” (II Chron. 36:15-16).

“Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: ‘Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezek. 6:1-7).

“And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.” (Acts 11:27-28).

“And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles’” (Acts 21:10-11).


Announcing and proclaiming good news

“Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: ‘Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. For He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham.’” (Luke 1:67-73).

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion; to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isa. 61:1-3).

“But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began…Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” (Acts 3:18-26).

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, through whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are called of Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 1:1-6).

Because the prophets speak the words of truth as given to them by God, the Bible says that they speak “edification, exhortation, and comfort to men” (I Cor. 14:3). However, if a person is not right with God, and is sinning, these words from God may instead seem to be words of judgment, evil, and calamity. Such was the case with King Ahab of Israel. When King Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to form an alliance with him and join him in battle against Syria, Jehoshaphat asked King Ahab if there was a prophet of the Lord in Israel that they may inquire as to the true outcome of the battle. King Ahab said that there indeed was a prophet of the Lord living in Israel named Micaiah, the son of Imlah, but that the prophet “does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (I Kings 22:8, 18). Ahab felt this way because he was wickedly practicing idolatry and sin, and God was continually warning him to repent through the mouth of His servant Micaiah. But Ahab didn’t listen. And consequently, Micaiah’s seemingly “evil” prediction regarding King Ahab’s death and Israel’s subsequent military defeat shortly came to pass.

The Bible says that we are to “quench not the Spirit and despise not prophesyings” (I Thess. 5:19-20). The Amplified Version of the Bible renders this same verse this way: “Do not quench (suppress or subdue) the Holy Spirit. Do not spurn the gifts and utterances of the prophets – do not depreciate prophetic revelations nor despise inspired instruction or exhortation or warning.” (I Thess. 5:19-20). Obviously, King Ahab despised prophesying. For he said to Jehoshaphat regarding the prophet Micaiah, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” (I Kings 22:8). Notice that Jehoshaphat then said to King Ahab, “Let not the king say such things!” (I Kings 22:8). Jehoshaphat obviously, and rightly, feared God. But Ahab didn’t. Therefore, King Ahab died according to the word of the Lord as spoken by the mouth of His prophet Micaiah.


True Prophets are Rejected and Persecuted but False Prophets are Accepted

The Bible describes true prophets as:
– Persecuted by the people of God.
– Without honor among their own people and countrymen.
– Without honor among their own relatives and family members.
– Honored by the people only after they are dead.
– Frequently calling for repentance; brokenness is the focus of their message.

But false prophets are described in the Bible as:
– Accepted and spoken well of by the people of God.
– Honored by the people while they are alive.
– Speaking nice, smooth, peaceful things (“health/wealth gospel”), not repentance.
– Frequently requesting money; materialism is the focus of their message.

Notice these Scriptures regarding prophets: Jesus said…
“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” (Mark 6:4).

“Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven. For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:22-26).

“Indeed, I will send you prophets, wise men, and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues [churches] and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, who you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:34-37).
“Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.” (Luke 11:47-48).

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees [religious leaders], hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your father’s guilt.” (Matt. 23:29-32).

“For it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).

Jesus is saying in the above statement that a prophet is only discredited, disgraced, and murdered by his own people within his own church system. Jerusalem was the headquarters of the Church in Israel and represented the pinnacle of its religious system. As the Bible reveals, the gentiles (the unbelievers – those outside of Israel’s church system) didn’t kill the Lord’s prophets that were sent to them. But Jerusalem (Israel) did! Notice what Jesus said: “The men of Nineveh [a gentile city] will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And indeed a greater than Jonah is here.” (Luke 11:32). In other words, the gentiles humbled themselves and hearkened unto the words of the Lord’s prophet (Jonah) and repented, but the Israelites (God’s people) that Jesus was talking to here ignored Him, belittled and rejected Him, and finally killed Him – and yet, He was greater than Jonah!

In every Scripture referenced above, Jesus was talking to the leaders and people of Israel – those within the Church. These statements by Jesus are quite an indictment against the people of God. Most of the prophets in the Bible were not sent to the gentiles or “unbelievers” of the world, but rather to the people of God who were called the “people of Israel” or “congregation of Israel” and “church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38) as the Bible describes them. Notice further what the Bible says. Before Stephen was murdered by the Church leaders in Jerusalem, he said to them at the unction of the Holy Spirit, “You are just like your fathers. You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One [Jesus]. And now you have betrayed and murdered Him!” (Acts 7:51-52).

The Bible emphatically states that the people of God persecute every true prophet that is sent to them! And yet, they readily and graciously receive every false prophet that arises and speaks nice things to them. Notice these Scriptures:
“For among My people are found wicked men. They lie in wait as one who sets snares. They set a trap. They catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich. They have grown fat, they are sleek. Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked. They do not plead the cause – the cause of the fatherless. Yet they prosper, and the right of the needy they do not defend. Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord. Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power. And My people love to have it so.” (Jer. 5:26-31).

To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised and they cannot give heed. Behold the word of the Lord is a reproach to them. They have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord…Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness. And from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying ‘Peace, peace’, but there is no peace.” (Jer. 6:10-14).

“If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer’, he would be just the prophet for this people!” (Micah 2:11).

“Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.” (Micah 3:11).

Some people today foolishly say, and have said, “Oh, those Scriptures are from the Old Testament and aren’t really relevant to us today! God was speaking to the Israelites then, and He is not talking to us like that anymore. We are New Testament Christians now! Those Scriptures don’t apply to us now. We are under the New Testament (covenant)!” Well then, let’s look at some New Testament Scriptures to show that the people of God haven’t changed, and that they still desire false prophets and teachers and not the Truth of God.

“For the time will come when they [the people of God] will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap for themselves teachers. And they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (II Tim. 4:3-4).

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers …lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power… Evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (II Tim. 3:1-13).

“Indeed, I will send you prophets, wise men, and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues [churches] and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth.” (Matt. 23:34-35).

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (I John 4:1).

“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name [in the name of Christianity] saying that I am the Christ, and will deceive many… Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matt. 24:4-11).

“Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked – I counsel you to buy from Me, gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev. 3:17-22).

God’s People Reject Him, Therefore They Reject His Prophets That He Sends to Them

The Bible shows that when the people of God are not right with Him, and are disbelieving, they will not accept the Lord’s prophets that He sends to them. Notice what God told His prophet Ezekiel:
“Son of man, go to the house of Israel [God’s people] and speak with My words to them. For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language [the Gentiles], but to the house of Israel, not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me, for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted. Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are rebellious house.’ Moreover He said to me: ‘Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse…Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul… And you, O son of man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and not a reprover to them, for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.” (Ezek. 3:4-27).

Jesus also said that during His day, the people of God would not receive a true prophet from the Lord either (Luke 4:16-29). For it is written: “He [Jesus] came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God” (John 1:11-12). The same is still true today. Jesus said, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.” (Matt. 10:40-41). And again, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” (John 13:20). In other words, many in Israel (in the Church) will not receive the true prophets, because they don’t truly receive Christ Himself. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof (II Tim. 3:5). They play “church”. Their hearts are not right with God, even though they profess to know Him with their lips (Matt. 15:7-8). To them God says, “What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you?” (Psa. 50:16-17).

To those people in the Church who truly know Him, God’s prophets are graciously received by them, welcomed, honored, and obeyed. That is why the Bible says that “prophesying is for the believers” (I Cor. 14:22). They are edified and strengthened by the words of the Lord as given to them at the mouths of the prophets. It would be foolish, however, to give the true and precious words of God to people who don’t believe – people who will do nothing with the true words of God seeing that they don’t have “ears to hear” and have hardened their hearts in self-righteousness and unbelief. Jesus said, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs or cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” (Matt. 7:6). Sadly, such is still the case in the Church today. Many people in Christendom today truly don’t know God. Therefore, when a prophet of the Lord is sent to tell them to repent and to change their evil “hidden” ways that they think the Lord does not see, they become offended and turn and rend that messenger of the Lord. Sadly, it is still happening among the people of God (the Church) today.

Unfortunately, just like it was in Jesus’ day, when a prophet is sent to tell those in the Church, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ the leadership in the Church’s first question is still, “Who are you to teach us?!” (John 9:34). These are the very same words that the religious leaders said to the man that Jesus sent to them in the first century, and they are still saying it to those whom He sends to them now. Notice, the self-righteous leadership of the Church cast out that man that was sent to tell them the truth and to testify to them of Jesus’ messiahship (John 9:1-34). Sadly, for the most part, the spiritual conditions in the Church haven’t changed. The “rulers of the Church” still cast out anyone who professes to have a word from the Lord to share with the congregation. In their fear of losing control over “their” congregations, or of offending the people with the harsh truths of God’s Word as revealed by the Lord’s prophets, many pastors fearfully reject the Lord’s command to “let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge” (I Cor. 14:29). Because many of them rely on their congregations for their paychecks, these pastors are afraid for the true words of God to be spoken lest the prophets offend their tithing congregates. Sadly, in this way, they clearly demonstrate that they really fear men rather than fear God (John 12:42-43; Matt. 10:26-28). God is soon going to deal with this wrong situation in the Church!

The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy

Many people don’t realize it, but the Bible actually says that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). In other words, simply put, the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. That is, it is actually Jesus who is the One who is really speaking through the prophets. The Apostle Peter wrote: “Of this salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ, who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things which angels desire to look into.” (I Peter 1:10-12).

The Bible says that Christians overcome Satan by “the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”, and that they are willing to die for that testimony (Rev. 12:11). It states that Satan will “make war” with those individuals in the Church that are living in the last days “who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 12:17). It then states that this “testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). In other words, in the last days, Satan will seek to discredit, kill and destroy anyone who prophesies by the power of the Holy Spirit because it will actually be Jesus speaking through them. For God has said that in the last days He will pour out His Spirit upon His servants, both male and female, and that they will prophesy (Acts 2:17-18). Yes, once again, God will send His witnesses – the prophets, to prophesy and testify of Him, and Satan will seek to kill them, and the Scriptures show that he will ultimately be allowed to do so (Rev. 6:9-11; 10:11; 11:1-10; 18:20-24).

As explained above, it is the Spirit of Jesus who is (and will once again be) talking through the prophets. It is Jesus who is doing the speaking. It is Jesus who is “testifying” in that person when they prophesy. It is Jesus’ testimony, not that prophet’s testimony! That is why the Apostle John wrote in the Book of Revelation that his message was really “the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He [Jesus] sent and signified it by His angel [messenger] to His servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy…” (Rev. 1:1-3). It was not John’s revelation – it was Jesus Christ’s revelation and testimony – which came to John in the spirit of prophecy. That is why when we reject the spirit of prophecy, we are really rejecting the testimony of Jesus Christ who is God! For it is the Spirit of God that testifies (or tells) about the things of God not the spirit of man (John 16:13-15; I Cor. 2:10-16).

Brothers and sisters, Jesus warned His followers against being foolish and slow of heart, by not believing “all that the prophets have spoken” (Luke 24:25). For God has called us to believe, and to not be rebellious and hardhearted like our forefathers were who rejected and murdered His holy prophets. We must be willing to ask ourselves the same question that the Apostle Paul asked when he said, “Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa?” (Acts 26:27). The question is – do we?

Eric
eric@sharingtheway.com

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Doctrine, Eric Wheeler, Love

Submission in Marriage – What Does that Mean?

Note from the moderator:  The following is an excerpt from an email discussion that a dear Christian woman and I had awhile back regarding the Biblical command given to wives to “submit to their husbands” (Eph. 5:22-24).  Our discussion was centered on the true meaning of submission and the institution of marriage and what it spiritually pictures.  I thought that Sharing The Way subscribers would benefit from reading it.  Also included is a response to a young Christian wife who was pregnant with her first child at the time, and who was struggling with concerns about her husband’s leadership.
Her husband, Dan (not his real name), was feeling that the Lord was wanting him to quit his job and to re-locate the family to another state during the final months of her pregnancy which was causing her great concern and anxiety.  (All the names have been changed and permission to publish the following email responses were obtained.)

Greetings Karen,
It is interesting that the subject matter in which you have written me is on the true meaning of “submission in marriage”.  This is the very subject that the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about lately.  It seems that we all have misunderstood it!  The churches as a whole don’t understand it.  The elders don’t understand it.  Husbands and wives don’t get it.  And everyone is so busy pointing fingers at everyone else without themselves first looking in the “mirror of Christ” to see if they are indeed measuring up to His commands or not.  Husbands are arrogantly and self-righteously proclaiming, “Submit woman!”, while their wives are shouting back, “You love me first, and then I’ll respect you!”  Neither party is obeying God’s commands or fulfilling His will.  We, as a society, don’t understand what marriage pictures or represents.  And sadly, for the most part, neither do we Christians.  It is truly as God said, “Marriage is a great mystery!  But it is a mystery about Christ and the church!” (Eph. 5:31-32).

Thankfully though, just as He promised, in these end times, the mysteries are beginning to be explained and revealed to us.  For He prophesied that “all things would be restored and knowledge would be increased” (Mark 9:12; Dan. 12:4).  And that He would restore to us the years that “the cankerworm and the famine” have spiritually taken from us (Joel 2:25-29; Amos 8:11-12; 9:11-15).  In other words, He is beginning to reveal to us the truth about the things that were hidden in Him and by Him long ago.  Because unto us it is given to know the “mysteries of the Kingdom of God” (Luke 8:10).  That is why He is beginning to pour out His Holy Spirit upon His servants both male and female in these last days (Acts 2:16-18).  So that by His Spirit we may all know the “mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints – to them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col.1:26-27).  The full image of Christ being formed in us is both male and female.  Afterall, both were made in the image of Christ.  For it is written, “So God created man in His own image.  In the image of God He created him.  Male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27).  They were created equal.  Both of them in the image of God.  And when they were to come together as “one” (both in body and in spirit) they were to reflect the fullness of Christ.  The union of these two created beings was to be a physical reflection and demonstration of a spiritual reality – that is, the full image of Christ with all of His attributes (both male and female).  For we are not complete without the other.  As the Scriptures say, “Neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord” (I Cor. 11:11).  And again it says, “It is not good [or of God] that man should be alone.  I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Gen. 2:18).

Notice that women were not made subject unto their husbands until sin entered in (Gen. 3:16).  This was not meant so much to be a “punishment”, as it was meant to be spiritually symbolic or “prophetic”.  It was given to demonstrate the central necessary role that Jesus Christ was to perform in order to raise-up children unto God the Father.  That is why part of this pronouncement and/or “punishment” given to the woman here included the following words:  “I will greatly mulitply your sorrow and your conception.  In pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire (or will) shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you” (Gen. 3:16).  When sin entered into the world, it then became necessary that Jesus, being equal with God, had to empty Himself (lower Himself), and submit His will to the Father’s in order that many children might be born into the Kingdom and Family of God (Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 2:9-17).  God already knew this.  It was His plan all along.  For it says, that Jesus Christ was “slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).  And “known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18).  That is why He made them both male and female from the beginning.  It was for the purpose of revealing His whole divine nature to all creation through us and in us, as well as to teach us that without Him we do not, and cannot, have life.

All of creation is merely a physical manifestation or reflection of a spiritual reality.  As the Apostle Paul writes, “What may be known of God is evident among them [all of mankind], for God has shown it to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and divine nature, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:19-20).  Paul goes on to later explain that the whole creation itself was then made subject to futility, in anticipation and expectation of the glorious revealing of the children of God – the “new creations in Christ” (II Cor. 5:17).  That is — the new individuals that now reflect the full and complete image of Christ in them.  That is why it says that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female.  For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).  God, here in these passages, is calling things that “are not yet, as though they were”, as He so often does in the Scriptures (Rom. 4:17).  God expects us to have all of His Godly attributes as He reveals them to us through these different “roles” that we play here on earth at this present time.  We are to be both leaders and followers.  We are to be masters and servants.  We are to be fathers and sons.  Mothers and daughters. Husbands and wives. Slaves and freemen (I Cor.7:22).  For Christ was both a master and a servant.  He was both a head and a body.  And yes, He was both submissive and authoritative.  He was, and is, all and in all, just as the Scripture say:  “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:9-11).

The “role of the wife” is just that  – a role!  Just as David had to play a “subservient role” to the king – the Lord’s anointed.  It didn’t matter whether King Saul was being righteous toward David or not.  David knew that he would never be justified before God to ever rebel against King Saul or try to usurp his God-given position and authority.  Instead, David remained guiltless before God as he played out his “subservient role” faithfully and blamelessly.  God was testing him and trying him to see whether or not David feared Him and would obey His commandments in faith no matter what the cost.  Because David knew that all authority and positions of authority came from God (Rom. 13:1-2).  In due time then, God judged and removed that “unrighteous ruler” [Saul] and gave the faithful servant [David] his master’s position and authority.  Doesn’t it warn that “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first” (Matt. 19:30)?  And that whosoever has been faithful over little, will be faithful over much and made ruler over much.  For it says, “Well done, good servant!  Because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17).  I tell you the truth, the days are coming that the “unrighteous ruling husbands” are going to be judged and removed by God and cast into outer darkness, and their righteous wives are going to be given positions of rulership over them in His Kingdom!  This is all just “a training and testing ground” down here right now.  That is what Paul meant by this world “being made subject to futility” at this present time (Rom. 8:20).  It’s a training exercise!  And we will all be judged according to our works (Rev. 20:12-13).  For “each one of us will give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12).  While we were put in these different roles here on earth, did we reflect Christ’s attributes in everything and in every position?  When we were children, did we honor and obey our parents?  When we were fathers and mothers, did we love and nurture our children?  What did we do with the authority that God gave us?  Did we abuse or neglect our children and our wives?  Husbands, did you love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it?  Wives did you willingly and trustingly submit (or yield) your will to your husband’s, as Christ also submitted His will to the Father’s in perfect trust?  Slaves (employees) did we serve our masters (employers) as though we were serving Christ?  Not with eyeservice or as men-pleasers, but with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart as to the Lord, and not to men? (Eph. 6:5-7). These are the kinds of things that God is going to judge us all by – the roles that He gave us!

I realize that I haven’t quite lived up to all of these roles that I have to answer for, but I am trying.  I am “a work-in-progress” too, as is everybody.  But that is why I am so thankful that I have the Holy Spirit to help me, to correct me, to teach me, and to lead me into all truth.  Afterall, that is why it was given (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-15; I John 2:27).  To change my current fleshly carnal nature into His perfect loving nature.  That is why it says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).  The Holy Spirit is the mind and spirit of Jesus (I Cor. 2:10-16; Rom. 8:5-11).

To help further explain what the Holy Spirit has been showing me lately regarding this “submissive role” in Christ, I wanted to include a recent letter (below) that the Holy Spirit gave to me to give to a young wife when she wrote me recently regarding some frustrations she was having with her husband.  As the Holy Spirit gave this to me to give to her, it began to open my eyes to things that I have never seen or heard before.  I didn’t get these things from anyone or from any book or from any church (that is, through “flesh and blood”).  But rather, like Paul, I too, was given it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ through His Spirit (Gal. 1:12).

You’ll notice that I have already touched on some of these same themes above.

Hi Susan,
Thanks for your response and for sharing with me your thoughts and frustrations.  Believe it or not, I can totally identify with you and with Dan. Teresa and I have had to endure and overcome similar situations over the past ten years – ever since God started talking to me.  I am not going to lie and tell you that it has been easy.  But I can assure you that the struggle has been well worth it.  As the Scripture says, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).  It is exactly through “these struggles” that we learn the mind of God and we learn how to deal with things as He does.  Just as Jesus Christ has both sides of our nature in Him (both male and female), we need to learn to reflect both sides of Him in us. Let me explain. It says that God created us, both male and female, in His image (Gen. 1:27). That is, both male and female reflect Him. However, without each other, we are of ourselves incomplete.  That is why God says, “It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him … and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:18-24).  The New Testament says that this husband/wife relationship that God instituted here in Genesis pictures Christ and His people (Church) becoming one – a new creation (Eph.5:30-32; II Cor. 5:17).

Notice that you, as the wife, picture the Bride (God’s people or the Church) in the relationship.  Dan, as the husband, pictures Christ in the relationship.  But notice, what did Jesus do, being the greater one in the relationship?  Did He serve Himself?  No!  He served His wife, and gave Himself (sacrificed Himself) for her.  Notice: “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).  And again, it says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25).  Dan, as the husband, and in the role of Jesus Christ, needs to lower Himself, and serve you his wife.  Just as Jesus lowered Himself for us (His Bride), and sacrificed His superior position to tend to the delicate needs of His wife. This is what is meant by Peter’s statement to the husbands: “Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (I Peter 3:7).

The phrase “weaker vessel” does not refer to the wife’s lack of physical strength.  But rather, it refers to the “subordinate role” that she is playing out here in the spiritual parallel that marriage pictures.  That is why the wives are told to submit (yield) to their husbands in everything, as if they are submitting to the Lord.  “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church…Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything” (Eph. 5:22-24).

Jesus became like us humanly, and we are called to be like Him spiritually. Notice these Scriptures:  “Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery [a rip-off or being cheated], being equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:5-7).  And again, it says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).  Jesus came in the likeness of “sinful flesh” for us, and we in turn, must become like Him spiritually, walking in the Spirit, and not in the flesh (Rom. 8:3-5).  The relationship that you and Dan share must exemplify and demonstrate this relationship.  That is how Christ lives in you and witnesses to the world.  Each of us individually,  and collectively, must exemplify Christ and His Bride.  Let me explain. Each of us as a believer, whether male or female, married or single, must reflect Christ in all that we do!  Jesus is both a leader and a follower. He is a Lord and a servant.  He is a Lion and a Lamb.  He is a Parent and a Son.  He is a Head and a Body.  And He created each of us in the same roles  so that we might learn how to act, react and interact with each other in a Godly manner in every situation.  This is how we learn to live in the Kingdom of God or in the Heavenly Realm.  This is what is meant by “walking and living in the Spirit” (Rom.8:1-17).

Notice how each of us play out a number of roles in our lives which teach us to be both leaders and followers:  We were born as children to parents. And then we get to be parents ourselves.  We are sometimes masters (employers and managers), and sometimes we are servants (employees).  Sometimes we are the administers of the law (policeman, judges, teachers), and sometimes we are the subjects and recipients of that law. We are both given authority over others, and in subjection to other’s authority.  This is the way that God has created us  (in these roles) to teach us how to live and deal in the Godly plane, and to begin to  identify with His thoughts and His ways.  Notice how the Scriptures testify to this:  “Imitate me [Paul], just as I imitate Christ… For I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” (I Cor.11:3).

In other words, husbands are the heads (leaders) of their wives, but they are also the body (subjects) of Christ.  Even though Christ is the head of every man, He, Himself, is subject to the Father.  Women/Mothers are heads of their children, and in some cases, leaders of other women also (Titus 2:3-5). Women are not inferior to men.  They were created equal to men.  They are simply fulfilling a God-given role that God has given them at this time (during this age of the flesh) to help us properly understand the role of submission and “sacrificial yielding” for the sake of children being born into the Kingdom of God.  This is the same role that Jesus played when He, being equal to God, emptied Himself of His superior nature to come down and take on the form of a servant in order that many children might be born into  the Kingdom of God through Him – that is, through the sufferings of His body. That is why, when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, the woman’s punishment was that she now was going to be made subject to her husband and through much travail and suffering would bring forth children unto her husband. God was demonstrating here that because of sin, it was necessary to enact and institute His plan of “salvation through Jesus Christ” in order that many sons and daughters might be born into the family of God.  Therefore, Jesus came in due time, offered Himself up and yielded Himself (symbolic of the role of the woman), and was willing to bear the pain in His body, to make it possible that we might be born into the Kingdom of God, in order that many children would be born unto the Father.  Herein Christ portrayed the role of the woman.  Christ also portrayed the role of the man and husband in that He became the “second Adam” and initiated spiritual life in us (I Cor.15:45-50; Rom. 5:14-17), so that we could now be His offspring  growing up inside the womb of His Bride – the Church.

In these illustrations, both sides of God are demonstrated – both roles, male and female. These “roles” only pertain to this life (this world).  In the Kingdom of God, there is neither male nor female (Luke 20:34-36).  When men and women were originally created in the Garden of Eden, they were created equal. They were both made in the image of God.  It wasn’t until sin  entered in, that the roles of “master” husband and “subservient” wife were instituted in  order to demonstrate to us the nature of God, and how God being love is both Master and Servant of all.

Having said this, I can’t specifically say how you and Dan should deal with this current situation between the two of you.  Except to say, that I think the two of you should continue to seek God and His wisdom, and ask yourselves (not each other) ‘Am I fulfilling the God-given role that He has placed me in?’  Dan should ask himself, ‘Am I showing the same kind of self-sacrificing love and understanding, and patience that Jesus has shown me as my Husband?  Am I giving my bride the same patience and space that the Lord gives me?  Christ dwells with us in understanding and patience, giving honor unto us as the weaker vessel, am I doing the same toward my wife?’ Susan, you should be asking yourself, ‘Am I perfectly trusting the leadership and direction of my husband?  Am I letting him lead me, and although I may not have a perfect understanding of what’s going on inside of his head, I nonetheless am trusting that Christ is his head, and is leading him and guiding him in what’s best for this family?’  Remember, Sarah wasn’t hearing from God, but Abraham was.  She trusted that God was truly leading Abraham, and she willingly and obediently followed him (see I Peter 3:1-6). Like Abraham, God is leading Dan as his head too, and Dan doesn’t necessarily understand where he is going either.  But it is not for you to hinder or oppose that.  Your job is to support him in his quest to follow God, to love him and your children, and to learn from your husband ( I Tim. 2:9-15; I Cor. 14:34-35; Titus 2:1-5).

God will bless you greatly, Susan.  He knows your heart.  He loves you. Remember, these struggles are for a purpose.  They build Jesus Christ in you and also in Dan.  One day, you will look back and see how Christ has been formed in you.  Not by your doing, but by His.  For to this end, we were all created – the man first and then the woman (I Tim. 2:13; Gal. 4:19; Rom. 8:28-30).  God loves us, and His ears are open unto our cries.  Don’t worry about these things.  Relax and trust God.  This is a trying enough time for you now with the pregnancy and all.  You should only be concerned about the things that make for a quiet and peaceful home for your children, and let Dan worry about how the family is provided for.  That is his responsibility as the husband.  That is the responsibility that God charged Adam with, not Eve.  You’re right, Eve had enough to worry about in bearing children. Where they were going to live or not live is what God charged Joseph with, not Mary or the baby Jesus.  Notice, “Now when they (the wise men) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, take the young child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word” (Matt. 2:13).  God will lead Dan according to what He wants you both to do and where He wants you both to live.  Don’t worry about it.  Have the same attitude and approach that Ruth had toward her mother-in-law (her superior) when they weren’t sure where to go: “Urge me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you.  For wherever you go, I will go.  And wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.  The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).  God will give you many healthy children, Susan, if you so desire.  For He loves you greatly.  And He hears your prayers.

Share these things with Dan if and when you want to.  He is confused too, and could use a clearer perspective in his dealings with you.  I know he is struggling too, and it doesn’t sound like he is handling it too righteously, but rather, as you said, self-righteously.  I, for one, know that I too have made (and still do make) a lot of mistakes in dealing with Teresa as I try to hear God and follow His leading, and in turn, lead my wife.  But this is how we both learn and grow.

God be with you, Susan.  And thanks for writing me.  I hope this helps.

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The Walk

Judge Moore’s Lament

Judge Roy Moore of Alabama was the judge at the center of the
"Ten Commandments" controversy. Below is his rather sad
lament at what has been happening to his country:

AMERICA the BEAUTIFUL
by Judge Roy Moore

(from www.revivalschool.com)
America the Beautiful,
or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims’ pride;
I’m glad they’ll never see.

Babies piled in dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
your house is on the sand.

Our children wander aimlessly
poisoned by cocaine,
Choosing to indulge their lusts,
when God has said abstain.

From sea to shining sea,
our Nation turns away
From the teaching of God’s love
and a need to always pray.

We’ve kept God in our temples,
how callous we have grown.
When earth is but His footstool,
and Heaven is His throne.

We’ve voted in a government
that’s rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges
who throw reason out the door,

Too soft to place a killer
in a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
before he leaves the womb.

You think that God’s not angry,
that our land’s a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait
before His judgment comes?

How are we to face our God,
from Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do,
but stem this evil tide?

If we who are His children,
will humbly turn and pray;
Seek His holy face
and mend our evil way:

Then God will hear from Heaven
and forgive us of our sins,
He’ll heal our sickly land
and those who live within.

But, America the Beautiful,
if you don’t – then you will see,
A sad but Holy God
withdraw His hand from Thee.

~Judge Roy Moore
————————–

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Eric Wheeler, Latter Rains, Prophesy, Wilderness Experience

The Spirit of Elijah Versus The Spirit of Jezebel

By Eric Wheeler
eric@sharingtheway.com

God told His people, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Mal. 4:5). The Gospels indicate that John the Baptist was a “prophetic type” or partial fulfillment of this Old Testament prophecy. Speaking of John the Baptist, Luke wrote: “He will go before Him [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17). When John the Baptist was still alive, Jesus told His followers, “If you are willing to receive it, he [John the Baptist] is Elijah who is to come” (Matt. 11:14). But after John the Baptist was executed by King Herod, Jesus told His disciples that there will yet be another “Elijah” who will come before His Second Coming, and that when he does come, he will “restore all things” (Matt. 17:11; Mark 9:12).

Interestingly, the book of Revelation also predicts that another Old Testament character will prophetically appear on the scene. Calling herself a prophetess, the woman Jezebel, who originally was a contemporary of the prophet Elijah, will spiritually permeate the Church and will seduce and deceive the servants of God with her false teachings. Speaking prophetically to the Church down through the ages, Jesus warned, “Nevertheless, I have this against you. You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching, she misleads My servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am He who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” (Rev. 2:20-23).

What do these things mean prophetically? Why is God going to send “Elijah the prophet” to His people before His Second Coming? And why must Elijah first “restore all things”? And who is this “prophetess Jezebel” who teaches and beguiles the Church to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols? What do these things mean? Obviously, they are spiritually important for us to understand, because our Lord admonished us every time that He brought the subject up to “let him who has ears to hear, hear!” (Matt. 11:15; Rev. 2:29).

In order to correctly understand these prophecies, and to properly discern their spiritual significance for us today, we must first see who Elijah and Jezebel were in biblical history and understand what they did.

Historical background

Elijah was a prophet of God who lived and prophesied around 870 BC. He virtually appeared out of nowhere and was sent by God to prophesy to King Ahab, ruler of the Northern Tribes of Israel, that a severe drought was coming upon them because of their national sins. King Ahab had caused Israel to sin by leading them into gross idolatry by forsaking the commandments and word of God (I Kings 18:18). In fact, the Bible says that Ahab did more evil in the sight of the Lord than all of the kings of Israel before him, and that the pinnacle of his sins was that he married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the idolatrous Sidonians (I Kings 16:30-31). To please her, Ahab built a temple and an altar to her pagan god Baal which he set up in Samaria the capital city of Northern Israel (I Kings 16:32). He allowed his wife, Jezebel, to persecute and put to death all of the true prophets of the Lord, and to establish and appoint her own pagan prophets in their place, in order to teach and mislead the people of God. By the time that God sent Elijah to Ahab again, three and a half years later, the people of God were so spiritually confused by these false prophets and teachers that they couldn’t even answer Elijah’s question regarding who God really was (I Kings 18:20-22).

By marrying King Ahab, Jezebel was given a position of authority in Israel, whereby she insidiously insinuated herself into the spiritual lives of God’s people controlling them and deceiving them. She managed to silence the true prophets of God by persecuting them, murdering them, and banishing them from the coasts of Israel. But unbeknownst to her and Ahab at the time, the Lord had secretly preserved a hundred of His prophets which He hid in two caves by the hand of His servant Obadiah the king’s own prime minister (I Kings 18:4,13). In addition to these secluded prophets, God informed Elijah that He also had seven-thousand people in Israel who had not succumbed to Jezebel’s great deception by partaking in the false worship of Baal (I Kings 19:18).

It is interesting to note that Jezebel had many more false prophets in power than the Lord had in Israel during this time. For it says that there were four-hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four-hundred prophets of Asherah (a Canaanite goddess) that ate at Jezebel’s table (I Kings 18:19). Because of this, Elijah felt that he alone was left of the Lord’s prophets (I Kings 18:22, 19:10, 14). All of the other prophets had either been killed or silenced. The one-hundred true prophets of God that were hidden in the caves were out in the wilderness, living in obscurity and in fear for their lives. They were not able to publicly speak the truth of God under Jezebel’s administration. They were greatly hindered from fearlessly proclaiming to the people of God what the Spirit of God was giving them to speak. In other words, they were not truly able to prophesy. Instead, they were forced to keep silent and live in obscurity and fear because of Jezebel’s political influence over Israel.

The seven-thousand people that God had reserved, which the Bible refers to as a “remnant” (Rom. 11:3-5) were a very small number indeed compared to the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who were living in Israel at the time. Sadly, most of the Israelites had fallen into great apostasy because of the deceptive idolatrous teachings of Jezebel and her prophets. Very few people in Israel were not deceived. During this time, spiritual restoration and reform were greatly needed in the House of God.

As mentioned earlier, Elijah virtually came out of nowhere. The Bible doesn’t mention anything about who Elijah was or give any of his personal history. It is completely silent in regards to his background, his education, his credentials, or his home life. The only thing that is stated about Elijah is that he was a Tishbite from Gilead. That’s it. This is an important fact to note, because everything that the Bible says, or does not say, is important to consider. We are instructed to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God as recorded in the Bible (Matt. 4:4) and warned to not add one word to its testimony (Rev. 22:18-19). Elijah didn’t go to seminary, or receive his spiritual training at a theological school. He didn’t serve or “eat at Jezebel’s table” with the false prophets. He wasn’t trained at the Temple in Jerusalem. He wasn’t an “ordained” priest, and he wasn’t a professional clergyman. He was simply trained and taught and fed by God out in the wilderness, as we shall see.

Elijah’s Wilderness Experience

After Elijah prophesied to King Ahab about the coming drought in the land, God told Elijah to go and hide by the Brook Cherith where he was going to be supernaturally fed by the ravens. The Hebrew name Cherith means “to cut off”. In other words, Elijah was being sent out into the wilderness to be “cut off” from the religious community – that is, Israel. He also was being personally “cut off” or pruned, just as Jesus said that all of His true followers and servants would be. For Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes [cuts off], that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2). Notice that God supernaturally fed him “bread and meat” there in the wilderness (I Kings 17:4-6). This is the same thing that the Lord did to Israel when He sent them into the Sinai desert when they left Egypt in order to train and to teach them to learn to trust Him (Deut. 8:2-3; Num. 11:31-32; Psa. 78:23-29). In this wilderness, Elijah was learning to rely on God for his daily sustenance. Symbolically, he was “feasting” on Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life (John 6:48-51), and eating spiritual “meat” which God said was intended for the spiritually mature (I Cor. 3:1-2; Heb. 5:11-14). Elijah wasn’t taught by men in the tainted synagogues (churches) of Israel where Jezebel had control, but rather, he was trained by God alone out in the wilderness. As the apostle Paul stated, “The gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ… I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem” (Gal. 1:11-17). Instead, the apostle Paul says that he spent nearly seventeen years in the regions and deserts of Arabia, Syria, and Cilicia being personally taught and trained by Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12-2:1). Likewise, Elijah too was sent by God out into the wilderness to be humbled, taught, instructed, and tested, as we shall see next.

Zarephath – the place of refinement and testing

Notice that when the Brook Cherith dried up, the word of the Lord came to Elijah again saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” (I Kings 17:7-9). The Hebrew name Zarephath means “refinement” and “to try or to put to the test”. In other words, both Elijah and the widow were going to have to go through a time of proving and testing – a period of spiritual refinement. It was during this time that Elijah and the widow were also going to begin to see and experience the resurrecting (reviving) power of God. When he first met the widow lady (that is, a woman living without her husband – that is, without Jesus Christ), Elijah said to her, “Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink” (I Kings 17:10). As she went to get the water, he further instructed her, “Please also bring me a morsel of bread to eat.” But she answered, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar.” (I Kings 17:11-12). Notice that this widow woman didn’t say, “As the Lord my God lives…” She didn’t recognize God as her God, only as Elijah’s God. This is interesting to note, considering the fact that God had already told Elijah earlier that He had specifically commanded her to provide for him before he had even arrived at her house (I Kings 17:9). In other words, she had “ears to hear” and recognized God’s voice, but didn’t yet fully have a personal abiding relationship with Him! That is why she unknowingly prophetically described herself as not having any “bread” (Jesus), but only a little flour and a little oil.

In the Bible, flour and oil represent being in a poor and humble flattened state, void of any leavening or yeast. In the Old Testament, flour and oil were offered to God as grain offerings and peace offerings (Lev. 2:1-11; 7:11-12). Flour and oil were also used to consecrate new priests to God and to spiritually signify their readiness for service to Him (Exod. 29:1-2). Symbolically, flour and oil picture a prepared heart that is contrite, humble, and submissive, and one that is waiting to be lifted up and revived by God. The Bible describes leavening or yeast as an agent that is added to a mixture of flour and oil in order to “lift it up” or “puff it up”. Sometimes in the Bible, leavening or yeast is given a negative connotation, such as when it is used to describe sin or pride (see Matt. 16:6-12; I Cor. 5:2-8). At other times, it is used in a positive way to describe a quickening agent that gives life and revives. Jesus referred to leavening in this positive light when He said that the Kingdom of God is like leaven, which a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour, and it rapidly spread until the whole dough was leavened (Luke 13:20-21).

This widow from Zarephath was in a lowly contrite state waiting for the quickening and life-giving Spirit of God and Word of God to lift her up. She was obviously tired, discouraged, running low on oil (the Holy Spirit), and in great need of personal comfort and edification. She desperately needed to be lifted up and revived! She was spiritually dying. In fact, that is exactly what she unknowingly prophetically stated! She said that she and her son had lost all hope and were preparing to eat their last meal and die (I Kings 17:12). Her spiritual “lamp” was going out due to a lack of available oil and spiritual resources (Matt. 25:7-9), as a result of the prophesied drought and subsequent famine in the land (I Kings 17:1; 18:2). That is why God, in His infinite mercy, sent Elijah to her. He was sent to her to “revive” her in the name of the Lord by helping her to realize that God is more real and personal than she knew and believed. He was sent to spiritually help her by encouraging her, strengthening her, and comforting her by giving her the words of life from God – that is, by prophesying. She, in turn, was commanded by God to help him during their spiritual “refinement period” by physically sustaining him through the remainder of the drought. This is in accordance with what the Lord commands: “If we [servants of the Lord] have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? … Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.” (I Cor. 9:11-14).

Receiving a prophet and disciple of the Lord

Elijah told the widow woman to not fear, but to put her trust in God and honor the Lord by honoring His servants by putting their needs first. He told her to make a cake for him first and then to make one for her and her son (I Kings 17:13). In other words, the test was, did she believe and accept him as a prophet and a messenger from God? And would she honor God by honoring and obeying His servant? For Jesus said, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones [of Mine] only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” (Matt. 10:40-42). That is why Elijah initially said to her when he first met her, “Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.” (I Kings 17:10). It really was a test to see whether or not she would receive him as a disciple and as the Lord’s messenger and servant. Elijah then said to her, “For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’” (I Kings 17:14). Notice that she believed the Lord’s prophet, because she immediately went in faith and did what Elijah told her to do.

Before we proceed, it is important to note that Zarephath is located in the region of Sidon outside of Israel. Jesus referred to this as spiritually significant because He used it to illustrate His point that “a prophet is only without honor in his own country and among his own people” (Luke 4:24-26). The widow of Zarephath was considered a gentile, that is, she was a non-Israelite woman. In other words, she was outside the house of Israel – outside the people of God – that is, outside the church system. Jesus clearly makes this point when He said that there were “many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah …but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow” (Luke 4:25-26). With these words, Jesus was indicting the people of God. He was addressing the members of a church congregation in Israel, and told them that they were the ones who were spiritually poor, blind, captive and oppressed (Luke 4:17-21). When the proud disbelieving people in the synagogue (church) heard these words, they became angry at Him and cast Him out of their church and out of their city (Luke 4:16-30). In contrast, the gentile widow of Zarephath was humble and teachable, and readily received the Lord’s prophet and his message. Therefore she received from the prophet what the Lord had given to the prophet – that is, the “prophet’s reward” (Matt. 10:41). What Elijah was given, and what the widow woman received, were words of encouragement, edification, and truth directly from God! “For he who prophesies [that is, speaks by divine unction and influence] speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” (I Cor. 14:3). But the Bible also says that “prophesying is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe.” (I Cor. 14:22). That is why Elijah was sent by God to the widow in Zarephath, and not to the widows in Israel. Because as Jesus said, the disbelieving people of Israel (the Church) would never have accepted Elijah or received his message (Luke 4:24; Acts 7:52). Sadly, this is still true today. Unfortunately, many people in the Church don’t believe that God sends prophets and messengers to His people. Therefore, like the Israelites of Jesus’ day, they too, never receive the prophet’s reward – that is, they never receive what God gave the prophet to share with them and give to them. Unfortunately, Jesus told us in the Bible that it was going to be like this. For He said, “Behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your churches and pursue from town to town.” (Matt. 23:34). Sadly, the people of God haven’t changed.

After the widow woman received these words of encouragement (promises) from the Lord, and was personally edified (“lifted up”) by Him through her faith and obedience, she then experienced His supernatural provision. In other words, God supernaturally and miraculously provided for her and sustained her through her “desert wilderness experience” because of her faith. Israel and the surrounding areas were still experiencing drought and famine during this time. However, God promised her that “the bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth” (I Kings 17:14). Like all true servants of God, she too, had to learn to trust and rely on God to supernaturally sustain and feed her through her “desert wilderness journey” while she patiently waited on the promises of God to be fulfilled – that is, for the rain to come (Deut. 8:1-9). Notice that it says that she endured and persevered in this way for “many days” (I Kings 17:15). But because of her faith and trust in God, she was also able to witness the miraculous signs and wonders of God and experience His awesome resurrecting power in the meantime (Mark 16:17; Phil. 3:9-11). When her son died as a result of serious illness, God brought him back to life. This prophetically illustrates the fact that God even shows His mercy to the family members of those individuals who believe and put their trust in Him. For it is written, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31). Upon receiving her son back to life, the widow woman exclaimed to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” (I Kings 17:24).

The work and ministry of Elijah

After three and a half years, God told Elijah to go to King Ahab again and tell him that He was going to send rain upon the earth (I Kings 18:1). But before this was going to occur, God was going to first turn the hearts of His people Israel back to Him by revealing Himself to them in a miraculous and astounding way. They had been ensnared and enslaved by Jezebel’s deceptions long enough! It was time for God to deliver His people from their spiritual ignorance and sinful ways, and to turn them back to Him, by revealing Himself through His awesome power. Jezebel and her wicked prophets were now going to be exposed for the frauds they were! God, through His prophet Elijah, had King Ahab gather all of the people of Israel together with the false prophets of Baal and Asherah to Mount Carmel (I Kings 18:19). The Hebrew name Carmel means “fruitful field”. God was now going to make His people (the Church) “a fruitful field”, instead of the barren waterless desert which they had spiritually become through their idolatrous worship and false practices which they had deceitfully learned under Jezebel’s supervision. They had become so spiritually corrupt and confused that they didn’t even know who God really was anymore. But God was now going to show them the Truth – He was going to reveal Himself to His people through His servant Elijah just as He had done to the widow lady a year or so earlier when she confessed to him, “Now I know that the Word of the Lord in your mouth is the Truth!” Jesus, the Word of God, is the Truth (John 14:6) and He was in the mouth of His servant Elijah! In other words, God reveals Himself to His people through the mouths of His servants. This will be clearly demonstrated by Elijah’s prayer.

When it was Elijah’s turn to call upon God and to publicly reveal Him to the people, notice what he prayed. After the false prophets had been crying out to their gods all day long and couldn’t get a heavenly response from them, Elijah simply said to God, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” (I Kings 18:36-37). Notice that Elijah prayed for four things: 1) That God would reveal Himself to His people. 2) That God would reveal to His people that Elijah was His servant. 3) That God would let the people know that Elijah was only doing what God had commanded him to do. 4) That God would turn His people’s hearts back to Him again.

Notice that the four things that Elijah prayed for are the same things that were prophesied about John the Baptist’s ministry: “For He [God] has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us… And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins…To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:68-79). “And he [John the Baptist] will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:16-17). Notice these four things: 1) God raised up a horn of salvation unto His people. 2) He would be known as a prophet of the Most High. 3) In doing so, God would again visit and redeem His people through His servant. 4) And consequently, God would turn their hearts back to Him again. This is the work and ministry of the prophet Elijah.

As was mentioned above, John the Baptist was sent by God approximately eight-hundred years later to spiritually do the same work that Elijah did during his ministry. Their message and mission were the same. They were sent before God to turn His people’s hearts back to Him in preparation for the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit (pictured by the promised “rain coming upon the earth”). That is why Jesus called John the Baptist “Elijah” (Matt. 11:14). It was because John the Baptist had an “Elijah-type” ministry and work to do in preparation for His coming.

Both Elijah and John the Baptist were sent by God to prepare His people and warn them that they had better repent (turn around) and make their “paths” (spiritual walks) straight before God (Matt. 3:1-6). Both of these prophets rebuked the religious leaders and teachers of Israel who had spiritual control over the people of God and who had enslaved them by their false teachings and traditions. Just like Elijah, John the Baptist wasn’t trained at the Temple in Jerusalem either. He lived in the desert wilderness for most of his life in relative obscurity away from the religious community, and like Elijah, was not accepted by his own people (Matt. 11:18). The Bible says that John was “in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel” (Luke 1:80). Curiously, the Bible even says that Elijah and John dressed alike. They both wore coarse animal hair coats tied together with a leather belt around their waists (II Kings 1:8; Mark 1:6; Zech. 13:4).

Elijah the prophet must first come to the people of God

Jesus said that it was necessary that “Elijah” must first come and “restore all things” before His coming (Matt. 17:11). During Elijah’s day and in John the Baptist’s day, the people of God had shifted so far away from the Truth, and away from the Light, that they didn’t even really know God or realize that they were spiritually “sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). They had a form of godliness, and they had God’s words with them, but their hearts had been so far removed from God because of their false teachers and leaders, that they couldn’t even recognize God anymore or His servants. They had become so spiritually blind that they rejected His messages, persecuted and murdered His prophets, and ultimately, even killed His Son – all the while thinking that they were right with God! That is why God said that He must first send “Elijah the prophet” to His people before the rain comes upon the earth! In the Bible, “rain” pictures two things: The great out-pouring of the Holy Spirit upon those who are ready to receive it (Hos. 6:3; Joel 2:23); and divine judgment upon those who are not (Gen. 7:12; Ezek. 38:22; Matt. 7:25-27).

The Bible is clear that once again, the prophet “Elijah” is going to have to be sent by God to His people (the Church) in these latter days to spiritually prepare them for His coming – the Holy Spirit being poured out upon them. He is going to need to spiritually set straight the “crooked paths” of God’s people so that He can come to them again and walk among them. As it is written: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord. Make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled [lifted up] and every mountain and hill brought low [humbled]; and the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation [saving power] of God.’” (Luke 3:4-6).

In Biblical times, when a king was planning to visit a certain place, his messenger was sent before him to “clear the land” and to prepare His subjects to meet him. This messenger was sent before the king to clear the king’s path of any stubble, debris, or impeding objects, so that the “king’s highway” was straight and unhindered for his arrival. This is the same metaphor that is being used here in the Scriptures. Christ the King is soon coming back to this earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Therefore, He is sending His messenger(s) before Him who shall clear His way and spiritually prepare His people to meet Him! That is why we must be sure to have our proper “wedding garments” on when we meet the King. Otherwise, we will find ourselves cast out of His sight (Matt. 22:1-14). We can’t meet the King in spiritually filthy, dirty, rags or spiritually naked. We must be clothed in white raiment (Rev. 3:17-18). Elijah’s job is to spiritually clear the way before Him and to prepare His people for His visit – that is, Christ’s coming! Notice these verses:
“Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His Temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in Whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness… Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven. And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts…Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” (Mal. 3:1-18; 4:1-5).

Notice that it says that the proud and all those who do wickedly will be as “stubble” – that is, as worthless debris! They will be taken out of the way – removed – spiritually burnt up – destroyed! For the Bible says that God is a consuming fire, and that nothing unholy and profane shall stand before Him – that is, in His presence (Deut. 4:24; Deut. 9:3; Heb. 12:29). Notice that it also says that He is coming to His Temple! He is not coming to the gentile world at this time. He is coming to His Temple – that is, to His own people! For it is written to the Church: “Do you not know that you are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the Temple of God, God will destroy him. For the Temple of God is holy, which Temple you are.” (I Cor. 3:16-17). He is coming to refine His people and to purify them – to clean them up with “launderers’ soap” as He puts it (Mal. 3:2)! To wash them with the “washing of water by the Word that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:26-27).

Notice also that it says to the Church, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord”. The day of the Lord will be both “great” to some in the Church, and “dreadful” to others. Let me explain. This is the same type of description that Jesus used when He referred to this time period of judgment and refinement in the Church – the House of God. For it is written: “The time has come for judgment to begin at the House of God” (I Peter 4:17). During Jesus’ ministry, He repeatedly warned us that there was going to be both “weeping and gnashing of teeth” within the Church during this refinement/judgment period (Matt. 8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). In other words, some will be broken and humbled by the Rock, and will weep when they realize that they have been misled and that they truly don’t know God. When they hear the truth and realize that God is more real and personal than they believed, they will fall upon the Rock and be broken just as Jesus said that they would be as they begin to recognize their spiritual poverty. For Jesus said, “Whoever falls on this Stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” (Matt. 21:44).

Just like the poor humble widow woman of Sidon who recognized her spiritual poverty, and confessed, “I don’t have any bread [Jesus Christ], but only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar”, some of the people in the Church will become broken and humbled when they realize that they don’t really know Jesus Christ and will consequently fall upon Him (the “Rock”) and be broken (humbled). And then God will quickly revive them and exalt them as He promised, just like He did to the widow woman. For it is written, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time” (I Peter 5:6). And again it says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10). Christ will immediately exalt everyone who humbles himself by filling that man or woman with His Holy Spirit, so that “the oil in their jar” will never run out! For it is written, “He who eats of this Bread and drinks of this Water will never hunger and will never thirst. For the water that I shall give him will become a fountain of water springing up out of him into everlasting life” (John 4:14; 6:48-51). And again it says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his own belly will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). Yes, whosoever humbles himself in the Lord, God will surely lift them up and revived them with His quickening Spirit and comforting truths, just like He did to the poor widow lady and her son. For it is written: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek [humble], for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5:3-6).

Sadly, on the other hand, there will be many Christians during this time who will harden their hearts against Him in their self-righteous arrogant pride, and try to oppose Him and His servants, and consequently, they will be smashed and “ground to powder” (Matt. 21:44). As Jesus said there will be both weeping and gnashing of teeth in the Church! As was mentioned earlier, there is coming a great out-pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people of God again – that is, the “latter rain” is surely coming upon the Church (see Hosea 6:3; Joel 2:23; Acts 2:17; James 5:7). To some in the Church, this rain will be exciting and great, absolutely refreshing and invigorating! To others, it will be dreadful and a time of great crisis. Instead of the “rain” bringing life and revival to them, the coming of the Spirit will only bring judgment and great upheaval! In other words, these individuals will be “gnashing their teeth” in anger, resentment, and resistance against God!
As was stated earlier, John the Baptist warned that “every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be brought low” (Luke 3:5). The “valleys” being referred to here are every lowly person who is humble before God and in a lowly contrite state. In other words, every humble person will be exalted and lifted up by Him. Consequently, every mountain and hill will be abased. In the Bible, “mountains and hills” typically personify kingdoms, governments, hierarchies, self-righteous individuals, and everything that exalts itself above God (Isa. 2:12-18). Yes, God is going to humble everything and everybody that “stands” before Him beginning with His own people – the Church. For it is written: “And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His Temple… But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?” (Mal. 3:2). And again it says to those in the Church, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (I Cor. 10:12). God is going to test and to prove all of us in the Church to see whether or not we are built on man’s traditions and doctrines or upon the Rock – His Word. He is going to see what our “foundation” truly is built upon. For it is written: “Yet once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. The words, ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain” (Heb. 12:26-27). “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ [the Word of God]. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames [of refinement].” (I Cor. 3:12-15). God is truly going to purify and refine His people in fire as He prophesied. They are spiritually going to be sent to Zarephath – the place of refinement and testing once again!

As a result of this refinement period, the Church will then spiritually become a “fruitful field” again just like they were in the days of Elijah at Mount Carmel. The false prophets and teachers, and all those who oppose God in Israel, will be exposed for what they are and “put to death” so to speak, by His discerning Spirit and by His powerful Word which is sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16). For “then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” (II Thes. 2:8). Notice, after God supernaturally revealed Himself to His people through Elijah, it says that all of the people of Israel fell on their faces (humbled themselves) and cried out, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” Whereupon, Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them and took them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there according to the commandment of the Lord (I Kings 18:39-40; Deut. 13:5; Deut. 18:20). The Hebrew name Kishon means “curving or turning”. In other words, the people of God were being “turned” back to God. Their hearts were turning back from following after the false practices and traditions of men as taught to them by their false leaders and teachers, and were now being turned back to God and to the truth of His Word. For this was Elijah’s work and ministry! To expose and destroy the works and teachings of Jezebel and her false prophets, and to turn the hearts of God’s people back to Him in truth!

The Spirit of Jezebel teaching and ruling in the Church

As was mentioned above, Jezebel exercised great influence over the people of Israel (the Church). She instituted and ordained false prophets and pastors over the people, in order to deceitfully lead them away from the truth of God’s Word, and to teach them the ways of Baal, a pagan god. In Hebrew, the name Baal means “lord, possessor, and/or husband”. This is why the Bible prophetically says that Jezebel “teaches and beguiles the servants of God to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols” (Rev. 2:20). The Bible says that Jezebel has once again taken an administrative position in the Church, by calling herself a prophetess, and is causing the Bride of Christ (the Church) to cheat on her Husband – that is, to cheat on Christ, who is the Word of God – the Truth, by cavorting with liars, and embracing the doctrines and false teachings of men. The apostle Paul said that these false doctrines and teachings are actually “doctrines of demons” – which are false gods (I Tim. 4:1). By embracing and adhering to false teachings and doctrines of men, the people of God (Christians) are actually serving and worshipping (“sacrificing to”) false gods! Notice these Scriptures:
“My beloved, flee from idolatry… Are not those who eat of the sacrifices participants of the altar? … I say that the things which the gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” (I Cor. 10:20-21).

“For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial (the Devil)? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the Temple of God with idols? For you are the Temple of the living God. As God has said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ Therefore, ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. And you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’” (II Cor. 6:14-18).


“In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition…Making the Word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Mark 7:7-13).


“The Lord says, ‘These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up of rules and commandments of men.” (Isa. 29:13).


“Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, you are [and have become] the servants of that one that you obey?” (Rom 6:16).

In other words, if you follow man’s teachings and traditions which the Bible calls “doctrines of demons”, you are no longer serving God, but serving idols (false gods). This is why God says that Jezebel is once again teaching and beguiling His servants to “commit sexual immorality and to eat things offered to idols” (Rev. 2:20). The people of God have left their “first love” (Rev. 2:4) – that is Christ, the Truth, the Word of God, and have instead now embraced lies – that is, the teachings and traditions and commandments of men. “Baal”, which was an idol made by men, has once again become the wicked “lord, possessor, and false husband” of the people of God in place of Jesus Christ – the Word of God! God says that they are again serving lies created by men and not serving and abiding in the Truth. This is what the Bible spiritually calls “sexual immorality and eating things offered to idols” (Rev. 2:20)!

Elijah must confront Jezebel before the rain comes

Once again, the spirit of Elijah is going to visit the Church in order to prepare the way of the Lord by turning His people’s hearts back to Him before God sends the great out-pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the earth! God is getting His people ready to receive Him. For it is written: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions; your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath. Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and notable day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:17-21).

Just as in times past, God’s people have again collectively spiritually strayed from Him (the Truth) and have been serving other gods and idols which were made by “men’s hands”. In other words, they have replaced God’s Truth with fables and lies, and have embraced traditions and doctrines that were instituted by men rather than remaining faithful to their spiritual Husband, Christ – who loved them, and gave Himself for them, and bought them with His own precious blood, sanctifying them, and “cleansing them with the washing of water by the Word” (Eph. 5:25-26). Collectively, they have been deceived and bewitched (Gal. 1:6; Gal. 3:1), and have become spiritual children again who are “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14). They have become dull of hearing and have become babes in need of milk instead of solid food which is for the mature (Heb. 5:11-13). They have lost their way, and have left the precious oracles of God to embrace fables and fairy tales just as Paul said that they would do (II Tim. 4:3-4).

Because of the wicked deceptive “prophetess Jezebel”, the people of God today, Christendom as a whole, have once again lost sight of who God really is. They don’t really know Him. Under Jezebel’s wicked influence, they have again cast off His prophets and silenced them, just as Jesus prophesied that they would (Matt. 23:34), and have appointed unto themselves false preachers and teachers who tell them what their “itching ears” want to hear instead of the precious Truth of God’s Word (II Tim. 4:3-4). Their hearts have been deceitfully led astray, and they are ensnared by the lies and doctrines of men. They trust in their vain customs and traditions. They don’t know God or His delivering power and feel that their religious observances and ritualistic church attendance will save them. Not realizing that they are truly “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked”, they grope in the dark believing that they are spiritually rich, and in need of nothing (Rev. 3:17). Because of this, God, in His infinite mercy, is going to visit and redeem His people once again (Luke 1:68). For He says, “Return to Me, backsliding Israel, says the Lord. And I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful, and I will not remain angry forever… Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord, for I am married to you…And I will give you pastors according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding… Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, says the Lord… For you have perverted your way, and you have forgotten the Lord your God. Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings, says the Lord.” (Jer. 3:12-22).

God loves us. He loves His people. That is why God said that He will send us Elijah the prophet again before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5). In His mercy, and for His great name’s sake, God will once again send forth the “spirit and power of Elijah” to be upon His servants, and they will show the people of God the Truth and reveal to them the power of God. The Lord will once again bring forth His prophets “out of the caves” where He has hidden them during Jezebel’s current administration (I Kings 18:4, 13), and will expose the false prophets of Baal that she has set up in their place. Those people in and around Israel (Christendom) who are humble and teachable, like the widow of Sidon was, will be spiritually fed and revived in the Lord, and will indeed once again find God’s truths in the mouths of His servants the prophets (I Kings 17:24). These coming “Elijahs” will truly point the people of God who are now currently “sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death” to the Way of Peace (Luke 1:79). They will prepare the Way of the Lord before Him (Luke 3:4), and will “slay” (discredit) all of the false prophets of Baal with “the sword” – that is, with the Word of God (Heb. 4:12). They will turn the hearts of the people of God (“the children of Israel”) back to the Lord their God and back to “their forefathers” – that is, back to the Biblical patriarchs of old (Mal. 4:4-6; Luke 1:16-17). These Elijahs will expose the wicked spirit of Jezebel that now permeates the Church with her false teachings and lies. For they will surely “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).

And then all of Christendom can truly say, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready!” (Rev. 19:7).

Eric
eric@sharingtheway.com

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The Walk

Should Christians keep commandments, do works, or both?

By Greg Turner gregt@greenboxent.com

One day as I was writing another article I came across the following verse:

Luke 17:5 – 10 (NKJV) 5And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.  7And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?  8But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?  9Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.  10So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

I then thought “what does this mean”? According to this verse, it seems like no matter how hard I try to follow God’s law that I will still be an unprofitable servant. The answer was surprising to me. God gave us a law to follow and then he also gave us a work to do. Let’s see how.

Citizens of a kingdom

We are citizens of a kingdom! Of course we are. I live in the United States of America. Everyone lives in a kingdom of some kind (even if they own their own island!). So then it should make sense to us that Christians are a part of a kingdom. Notice what Paul told the Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:19 – 22 (NKJV) 19Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,  20having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,  22in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

So Jesus is the head of this kingdom that we have become a part of –that we are “fellow citizens” of! Paul also told the Philippians:

Philippians 3:20 – 21 (NKJV) 20For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,  21who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Our citizenship is in heaven – the Kingdom of God. Peter also says:

1 Peter 2:9 – 10 (NKJV) 9But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  10who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

We are a part of a “holy nation” and a “royal priesthood”. How did we become a part of this new nation? Well, John the Baptist said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” and then he baptized people with water (Matt. 3). He then baptized Jesus and then Jesus received the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:13-16). Jesus then preached as John did (Matt 4:17). Jesus said that the least in the kingdom of heaven would be greater than John the Baptist. Was that because John did not do some part of God’s law? No, it was because he was born of women (Mat. 11:11, Luke 7:28) and those who are in the kingdom of heaven are born of Spirit (Luke 17:20-21). We are a part of the Kingdom of God if we have the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 15:50; I Cor. 6:9-19) in us and we receive entrance (or are born – I Peter 1:23) into this Kingdom when we repent and are baptized of water and Spirit. In other words we must become tired of living for ourselves, which is the way (living for self) of the kingdoms of this world, and we must want to live the way of the citizens of the Kingdom of God.

For example, as a citizen of the United States of America I am called an American. As a citizen of the Kingdom of God which Christ is the head I am then called a Christian. When I am in the United States I obey the laws of that country. So then, as a citizen of the kingdom of God I need to obey the laws of that kingdom.

Laws of the Kingdom of God

This is a big concept and many people argue and fight over whether to keep the old covenant (Mosaic) law or the new testament law or both. The bottom line is that as citizens of the Kingdom of God we must obey it’s laws. First I must point out that now that we are members of a new kingdom that does not give us the right to disobey the laws of the earthly kingdoms. We are now considered ambassadors (I Cor. 5:20; Eph. 6:20) to any earthly kingdom that we may be in and we must obey it’s laws, but also be good examples of the kingdom that we are from. Peter spoke about this:

1 Peter 2:11 – 17 (NKJV) 11Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,  12having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,  14or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.  15For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.  17Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

In other words we are free from these ‘Gentile’ kingdoms and their laws, but we should obey them anyway while we are still living here so that they will see our good examples and works. It is important that we obey the ‘Gentile’ laws – the laws of whatever government that we live under so that we may peacefully live in that country (Titus 3:1; Rom. 13:1).

So what are the laws of our new kingdom? Well, Jesus said that his citizens would be recognized if we love one another like He loved us (John 13:34-35). He sacrificed his life for us (Eph. 5:2) because He loved us and He said that there could be no greater love (John 15:13). Now when the Pharisees asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment which one of the ten did He list? His answer:

Matthew 22:36 – 39 (NKJV) 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and great commandment.  39And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Why did he say that? In Matthew 5 Jesus expanded the meaning of the ten commandments to show us the spiritual intent of them. Here he is doing the opposite and summarizing them to show how simple God’s law is. Jesus said that first we must love God with all our heart and mind. Why? Because, if we do not keep the first law we can not keep the second law. How do we keep the first? It is simple. We give up our old lives and heed the calling of Christ (Matt. 13:37) to join him in his kingdom. We sacrifice our human physical lives, our goals, our ambitions, to serve God, to be his servants in his Kingdom. We can not serve two masters (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13). Once we heed the calling we go thru the entrance process of repentance and baptism to become a citizen of the Kingdom. Only then can we please God and keep the second commandment of Christ (Rom 8:1-8). Paul emphasized the second commandment of Christ in Romans 13:8-10 and in Gal. 5:13-14. We don’t see a listing of all of the old covenant (Mosaic) laws because after Christ dies they are no longer in effect – only the law of Christ (I Cor. 9:19-21) is in effect. Notice in Gal. 5:1:

Galatians 5:1 – 6 (NKJV) 1Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  2Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.  3And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.  4You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.  5For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

People were becoming circumcised to join the Jewish faith since Christ was being taught by the Jews (the Apostles and Christ were Jewish). They either did not understand what Christ taught or were being falsely taught to do this. Circumcision brings a person under the old covenant and they then must keep the laws of that covenant. Paul is saying that once under Christ that we are freed from that law. He makes it clear in Romans 7:

Romans 7:1 – 6 (NKJV) 1Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?  2For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.  3So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.  4Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.  5For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.  6But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

In other words, we must keep the law forever (until we die), but Paul shows us here that Christ was married to the Israel (see Eph 5:25-33 for more on Christ’s relationship with the church) and therefore the Mosaic law was in effect until He died. Once He died she (Israel) was free from that covenant. We die when we are baptized (Rom. 6:4) freeing us from whatever law we were under and committing us to the law of the resurrected Christ. Again, Paul says that once we are dead in baptism that the “handwriting of requirements” are “wiped out” (Col. 2:11). Finally, look at 2 Corinthians 3:15 – 16 (NKJV) “15But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.” As long as we continue to keep the old covenant law the veil in the temple remains a covering between us and God. But “16Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

To summarize, we desiring to be citizens of the kingdom of God ruled by Christ must keep his law. His law is to love God first, then love our neighbors as ourselves. But notice what Jesus said in Matthew 19:

Matthew 19:16 – 19 (NKJV) 16Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

But that is not enough for God. Jesus then went on to say:

Matthew 19:20 – 21 (NKJV) 20The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

So Jesus says keeping the commandments is not enough. We must do more! Jesus told the young man (a disciple – see verse 13) to give up his life, do the will of God and become a Christian (“follow Me”). To be a good laborer of the kingdom action is required!

Works of the Laborers

The word “works” seems to be a big problem among many Christians – why? Is not the entirety of the New Testament bible about the works of Christ, Acts of the Apostles, letters, preaching, teaching, and prophesying? Let’s look at it a different way. If I come to America and become an American citizen (go thru the process of converting from the nationality that I am to become a U.S. citizen), I then have two choices for income: 1) get a job, 2) go on welfare. To become a good citizen I keep the American laws and to become a profitable citizen I get a job and do some work and earn an income. Is it not the same when we go through the process to become a citizen of the kingdom? Notice what James says:

“James 2:8 – 26 (NKJV) 8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;  9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  10For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.  11For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  12So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.  13For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 14What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  15If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,  16and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?  17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  19You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!  20But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?  21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?  22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.  24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Wow! James is saying the same thing that Christ did in Luke 17:10. If you are in the faith (a Christian) then you should be keeping the law or the commands of Christ, but you are an unprofitable servant in the kingdom if you do not do the works of a Christian! So what are these works? Notice why God was angry with Israel:

Ezekiel 22:6 – 12 (NKJV) 6“Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.  7In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.  8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.  9In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.  10In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.  11One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter.  12In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord GOD.

Sounds like America today. These ‘works’ are the opposite of what someone in the kingdom of God should be doing. Now notice some of the things that Jesus did:

Jesus healed and cast out demons: see “Matthew 8:14 – 16 (NKJV) 14Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.  15So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. 16When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,” .

Jesus controlled the weather: “Matthew 8:26 – 27 (NKJV) 26But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  27So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?””.

Jesus raised people from death: “Matthew 9:23 – 25 (NKJV) 23When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing,  24He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him.  25But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ”.

Jesus taught and preached the gospel: “Matthew 9:35 (NKJV) 35Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. ”

Jesus called for laborers “Matthew 9:37 – 38 (NKJV) 37Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  38Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.””. If we do not help to gather then we are against Christ (Matthew 12:30 (NKJV) 30He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.). What did he tell his disciples (believers) to do? See “Matthew 10:1 (NKJV) 1And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ”. And again “Matthew 10:7 – 8 (NKJV) 7And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”. He tells his disciples to speak those things he tells them in the dark – visions, dreams, prayer and bible study, and in the ear – physically speaking to them!  And that they are to be like him: “Matthew 10:24 – 27 (NKJV) 24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  25It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!  26Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ”. Jesus rebuked his disciples for not doing his works as we see here: “Matthew 17:14 – 21 (NKJV) 14And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,  15“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  16So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”  18And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  21However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.””.

I am no different and nor is any other Christian as we are all disciples (believers)! We can not have the faith needed to do his works without prayer and fasting! I claim to be a Christian yet have I done these things? No I haven’t! Therefore, I can not be of Christ if I do not! But, Paul was the same as us at one point. He ignorantly did false works:

1 Timothy 1:5 – 16 (NKJV) 5Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,  6from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,  7desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. 8But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,  9knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,  10for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,  11according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. 12And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,  13although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  14And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  15This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.  16However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” 

He (and all of us) did it “ignorantly in unbelief”, but then he changed once shown the correct way. He then became a “pattern” or example to those who also believe on Christ. Are we ready to change and believe those things which are written in the scriptures? God does not hold us accountable for ignorantly doing wrong things, but only after we know the truth. Christ expects us to do his “business” as we see here:

Luke 19:11 – 27 (NKJV) 11Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  12Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  13So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’  14But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ 15“And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  16Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’  17And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’  18And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’  19Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’ 20“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  21For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’  22And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  23Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’  25(But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’)  26‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  27But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’”

Jesus gave us talents and abilities to do his work. I Corinthians 12 (read the whole chapter) shows us how:

1 Corinthians 12:4 – 11 (NKJV) 4There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  5There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  6And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.  7But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,  9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,  10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  11But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

So we receive our talents from God (see Rom. 12:3-8; Eph. 4:7-8,11) by the Holy Spirit and not everyone has the same talent (as is shown in I Cor. 12:27-31). Some are given more and some less. If we do not understand how to use our talent or know what it is then we need to ask for help and the Holy Spirit will lead us and teach us in all things (I John 2:27; I Cor. 2:13; Gal. 5:18; Rom. 8:26; John 14:26). Now Jesus was very clear that if we do not use our gift while he is away then when he returns he will take it away and give it to someone who has produced fruit (Luke 19:26; John 15:1-7). Going to church every week is not a gift of the Spirit. Sitting in a pew every week is Christian welfare if you are not using the spiritual gifts that have been given to you! We are to assemble (Heb. 10:25) to share our gifts, in an orderly manner (I Cor. 14), so each person in the church can profit (I Cor. 12:7). Each person has a manifestation of the Spirit and it must be used or you lose it (I Thess. 5:19)! Now if your church will not let you use it then you have a problem. I urge you to follow Christ! Think about it. What company hires employees and then tells them that they can not do any work, but rather, tells them that they must sit idly by and just stare at the management team while they work? It does not make sense at any level. Jesus wants us to work.

Now to make sure that we as citizens of the kingdom do not think that we can just do our jobs and get away with breaking the law Jesus says:

Matthew 7:21 – 23 (NKJV) 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  22Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

What is this ‘will of My Father’? Doing the ‘will of God’ is simply to do good to others (Eph. 5:6-8; I Peter 2:15; I Peter 4:1-19). Paul, like Jesus, said in I Corinthians 13 that all the works in the world are not equal to love. The law is love. We, as good citizens, must keep the laws of the kingdom and in so doing we will do good to our neighbors, and to be profitable servants we must do those works that Christ did and greater (I John 3:18-23).

The Walk

Christians in America – Wake Up!

by Robert Bosh

HYWYSTR@aol.com

I feel I must submit this to get the Christians in this country to WAKE UP. There is quite a debate in the Christian community about whether we as members of the Kingdom should be involved in the world. I would submit that as citizens of the Kingdom and as ambassadors for Christ living in this country, we have a responsibility to God. In 1 John 3:8 it states: “He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” In John 15:12 it states: “Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.” We are to do what Jesus did. We are to oppose the Devil and his works, destroy them.

Currently there are individuals in this country who are working very hard to remove "In God We Trust" from our money. This in itself is not a major issue and certainly not an issue of salvation. But I believe this is just one way Satan is trying to strike at Christians. Additionally, one of these same individuals has been raising issues about the use of God in the Pledge of Allegiance and seeking to permanently remove it. This individual is a self-described atheist. Once again, this is a very subtle way to affect the culture. There is a plan to remove God from our society. The author of this plan is Satan. For many including Christians we may say “so what?”. It seems like a small thing. How many small things will we allow to be chipped away until we no longer have freedom to worship? Wouldn’t it please Satan to totally remove God from society? He has convinced many in the world that he does not exist. As Christians we are playing right into the enemy’s plan. There are “Christians” today that say they believe in God, but not in a devil. As Christians we sit in the pews and let the war rage on around us. We let the culture change us, instead of us changing the culture. Ancient Israel made the same mistake. God wanted the nation of Israel to keep His laws and be an example to the other nations. They started out ok. But as they prospered, they started to take on the ways of the cultures around them rather than be the example they were supposed to be. Sound familiar? I am not saying we are ancient Israel or that God chose us as He chose Israel. I am just saying that Christians should be the leading example to society. As Christians we are to influence the culture through the lives we live. Recent polls suggest that statistics on alcoholism, divorce, drug use, infidelity, and spousal abuse are virtually identical percentage-wise between Christians and the secular society. Why aren’t we different? Jesus said, “If the salt has lost its savor, what good is it?” See Luke 14:34-35.

Madelyn Murray O’Hare was just one woman and she got prayers removed from our schools. Why did we Christians just sit silently by? This is another example of the devil working through humans to oppose Christians. If each one of us reflected the example of our Lord Jesus we could transform the culture too by working to reverse the work of the devil. Jesus certainly made a difference in those around Him. In Mathew 23:13- 37 Jesus spoke against those in power in His day. We need to refuse to roll over and be silenced into fear to mention His name. Jesus has already gotten the victory. We as Christians must also gain the victory. The last I understood was that 80% of the people in this country claim to be "Christian". As you know Christian means to be like Christ. Are we like Christ? Many of the men who helped form this country believed that any one who was not a Christian should not even be considered for public office. How different it was then to the way it is now! If a politician even mentions the name of Jesus he is ridiculed. The ACLU is constantly filing lawsuits to remove God from all public places within our nation, and won’t permit the public to acknowledge God. They especially attack any Christians who seek to serve in a public office. They state that someone might be offended at the mere mention of God’s name. For Satan to succeed in tearing down Christianity, it only requires us as Christians to do nothing. Satan is a manipulator and can work through people, as in the examples that were given above. Somewhere in our past we opened the door a crack for him to get in. He has been widening it ever since. He is very subtle. He picks away a bit here and a bit there. It is like the frog sitting in the water in the pot. At first, the water is cool. Then the heat gradually goes up until it is boiling. The frog did not notice because the process was very subtle. We are truly blessed to live in a nation that allows us to worship God. Is it coincidence that Satan will use everything in his power to destroy this nation?

Are we willing to sacrifice life, liberty, family, and property to stand for our Lord and Savior? We must be willing to sacrifice our pride and reputation if necessary for our Lord. Our brothers and sisters in China risk this every day. We have grown complacent. Unfortunately the church thrives in persecution and stagnates in prosperity. We should be willing to give our time and effort to fight any people who seek to remove God from the public arena. We should strive to oppose Satan and his desire to destroy all works of God. Do we allow those around us to know we are Christians? If you were on trial as a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you? Are we willing to endure the same persecution that Jesus did? Jesus Himself said in John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord, if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

We have stood by and let 50 MILLION babies be killed through abortion. Satan is a murderer. By just letting our voices be heard to our representatives that we disagree with this, we can help stop the murder. It can still be stopped. There are many organizations that are in battle over this issue. This is just one issue we are at risk for the Judgment of God. There are many others. Hopefully we have not gone too far already. Jonah cried out to the people of Nineveh. The king as well as all the people repented in sackcloth and ashes, REPENT Jonah 3:6-10. Many ask that we add our names to petitions to our representatives to help stop it. We can, if inclined, help them out with some funding. The least we can do is sign their petitions. We have let the left- wing liberals force “political correctness” down our throats. The liberals desire that we say nothing against anything that is not politically correct. Jesus when confronted by the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 spoke out to them and told them their ways were wrong. We must raise our voices across this country to our Congressmen, the President, our state legislators, and all those in power. I personally have signed petitions to stop partial birth abortion, signed petitions to require the press to provide unbiased reporting. I have opposed the agenda to allow same sex marriages with petitions and letters to my congressmen. This is a republic. It is the rule of law that governs. We can use the systems in place, just as the devil can, to inspire change. He uses people to use our laws against us. Democracy means rule of the majority. We as voters and citizens have a right and duty to be heard. It is not about politics or one political party over another. It is about our dedication to the Lord Jesus and His values and principles. We must contact our representatives when the opportunities come to oppose the destroyer and those he inspires. The first Christians of this country participated in government. If we expect the country to change we can no longer sit silent. WE are supposed to be the MAJORITY. We must become hot for Jesus. We don’t want to be “lukewarm Christians” in anything. Otherwise, Christ will cast us out of His mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).

This is not about denominations or a “Christian” agenda, but about what the Bible teaches us about our conduct. We are not to use “political blackmail” to effect change. We must not come off as the mainstream preachers who have lost their credibility by aligning themselves with the world. We must work in the order and the authority Jesus has given us John 17: 6-23. He spoke against powers and principalities, so should we. Once again, as Jesus destroyed the works of the devil, so should we. We are to be a self-governing people, people who lived the example of the Bible, people who do not need to be policed tightly, people who do the right things because they are right, and people who stand out in society because of their shining moral example. By apathy and inaction, however, we can instead actually help Satan slowly spread his influence throughout society and undermine the very principles we claim to live by and cherish.

The Bible indicates that in the end times right would be wrong and wrong would be right. Romans 1: 25 says that society has “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever”. The Bible said that in the last days things would be upside down. 2 Timothy 4: 3 clearly states, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” WE are to know the times and the seasons. We know our Lord Jesus will return soon. We must let our light shine. Jesus Himself said that, "We must push back the darkness". (Luke 11: 32- 35)  It is our commission, our responsibility, Our Duty to Our Lord Jesus as well as to God. We must do as was stated in this letter earlier – destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8)! WE MUST WAKE UP!! We are warriors of the Kingdom. We must fight against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). Our weapons are the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:13-17 – “having our loins girded about with the truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having our feet shod with the gospel of peace, taking up the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation, and lastly, exercising the sword of the spirit which is the word of God”.

Jesus fought the enemy wherever He found him. He cast out his demons. He spoke against those who sought to advance the darkness. We too are to do as our Lord and Savior did. We know wrong from right. We know the truth. We need to be willing to tell the truth. Abortion is wrong, we can speak it. Corruption is wrong, we can oppose it. Romans 1:26-27 states homosexuality is wrong. Are we bold enough to proclaim it in petitions to stop “civil union” laws, same sex marriage laws, and other perversions inspired by the enemy? Can we vote against pro-abortion candidates? We live in the most exciting times since Jesus walked this earth. We are to do as He did. We are to work to stop the works of the devil, who, desires to destroy us and the Kingdom of God. The question is will we?

In closing, I think the following poem says it all….

The Lamb – author unknown

Mary had a little lamb,
His fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
The Lamb was sure to go.
He followed her to school each day,
T’wasn’t even in the rule.
It made the children laugh and play,

To have a Lamb at school.

And then the rules all changed one day,

Illegal it became;
To bring the Lamb of God to school,
Or even speak His Name!
Every day got worse and worse,
And days turned into years.
Instead of hearing children laugh,
We heard gun shots and tears.

What must we do to stop the crime,
That’s in our schools today?
Let’s let the Lamb come back to school,
And teach our kids to pray!

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Church, Church System, Churchianity, Kerry Denten, Kingdom of God

We Might Have Gotten It Wrong

By Kerry Denten (from Storm-Harvest Ministries)

Here’s the thing .. Jesus said “I will build My church ..” and then He commanded the disciples to go and extend the Kingdom the way He’d showed them over nearly two years; by healing the sick, casting out devils, raising the dead, etc. Notice this … Jesus said “I” and “My”. HE’S the builder of the church, NOT us! Our only role is to extend His Kingdom. That will always be through incarnational acts such as social justice, the healing of the sick, liberating the oppressed, feeding the hungry, loving the hurting, but it is still the ONLY thing we were commanded to do … extend His Kingdom!

So let me ask you … why is it that we pray “God, extend Your Kingdom” while we are busy building the church? I think we’ve got it all wrong and at some point someone is going to wise up and put the horse back in front of the cart.

Firstly, “God, extend Your Kingdom” isn’t a prayer He is going to answer because He commanded US to extend His Kingdom on His behalf. Secondly, when will someone realize that, in the main, we do a really crappy job of building HIS church?? If that weren’t so, why haven’t we had the impact that Jesus had in His day? Remember, He did say we’d do what He did and even greater. I ask like Jerry Maguire … “SHOW ME THE RESULTS!?!”

By now you’re probably asking “Well, how DOES a church get built?” The answer: I DON’T KNOW! Because it’s not my place to know. It is only my place to extend God’s Kingdom.

“Alright then”, (you’re probably thinking by now), “how do I do that AND see the church grow?” Aah .. good question.

The extension of God’s Kingdom takes place primarily in the hearts of men and women. When hearts change, people begin to gather around the relationships they hold most dear; the primary one now being with God. When people gather around a desire to meet with each other and with God, and that desire extends to wanting others to experience this genuine heart change that has added so much richness to their own lives, (voila!) you have God at work building a church!

However, could it be that Christ building His church and us extending His Kingdom are so tightly tied together that one influences the other? Could it be that the minute we stop wanting others to share in the richness of these relationships, we’ve stopped extending God’s Kingdom? Could it then be that if we stop extending, He stops building?

George Barna said in the “State of the Church 2002”, an update on the health and vitality of the American church, that in the two decades to 2002, the Catholic and Protestant church combined had literally spent almost one trillion dollars on its perceived mission, but that “there has been no measurable increase in one of the expressed purposes of the church”.

Think about that. Almost a trillion dollars spent by the church in only twenty years in just one country with nothing to show for it!! That is frightening.

He further goes on to say in his “State of the Church 2005” that “Nothing is more numbing to the Church than the fact that it is mired in a rut of unfathomable depths. The various creative approaches attempted over the course of this decade have drawn much attention but produced little, if any, transformational impact.” We hear it so often .. church is not about the building or the program, it’s about people. Yet we continue to invest all our time and money into maintaining the building and pushing the program and we forget the need to touch people .. REALLY touch people .. not just add them to our “books”.

When will we ever learn?

Kerry Denten, Storm-Harvest Ministries

website http://www.storm-harvest.asn.au/
email prophetic@storm-harvest.asn.au

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The Walk

America – Harder or Easier for Christians?

-by Darren Smith (RevivalSchool.com)

About a month ago during a time of great trial in my walk, Jesus
the Lord spoke to me about being a true follower of Him, not a
nominal believer but a true follower. The word I heard was that
America is the hardest place in the world to be a believer. This
came as a shock to me, for I had often thought and commented on
how easy we have it here. But what the Lord opened to me is how
hard it is to walk with Him in this land of comfort. It is so easy to be
distracted by the cares of this world in our nation, in fact so easy
that we have created our own American doctrine to make us feel
better about our lack of devotion to Jesus.

If you need Jesus for every meal it’s far easier to trust Him, and if
meeting with a body of believers puts your life at risk, commitment
would be easier. Lets face it – we have built a "what’s in it for me"
doctrine to fill our buildings and programs. What’s amazing is that
we even believe that God has blessed us with all these distractions.
We’re even taught to pray for them. After all, surely God wants us
all to be rich and happy. This very notion causes us to max out
credit cards and other credit, so we can look the part. Even our
churches fall for the "bigger-newer-nicer" lie!

If we go back to the basic Gospel we can’t teach the American
doctrine because the words of Christ dispel it completely. Even
when Jesus gave us a model of how to pray He taught us to be
dependant upon Him. "Give us this day our daily bread" is a simple
request, isn’t it? Can you find a prayer for riches or possesions in it?
Think about this – how can the Lord provide our daily bread when
our cabinets, ice boxes and freezers are full? Do you get the point?
Being a follower of Christ is almost impossible in our nation. So
many of the things we say God blessed us with are distractions
given to us by our adversary the devil designed to turn us away
from Jesus. This is why we don’t see the power of God in our life,
we simply don’t need it, or, in fact, want it. It would mean an end to
our way of life and sure death to the American doctrine of feel-good
religion – a bloodless, powerless conviction-less, and (last but not
least) God-less faith.

The condition of the body today is sickening. We can’t even call sin
"sin" anymore. I am ashamed of myself and other leaders who have
let our walk slide so far. Starting with me I repent for the half
hearted service to the Lord and struggling with sin that should be
put away. Help me Lord to walk worthy of your calling. In the last
few days I have seen men that once walked with Jesus struggle
with the world and struggle over issues that should not even be a
consideration for a true follower of Christ. God help us to return to
you with a pure heart, break us Lord, open our hearts to you.

In the next few days we will be conducting prayer and repentance
meetings through our network of churches and house churches as
well as out in the public arena… We must repent and cry out to
God for our nation. We have slept long enough.

Time is short – we must not wait. We must charge forward into the
nation preaching only Jesus by actions as well as words. We must
plant true New Testament Churches meeting on every block,
building the body of Christ, making disciples and tearing down
strongholds. People whose only agenda is Christ and only fear is the Lord.

-Darren Smith.
www.revivalschool.com

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