TWO ASTOUNDING TESTIMONIES
-The first is rather sad, the second is very encouraging:
(1) J. BYRON writes-
“I see the gray being far more dangerous to Our Lord’s Body than
the black and white. Good churches full of good people who get
caught up in The Church System. Meaning the administration of
a church as a business, maybe it must be…
My home church has one of the Godliest pastors Ive known, his
teachings are obviously directly from the heart of God, yet I
personally watched a poor widow come into the church in desperate
need of medicine for her daughter, and she was told, We cant do
that, if she had a reaction we could be sued.
Another time a young teen boy was living in a tent in the woods
with no family, money or food. I called this very good church to
see if WE could get him help. I was told they are not equipped.
Upon pressing the point and reminding the church of my rather
sacrifical tithing habits, they said, ‘Well bring him in sometime
and well see’. Not wanting the child to reject God, my family took
care of him.
This is a well funded congregation, 1,000-1,200 strong. Good
godly people, a wonderful Godly Pastor.
Somewhere in the Administration, The technicalities, the worries
of lawsuits, the concern, “if we help one, word will get out and we
will be bankrupted”. Im not sure, maybe someone of more depth
can see better than I…”
(2) RUTH FARLEY writes-
“MY HUSBAND AND I LIVE IN THE INNER-CITY. WE LIVE IN A
BUILDING THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED POOR BY MOST IN
THIS NATION, HOWEVER WE ARE BECOMING A FAMILY HERE.
WE BEGAN PRAYING AND FEEDING PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING
AND THE FATHER HAS TOUCHED MANY LIVES. THOSE WHO
WANT TO USE ARE BEING SLOWLY REMOVED. ALL THE
METH IS GONE AND THE OTHER THINGS THAT WERE GOING
ON HERE.
WE HAVE TWO BOYS WHO HAVE BEEN ABANDONED BY
THEIR MOTHER, THEY ARE 14 AND 17. THEY READ THE BIBLE
EVERY NIGHT, AND THE YOUNG ONE CRIES AND IS DEEPLY
WOUNDED AND ANGRY. THERE IS ANOTHER HERE WHO
HAS CANCER AND IS CRYING OUT TO YHWH FOR HELP.
THERE WERE NEVER ANY CHILDREN HERE, BUT SINCE WE
HAVE MOVED IN YHWH HAS BROUGHT US 7 BABIES. TWO
OF THE MOTHERS WERE SEVERELY ABUSED AND HAD TO
RUN TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN.
THERE USED TO BE SEVERAL GAY COUPLES, BUT THEY
HAVE ALL MOVED, AS THEY DONT LIKE THE SPIRIT HERE.
ONE OF THEM THOUGH A WOMAN, WHO IS GOING TO JAIL,
HAS ALLOWED ME TO SHARE THE GOSPEL AND HAS TAKEN
A BOOK FROM ME TO READ CALLED ‘THE GREAT FALLING
AWAY’ BY MILTON GREENE. I PRAY SHE REPENTS AND IS
DELIVERED FROM THAT DEMON AND BROUGHT INTO THE
KINGDOM OF LIGHT.
LIVING WITH THEM FROM DAY TO DAY, I HAVE SEEN MANY
MIRACLES THE FATHER HAS DONE, SUCH AS BROUGHT US
MONEY TO HELP PAY THEIR RENT, MEDICAL BILLS WIPED
OUT, APTS FURNISHED. HE EVEN BROUGHT A LADY UP TO
ME ON THE STREET WHO ASKED ME IF I COULD USE THINGS
FOR THOSE IN THE BUILDING, AND NOW ONCE A MONTH
SHE BRINGS DIAPERS FOR THE BABIES, MILK, CEREAL,
CLOTHING TOWELS, SHEETS ,FURNITURE, ETC. AND THEY
HAVE TO DRIVE 90 MILES TO GET HERE, NOW THAT IS LOVE
IN ACTION.
SOME DAYS IT LOOKS AS THOUGH NOTHING IS HAPPENING,
AND I BECOME DISCOURAGED, BUT THEN, SOMETHING
HAPPENS LIKE THE LADIES HERE ASKING THAT I START A
BIBLE STUDY FOR THEM, WHICH HAS GOT TO BE YESHUA,
BECAUSE IT IS NOT WHAT I WOULD CHOOSE TO DO. I LOVE
TO SHARE THE WORD.
OH, LET ME NOT FORGET TO MENTION OUR SINGLE FATHER,
WHO TOOK HIS SON BECAUSE MOM IS ON THE STREETS
DOING HER OWN THING. HE SUFFERS FROM A MEDICAL
ISSUE, OF HIS BLOOD NOT CLOTTING, AND HAS TO TAKE
SHOTS IN HIS STOMACH DAILY. THE LITTLE BOY WHO IS
ABSOLUTLEY PRECIOUS WAS A DRUG BABY AND AT 4 IS
MORE LIKE A 2 YEAR OLD, BUT HAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
SMILE AND LOVES HIS TRUCKS. HE ALSO ASKED FOR A
BIBLE. THOSE BOYS WILL HAVE TO MOVE THIS MONTH IF
MOM DOES NOT SHOW UP. AM PRAYING FOR THEM.
AND SO IT GOES ONE DAY AT A TIME, SWEET JESUS. -WHO
LOVED US WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS…”
-Please comment on these Testimonies below-
no one has ANY excuse for not being used by ALMIGHTY GOD, where they ARE, with the little they HAVE and without asking HOW, WHEN, WHY etc. NO EXCUSE!!! I read these two testimonies…. Affirms to me that if you are part of the SYSTEM, then the SYSTEM controls you, not GOD.
What defines a GODLY person? What they SAY (teach)?? Or what they DO?? Jesus said, you will know them by their fruits…. and He also said, IN AS MUCH AS YOU DID NOT DO IT TO THE LEAST…. YOU DID NOT DO IT TO ME…
As we pray daily, we are more and more convicted of the call of GOD on our lives to live the APOSTOLIC life, where we are with what we have….. And not to wait for our church to ‘affirm’ what GOD is telling us to do.
We alse sense that those who call themselves by the name of the LORD, better wake up and start BEING what they SAY they are…
Go back and read the first 4 books of the new testament, as though you were reading them for the very first time, BELIEVING what they say..
May the GOD of ABRAHAM, ISAAC and JACOB have mercy on us, and may HE give us a second chance…. as we repent of our greed and blindness.
And total apathy for the souls of men.
thank you for these posts!
Christ does take care of every detail! God is so good to us, too good to us!
This is from Gary Amirault……. http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/christs-body.htm
Where the funds of the Body of Christ go are going to dramatically change. In the past, 90% of the income has gone into bricks and mortar and steeples and stained glass and padded pews and carpets and parking lots – and, oh yes, lots of salaries. That’s going to change. The 90% to administrative costs and 10% to the poor and outreach is going to be flip-flopped and 80% of the funds that come in are going to go into outreach and into helping the poor, and 20% or something like that will go into administrative costs and salaries. There’s nothing wrong with salaried people; the Bible talks about giving elders double honor. That word “honor” has to do with salaries. There’s nothing wrong with paid people if they’re evangelizing and planting churches and those kinds of things. But the 90/10 is going to flip-flop to 80/20.
The emphasis is going to be smaller. It’s not going to be building-oriented, it’s going to be living stone-oriented. This expression is going to realize that the true ecclesia is when we come together one living stone on another, 15 or 20 living stones coming together to exalt the name of Jesus – that is the ecclesia, that is the ‘called-out ones’, those who are called-out by the Holy Spirit to come together to worship and pray and intercede for mankind; that is indeed the real ecclesia and what we really should be all about. We’re going to become more about that than buildings and retreats and campsites and all of those kinds of things that require billions of dollars. In the 1970s the American church had over a trillion dollars worth of stocks and bonds and real estate. At that time, the American church could have eliminated poverty in the entire world just by the interest on the mortgage of its properties. That was in 1970. Today – God knows what it could do.
The Bible thumper, the pulpit, the preacher – he’s going to disappear. He’s not going to be able to get away with using three or four worship songs (or in the Charismatic expression 30 or 40 minutes of nice worship) to pump the people up so that he can do his half-hour or hour sermon. That’s going. And instead of that half-hour or hour of sermon, the Body is going to come together, the Holy Spirit is going to sit on the entire congregation and that word will come from the least. It’ll come out of the Body; it will not come out of someone behind a pulpit. I’ll talk about that more in a little while.
In order for this to come about (and I firmly believe that it’s right at the door, that it’s right upon us) the people who right now are reading this and their heart is saying, “Yes, this sounds right. Yes, this is what I’m hungry for” – they’re going to have to come to more of a place of doing business with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and to allow him to strip us of a lot of traditions of men and doctrines of demons that we’ve swallowed in the Charismatic and Pentecostal expression, in the Reformation expression, in the social works expression, in the Catholic orthodox expression. We’ve swallowed tons of a mixture of law and grace, which has produced a pharisaisism in us, which has produced self-righteousness in us and which has utterly blinded us. That’s where I came to 12 years ago when God destroyed me. He showed me that I had swallowed enough leaven for the last five or six years to become blind, a Pharisee, and not even know it. You know the last person that knows that they’re a Pharisee is a Pharisee? In those movements where they feel that they have the greatest freedom of the Holy Spirit, they are in the most danger of being Pharisees and not even knowing it. I was generally most of the time in cutting-edge Charismatic churches where there was a freedom – or there appeared to be a freedom – in true worship. But there wasn’t a total freedom. The Holy Spirit was just allowed to move just enough to make the environment right for the preacher to do his thing. The Holy Spirit was not free to manifest himself in fire and to totally take over the congregation and consume it completely…(snip)
“We’re (wife Michelle Amirault) both very excited about the days ahead. We believe that we’re entering into a new day in which we feel that the Body of Christ is going to manifest more love, more mercy, more compassion and more wisdom than it has in the past. The reason why is that I believe that the curse of the woman that she has carried for thousands of years is going to come off and she is going to be standing by the side of the man and we’re going to enter into this new day together. We’re going to express love like we’ve never expressed before. We’re going to express righteous judgment. We’re going to express power. And this world will be drawn to it.
We will not build huge gigantic cathedrals; we will build living human beings. We will raise them up and we will mature them and we will raise up many-membered assemblies all around the world – not made of sticks and stone and steeples and stained glass. The real Body of Christ, living, corporate expression, is going to manifest in ways that we couldn’t possibly dream. Like I said before, most of the old expressions will not receive this new day. God is going to have to raise up new structures in order to handle the fullness of all that God wants to express. We hope that you will call or write or visit our website and find out a little bit about what this is all about. We hope that you will join us in this new glorious day in which Jesus is truly going to be Lord over His Body. Thank you very much.”
I exchanged some conflicting letter communications on Holy Communion with a brother in Jesus, who happens to be a gifted artist even though he has the male form of color blindness. Unfortunately, our own religious dogmas and protestations can cause spiritual blindness that prevents the true light of the Word of God to enter within our heart and affect a needful change. With some slight modifications appropriate for this message, I wrote to him the following concerning this matter of Holy Communion and the substance of faith:
“It is written, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. What color would you paint the substance of my faith in Jesus Christ, or that of a Catholic brother or Orthodox sister or that of a Protestant believer? What color would you paint the Word of God en-grafted to my soul, or theirs? God is absolute light, and there is no shadow in His turning. He alone illuminates the soul of faith, to bring forth the color or colors of His choosing. It is we that are not yet perfect in love, which can create darkness, and cast shadows over the substance of another brother’s faith in Jesus. What is the pure color of love, or of joy, or of peace, —- all that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and the substance of that, which is hoped for in our souls?”
But here, let me paint you a living picture, an abstraction of true faith, and the substance of the unseen.
Give us this day our daily bread.
With God’s infinite pallet of color in hand and the application of the paint brush of the Spirit, we begin to paint in the unknown dimensions of the heavenlies. Even so, it is not far off, but very near. There we are, all the faithful gathered around this gracious table of the Lord of our Salvation. The Holy Father and the Lord Jesus, our High Priest is seated in our midst, and the Glory of God’s Spirit fills the room. Then Jesus takes a piece of unleavened bread, and tears it, and turns to you and says: “My dear child, —- take this and eat of it, for this is My Body, and always remember that the substance of this Bread of Life, comes from Me, and is what I AM. This unleavened Bread, broken for you, is the joy of My Father’s heart, that you may have My love ever increasing within your soul to nourish you, and then through you, those children of men that are lacking in its substance”. In those Infinite moments at His table, our gracious Lord of Host, in like manner, ministers through the Majesty of His Light and Life to every member of His body, that He might give gifts, and add the strength of His Spirit to those that are lacking, and in need of the full Grace of His whole Body, which is knitted together in the color and substance of His Love.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Now again, the Master turns to you, and Jesus calling you by name says: “My child, I have an absolutely necessary cup for you to drink from. Remember always that the substance of this drink, comes from the heart and soul of Who I AM; and it is a strong drink of dark judgment, poured out in love for you. This, — My Father’s covenant cup of love, contains the substance of My LifeBlood poured out in judgment for the color of your sin, and the Idolatrous substance of self. Although the issues of both Life and Death are in My Blood, do not be afraid, faithfully come to My table of Grace, drink it often, so that all your days may be full of My Light, —- and in My fields, you work not in darkness, —- and in your sacrifice of love to the Father and My Body, you may bring forth a fruitful harvest of souls to My Table, where the facets of the purity of faith, through Me and in Me, abounds in faithful hearts with Life and Love with infinite color, to the Glory of our Father God.” (See 1st Thessalonians 1 verse 3.)
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Jesus Christ, the Living WORD of GOD commanded each and every member of His Body to commune with Him and each other in the true Spiritual substance of His Words. Our Lord’s Body is given to us in Holy Communion, through the Holy Spirit, as an ever-Living memorial of the Perfect Gift, of the substance of Love from the Father and from His Son, our risen Living Savior. The substance of God’s love is ratified in the Blood of the Son of Man and the Son of God, Who gave all of Himself, a perfect offering to His Father, to satisfy God’s righteous judgment against rebellious and unloving mankind.
With amazing grace, it is the Almighty God of Love, Who has loved us first, and has sown that seed of Love in the earth, and within earthen vessels that His Love might be established within our hearts. Lift up your hearts, for the Lord is present among His people to forgive, heal, nurture and comfort all. He is the chief corner stone, and we are the living stones of this memorial of God’s LOVE that is not built with hands, but with a Holy Heart. He is the Vine that nourishes the branches, to bring forth the fruit of His love. This Truth of God’s nourishing Love is best maintained within the mind, heart and soul of man through faith in the true essence of that heavenly food, received through the Spirit of Truth. If we are of the faith, then this is His Living covenant for us, foundationally built upon His poured out LifeBlood upon this earth, and forever established in His risen Body, whose living members we have become, through Godly faith. It is the Church’s power, through the Communion BloodLife of Jesus Christ, to put away our current sins of remembrance, and to bring us into concert (communion) together as one, unified within our Lord’s Holy risen Body. “Love covers a multitude of sin”. However, if we say that we have not sinned in the flesh, then where is our light? In the comfort of our darkness, we will not see our great need for that love that covers the multitude of sin.
Robert Glenn
We are the church… the Living… Breathing… Body of Christ… in the earth…the Living manifestation of the LOVE of GOD…
In the old testament the God was in the Arc of the Covenant…
( The Hebrew Word is Coffin)
He wanted a body so he could tabernacle with us… So He Became flesh… after the resurrection of Jesus… he tabernacles within us…
(THE HOLY SPIRIT)
Now once more the church wants him back in the Box…
(the church building)
BUT HE IS RISEN!
CHRIST IN US THE HOPE OF GLORY!
So let us Go… into all the world and be the church… the hands and feet of God…
I recently left my Church home due to a conflict of personal beliefs. I believe in the totality of the blood of Christ however the teaching has turned toward Christ blood combined with our works brings salvation.
My spirit is deeply grieved as I search for a new Church home, most of them have such a strict order for the service but yet they invite the presence of the Holy Spirit. I get the mental picture of God being ushered in where He can keep His eye on the clock, then given an outline of the service and told He can jump in anytime He wants once He clears what He has to say with the Pastor or an Elder.
Sometimes I leave after the opening prayer, it is usually a confession of wanting to be clean but can’t quite make it happen but we are determined to keep trying. I agree with Andrew Strom’s message, WE ARE CLEAN and are made perfect by the blood of Christ. We start each day as perfect not working toward perfection. Granted, most days we do get our feet dirty and they do need to be washed, how thankful I am for the faithfulness of God and the power of His Holy Spirit to keep me clean.
As I read the contrast of the very wealthy church that can’t spare a “cup of water” and the family in the apartment complex in a very trodden area, giving of what they have, and the ministry changing the community “with a cup of water” one life at a time, I can see clearly who is presenting Jesus to the community. One is the loud wind and storming of pretense, while the other is the soft whisper of God’s hope in the mulberry bushes. The mega-rich church has forgotten its own “jerusalem” and is becoming ineffective. The good Samaritan Neighbors are the extended hand of God in their small Jerusalem. I recall a godly man, Frank Laubach, who promoted, “Each one teach one, and reach one for Jesus Christ.” Are we mega-Churchians, or are we just little Christians going about our Father’s business? After all, the Shepherd’s sheep gate grows narrow to allow only one at a time to pass in.
This is what I have in my heart that we put “church” away as a child would put a toy away, It is time to show the world what Jesus can do. If people would only read what Jesus actually taught and how in the first chapters of Acts the body put it to work. Only a few of them would be considered educated. Yet they through the Holy Spirit turn the world upside down. Many miracles were done and people were repenting and bring great glory to God.
Remember this can happen again if we only believe and let God do the work for we are mere vessels.
God Bless those who obey Him and those who get out of his way and are willing to do his work and not that of the mega rich church. We are deceived by the preachers who lead us down there rotten path and we are as much to blame as they are for believing them. You wont to know God and Yeshua and the Holy Spirit study the word for yourself and than obey it. Wounded people have a hard time getting there wounds healed, take the time to get yourself healed and forgive those who wronged you. It is never to late to turn your life around and begin to walk with Yeshusa and do as he does which is obeying His fathers word. It is never to late to reach out and help who ever you can, it is never to late to love your neighbor. Dont do it for show are to be puffed up and to make yourself feel good, do it because God told us to. Never believe Israel is the church, Israel is Israel and the church is the church. Study see for yourself, God does not lie, but men do.
These two testimonies contrast so well between those who truly follow Christ and those who worship and are bound by the ‘church’ institution. I loved the second testimony, we should all be living like that in whatever local context we find ourselves in, according to however the Lord leads us.
ExpatSA: I really like what you wrote and it helped me with something I have been struggling with this week. I do not attend a local tax exempt business, run by an ego driven, money hungry ‘pastor’, masquarading as a church (what most ‘churches’ are these days) but I do attend a local bible study attached to one of these ‘churches’. It is a group of what I would call very godly people, they are offended by the so called worship in the church they attend and the misuse of funds, and are very biblically based people. However, their ‘church’ has come up with a ‘works’ day which is basically one day a year that all the people in the church go and find an unsaved person to do something practical for ( weeding their garden, food parcel etc) and can then absolve themselves of failing to take care of the poor, the needy, the widows and fatherless children the other 364 days of the year. Anyway, this bible study group when discussing what their ‘good turn’ was going to be, and who for, basically in short everyone there said, they had no ‘time’ to go and do practical stuff for the unsaved and more or less decided not to do it. Another thing is they all openly admit their church is not biblical and has blatant corruption, but they refuse to leave it. I have been struggling with this as they are such ‘moral people’. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter HOW moral or seemingly ‘godly’ we appear, if we are not following Gods commands to care for the poor, unloved, needy, widows, fatherless children, and not just by donating money to some social mission cause, but by actually being Jesus hands and feet to them, LOVING THEM, then do we really know the Lord at all???? Very sobering thought.
Praise the Lord! it is the Father’s heart!!! We’ve got to quit making a business out of all this. That pastor who has a good heart J. Byron was talking about, is deceived in the area of agape sacrificial love. He has not come to the knowledge of the truth yet. That is our calling to help those in need!!! Perhaps Mr Byron should quit giving to that ministry and begin to lay it aside to give and provide directly to the poor. God will bring those that need it around in due time and will give directions on when and what to do.
I live in what my neighbour said was an area that “has been affluent for a long time here”. God help us, the only thing that is worried about around here is keeping the “bod” looking good, acquiring more stuff, having lots of hunting, fishing, camping, sports leisure time.
Very draining, i wish to be rid of all this. It is even difficult confronting those that are dying and bring them to the truth. Nothing but spiritual deadness in affluence, who needs it?? These people are sick and need a physician, but they are too blind to see their nakedness and their wretchedness and their need of deliverance. God help us all.
love,
Sarah
I believe that when the ursupers are removed then the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ will become what it should be. Loving one’s neighbour as oneself.
“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:7 NIV)
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” (Gal 5:16 NIV)
The Lord will lead us as we are surrendered to Him… :-)
Don’t understand J on testimoney? He was put in front of two people in need he could of helped and he did what? He went to the church to ask them to help them in need because….. Why did he not help them him self with what every he had? Why did he then complain about the institutional church not doing something that he could of done? After all are we not the real church and not the denomination? Sorry J for having to use you as an example but this is what most of the church are doing and not just you J. I used to do the same thing when I was in a denominational church for 30 years.
I ran into a desperate need one day through my work where a mother and son were suffering a string of hard ships and needed food. The mother had thoughts of suicide due to the stress and problems she had. I am not wealthy and I live from month to month and I was having my own problems since I had just took full custody of three of my grand children which increased my bottom line. I told the mother don’t worry God wants me to provide some food for you and your son this holiday. I could not believe that this was coming out of my mouth since I was not sure if I had the money or not to do this. She immediately started to cry and said no you can’t do this! I replied yes I can and I am going to do this. She said I don’t even know you and I replied but God knows you and loves you and wants me to do this. She said why are you doing this you don’t even know me. I replied because God knows you, and loves you, and cares for you. I had to sale her into excepting the food of which she finally agreed to. I then told her that there was a condition to this of which I think she thought I was going to ask her for something. I told her she could not tell anyone about me doing this. After I told her this she seemed relieved and agreed. She then said that she felt like her world was falling apart and there was nothing but darkness all around her. She said that God had brough her some light through all this that I was doing. She went from depressed and hopless to have found some hope and light. My grand daughter and I took her the food one day as promised. My point in all this is. If I had gone to my church and asked them to help those people God puts in front of me because I wanted them to help them and not me because this is not my ministry. Then I would be missing the greatest blessing here and in heaven to come. We must stop complaining about the church and what everyone else is not doing and start doing the things we the church body is supposed to be doing.
I agree we are the church and must do our part. There is so much hypocrisy in institutions. I only have a comment on this : ” if the church did the right things the tithes would come in” with no pressure.
When the local church allows the state to care for the widows , children, the infirm ,the mental, the veterans, the homeless, the helpless, sick and fatherless don’t expect the tithes to be there.
Fear of helping others is a mindset of the enemy .
These are wonderful comments and wonderful people . We have lost so much compassion for others since we have become increased with goods. The church is way too rich and the pastors are also.
Lord send out workers for the Harvest for the harvest is great and the workers are few! Could we pray an add on to that ,(send me Lord). Or “here I am Lord”
Three Methodist church’s in my town had to close and join into one, membership was down so badly.
Three buildings are for sale and 2 of them are empty and they want to build a new Church. This is crazy . My friend said they have a better chance of seeing God when they called her to see if she would pledge her share. What happened to this world?.May He come soon!
The church has turned her back on the needs of others and looks on to the worldly lusts.
Michael,
I am conflicted on responding to your assumptions, as I do not want to be defensive or justifying simply for reputations sake, but to make a wider point I guess maybe I should.
I did take the Lords clear instruction to heart and did help both these people. My family is still in relationship with both. I am so happy to say, the desprately needed antibiotic she needed was quoted over $100.00, but the Lord led us to call WalMart where it was found under their $4.00 coverage special! Imagine, a life threatening lung infection cured for $4.00.
The teen. I was hoping to bring him into the church for the purpose of his salvation and disipleship, I am woefully inadequate in mentoring a young man who has absolutely no knowledge of God, and was hoping for those with more giftings in that areana. Additionally this was a 16 year old whom I knew to have drug abuse issues and I did not feel safe taking him into my home with me gone to work all day, and my wife and two teen daughters at home. I just did not know what to do. I did not have the discernment needed for such a decesion and so turned to the church.
Sadly, I did what I regret now that I know him better. I turned to the state. Enrolling him in a state sponsored program for fostering and schooling. They moved him to another part of the state and it is so hard for me to keep in touch and be a continued influence in the Lords name. I’m afraid he has had his physical needs met, and has moved far away from salvation.
There you have it, my failure, my regret. I needed a church body perhaps due to my personal shortcomings.
I am sure that hunfreds within my congregations would have done better, but I didn’t know who to call, was rejected by the first line of defense of the church, and did what I could.
All of that to get to this.
The pastor would have helped, the congregation would have helped, any elder individually would’ve helped, but the administration put in place by ALL would not. That faceless, nameless, souless entity put into place to adminstrate the business of the church.
At the point a ministry grows above a certain amount of people or dollars, the pastor becomes unreachable, lest they never do anything but talk to those who want their time, perhaps because they have placed their teacher in such a place of honor, they just want to touch and be touched by the Leader(s).
Take our own little forum here. If the publisher (andrew?) didn’t have barriers, he would be overwhelmed with desires from forum members for his attentions to various considerations considered Very Important to the forum member wishing to speak with him.
As I mentioned earlier, sometime ago I sent in an article closely dealing with this issue. Never heard a word. Never will probably. Ministries achieve success and membership, and rules must be put into place. I could be offended that a thanx for the submission note was never returned, but we have to realize, time, expense and priority has to be in place to run “the administration” effectively.
Sifting of who and what is worthy of attention is left to whatever Administration has been put into place. I am so lost as to how to judge this issue. With success comes a need for decisions to keep things in order. Not everyone can be helped or touched, they must pass the Administrative acknowledgement gate. Who and what is important is “there” made.
I believe and am very grateful for this Godly forum full of good and Godly people, led by one I firmly beleive to be a good and Godly man and team. Will they send some money to Ruth? I don’t know, but I think not. They don’t really know her, just like the widow who came in for medicine. Will they start a fund for those in need rather than investing all donations for the upkeep of the cyber church forum? Probably not. Why? That is their heart I’ll bet, but the requests may be overwhelming when word got out.
You see, even here “The Administration” is, has to be in place.
If I were Billy Graham and submitted an article, a letter of acknowledgement would be sent in overnight mail, and all would be aware he submitted one. Mine will remain in the ether. Godly men, yet respecters of person of course.
The Administration is a poser to me. Needed, souless and attached to ANY ministry who has achieved size and success.
A poser. I see no answers. Perhaps all WE advice givers could be no different under the heavy burden of success and following.
This is a deep matter beyond my paygrade. I know it’s huge, I know it’s there, I haven’t heard anyone with an answer other than pat heartless condemnation of those that are in such a situation.
Perhaps my first instinct to not respond was more correct, but these are my thoughts, let’s not jusge each other too harshly.
I certainly did not judge you for your response, my friend.
I thought you wrote about it very well and poignantly.
-Andrew
Dear Byron,
When I first read your post on a previous thread, I had no doubts that___ if you had responded rightly to the great needs of the child, you would take care of the needs of the women in the name and love of our Savior Jesus Christ. Also, practically speaking, in this case I didn’t think you would paint yourself into a corner with your post, leaving your self open to the scrutiny of Christian readers. After all wisdom is known by her children. But a wise person will not make supposition to that which is not known, until he hear the whole of the matter. Unfortunately, Byron, the curiosity of working flesh painted you into a corner, but the grace of God already had you walking on water.
None of you understand Holy Communion, because you judge after the flesh and not of the Spirit. The answer is only available in holy faith to the members of the Body of Jesus Christ, who live by faith in the Words of the Savior.
You can do nothing without Me. says the Lord. Take and eat for this is My Body given for you. Take and drink all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Covenant shed for many for the remission of sin.
But we have no sin. We are justified and righteous in our own eyes of flesh. We will remain sick in our sins until the holy righteous Blood of Jesus Christ truly begins to flow in faith, and we wait patiently before the only Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, Whose Wisdom knows no bounds.
In the service of Jesus Christ and His Body,
Robert Glenn
WOULD THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE RESPONDED, PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR, AND PRAY FOR A WOMAN WHO THE LORD BROUGHT HERE YESTERDAY TO RENT AN APTARTMENT. SHE IS 32 YEARS OLD AND DIAGNOSED WITH LIVER CANCER, AND NOW SHE WENT TO THE HOSPITAL TODAY AND THEY FOUND A TUMOR IN HER BREAST AND STOMACH. SHE IS ALSO 3 MONTHS PREGANT, BUT REFUSES AND ABORTION. GLORY TO YHWH, I WEEP AS I AM WRITNING THESE WORDS. SHE LET ME PRAY WITH HER YESTERDAY, AND LET ME ANNOINT HER WITH OIL, SHE GOT DOWN ON HER KNEES AND BEGGED THE LORD FOR FORGIVNESS OF HER SIN AND REBELLION, SHE TOLD ME HER GRANDFATHER WAS A PENTECOSTAL PREACHER. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE JUST PRAY.
GOD BLESS YOU
Dear Ruth
Not only will I pray for the woman you mentioned etc, but I will also pray for you and the work you are doing!
What you are doing is “Christ in action”, you are representing our Lord by touching the lives of those in need around you.
Be encouraged, you are doing a mighty work!
God bless you.
Your brother Paul
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
In this is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
John 15:5,8 Webster
Satan said: “if we help one, word will get out and we will be bankrupted”.
God said: “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? Is it not **to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him;***
Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am ‘ ” (Isaia 58)
and God said also: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Malachi 3:10)
That church did choose already to believe in the Devil instead to believe in God. They say Jesus is their Lord but their Lord is Satan because they do Satan’s will, NOT God’s will. This is not MY judgment, this is a judgment according to the word of God. It’s God judging that kind of churches, NOT me…
If you want, report my post to that church and tell them that if they want to enter in the kingdom of God i’m available to show them all the scriptures they need to obey in order to be saved.
Malachi 3:10, God does not build up more storehouses for Himself, like the foolish rich man, He has His storehouse of food to feed the poor, those who are poor in spirit, those who will receive ‘His’ Word and do it.
It is ok to give to ministries that give to the poor, for there are those who don’t have the time and maybe not the energy because of jobs and family, but the Lord has for them to give to a certain ministry to meet the needs of the poor; let’s not judge them in their giving where needs are being met. God may be using them on their jobs in other ways to be a light….by the Word of God.
And don’t feel bad about those whom you are afraid of, we are to use wisdom, to protect our families; ask the Lord for help and wisdom before anything, about anything, about everything; PRAY.
It’s time that we start praying for those in need everyday, &/or before we go out into the world; it’s time that ‘we’ get filled with the Holy Spirit, and it’s time to know our Father, for Jesus did not do anything lest He saw His Father do it, and He did not speak unless He heard His Father speak: He was sent. We cannot get into condemnation because of what is being said, but to be led by the Spirit for they are the sons of God. There were some that Jesus were not led to, like the man at the pool of Siloam (?) waiting for the angel to stir the water so that he could be healed; he was the only one Jesus was sent to to speak to, and the only one healed there, while there were many others.
Yes, reach out, and do what the Lord has given you to do; but don’t be full of self. And ask the Lord to convict each one of us of sin when we are in the wrong about anything, so that we are not deceived and do not deceive others, that we accept correction when it is due, and that we remain teachable so that we learn and apply. God knows each one of our hearts and where we are at; seek Him to know Him; PRAY. It’s time that we also have the power of God to be His witnesses, so that the captives are set free, and healed.
[This was sent to me in an email, so I don't know if the following story is true, but it sure sounds good!]
The Sack Lunches
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. ‘I’m glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,’ I thought.
Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.
‘Where are you headed?’ I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
‘Petawawa. We’ll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we’re being deployed to Afghanistan
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time…
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. ‘No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn’t be worth five bucks. I’ll wait till we get to base.’
His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. ‘Take a lunch to all those soldiers.’ She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. ‘My son was a soldier in Iraq; it’s almost like you are doing it for him.’
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, ‘Which do you like best – beef or chicken?’ ‘Chicken,’ I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.
‘This is your thanks..’
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. ‘I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.’ He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, ‘I want to shake your hand.’ Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took he Captain’s hand. With a booming voice he said, ‘I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.’ I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars ‘It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.’
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.
As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country.. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little…
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America’ for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’
That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.’
Let us pray..
Prayer:
‘Lord, hold the troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.’
Amen, Ruth, so glorifying to the Lord is your testimony, His precious anointing is on your words – I prayed with weeping for this young woman and her child and will do so again as she comes to mind..may He bless you and your husband abundantly as you live out daily the words of Jesus in your lives and walk among the people..
I think that J. Byron needs to get a better understanding of what the church is called to do, and what it is not called to do. It is not called to provide people with medicine or the money to buy it. It is to minister supernatural healing to those who have faith.
We need to use wisdom and caution when it comes to taking someone in. In America today there is no need for anyone to be “on the street”. There is welfare for adults and foster care for minors. Is someone “on the street” though no fault of his own, or is there irresponsibility and/or rebellion? I have never seen a legitimately poor person in the U.S.A.
I remember a man that i took in off of the street. He urinated in the sink and ran the water on the floor. The ceiling plaster in the room below fell off and i paid for it. I was helping another down and outer. When i visited him in the hospital, where he was suffering from D.T.s, he did not know to whom he was talking and told me that he was deceiving me.
If we see a need that should be ministered to, we should do so, not call someone else about. What did they not just take this boy in themselves to begin with, if this is what needed to be done? We are not supposed to be talking about our giving, not even letting our left hand know what our right hand has done. Is tithing sacrificial giving, or is the bare minimum?
If someone is living in a tent, he should thank God for the tent, not reject God because he does not have something better. Adam and Eve were in paradise, but they didn’t even have a tent. Jesus had nowhere to lay His head. In 1 Kings 12:16 it says, “So Israel departed to their tents.” How many of our military people are in tents right now?
Let me respond to what Ruth Farley wrote. We have a situation in the Western world where there is almost no hunger for God. We also have little in the way of signs and wonders in most churches, including healings. Even Pentecostals and Charismatics flock to the doctors and hospitals. People end up appealing to natural and material needs of those in the world in order to get some response from them.
There are irresponsible people in the world who would like for someone else to take their children off their hands. Why don’t these people work to pay their rent and get medicine, or get on welfare. You can always attract some people to you by helping them out financially. A biblical miracle is where supernatural power overrules natural law. There is nothing mentioned in this testimony that is miraculous. In this scenario, how many people have they baptized?
The prophecy below that Robert quoted is a generic charismatic prophecy. Smooth sayings from the sooth sayers. What they need to do is repent of their LYING LIPS and get right with God.
True? Like God is going to bypass the deceitful heart and cause good fruits from it???? They walk around in the imaginations of their minds and their god is their own belly.
Sarah
This is a generic charismatic “prophecy”..
<<>
Oops, my qote didn’t work, see the generic charismatic word I was referring to below…
“We’re (wife Michelle Amirault) both very excited about the days ahead. We believe that we’re entering into a new day in which we feel that the Body of Christ is going to manifest more love, more mercy, more compassion and more wisdom than it has in the past. The reason why is that I believe that the curse of the woman that she has carried for thousands of years is going to come off and she is going to be standing by the side of the man and we’re going to enter into this new day together. We’re going to express love like we’ve never expressed before. We’re going to express righteous judgment. We’re going to express power. And this world will be drawn to it.”
sack lunch story truth or fiction.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/lunch.asp
Sarah
I guess I don’t quite understand all the focus on our good works. Granted if we are imitators of Christ we will indeed do good works but do you really think that is going to impress the unbelievers? I have been married to an unbeliever for 33 years, my good works have done nothing to change his heart toward God.
At one point in time good works made an impression on a dying world but Satan has done such a good job of imitating and even surpassing our good works that very few are drawn to the Lord by them, at least not in North America.
Jerry and Abe need to talk! One assumes me and my church to be the devils own, and one thinks me a fool. Well at least we can all agree I am imperfect in one way or another.
One states plainly hell awaits my person should I not follow the clear teachings of the Word as stated by him, and the other say’s “are there no work house, orphanages?”
Let me help you brothers, while no trial is needed thanks to your clear insights, let me throw myself on the mercy of the Lord (as it is obvious I shall receive little in their courts). I have less discernment than many. I don’t have the clear answers you seem to regarding what I see as difficult issues.
I make mistakes. I struggle with sin. I require a fresh application of grace everyday, as I screw up regularily. Right now I may be sinning, being boostful about humility, I just am not sure sometimes of my own motivations.
But this I do know. You guy’s both lack depth. Not to say you don’t have access to it, but your pool has a covering, a tarp of hardness. Yes it appears that with your severe knowledge, you seem to be able to walk on water, but it’s an illusion. The tarp only makes it appear that way.
Those are hard words, and I’m sorry for that, but just in case I’m being led by the Lord, consider them.
Theres a whole new world below the surface, deep in the pool. Softness, coolness without the weight of this world. We are free of everything but the Love of God.
I understand better than some, you can’t live there, but judging and correcting and accusing is less of a burden after a good swim.
Do not be offended. I really do consider myself no better than you, and I’d bet my last dollar I need more forgiveness than either of you everyday, but on the issue of clarity in judgement, I realize sometimes the clearer we think we see, the less we see.
In Love, Really!
J Byron
Upon praying about my kinda harse comments, I think The Lord put this in my mind to share with you.
“A magnifying glass is not always the best corrective lense.”
Could be I’m just clever, could be a Word from God, you chose.
GOD has exalted HIS WORD above HIS NAME.
As the psalmist turns to the temple to worship he writes in
Psalm 138:2: “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.”
God’s Word is His communication, His promise, the revelation of Himself to His people. It is to be a lamp to our feet in a dark and fallen world, without it we would have no way to know God or how to do God’s will. Throughout scripture we have a consistent theme of the dichotomy of light versus darkness. The world we live in is darkness reserved for judgment. John the apostle in 1 John 1:5 tells us God is light. Light is God’s very nature, it represents to us Holiness and perfection. This is why we often read that a physical manifestation of God ‘s glory is light or fire. Sin is associated with darkness and judgment. It implies imperfection, and principally ignorance, sinfulness, and misery.
The Psalmist asks Ps 119:9 “How can a young man cleanse his way? He answers, “By taking heed according to Your Word. Just a few more verses later v:11 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” God’s word keeps us from sin and keeps us on his path, as the Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Ps.119:105) in a dark world.
Ps. 43:3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me. s one reads the psalms one grasps the importance of the Word to the the people of Israel, especially the leaders.
To disregard God’s Word that is holy, pure and absolutely true is to defame God’s name and character. It is to bring ruin upon our walk. So it becomes the main focus point in our daily walk with Christ.
Jesus in his high priestly prayer, (the only one we have details on) says in John 17:6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.” Those who want to follow Jesus live by His Word, which separates them from the World, and sets them apart for His service. Jesus said that the words he spoke were not just his but the Fathers also. “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name” (Ps. 138:2). If Jesus manifested God’s name, His nature to the people, how much more important is his Word that is exalted even above his name?
God has delivered to us all that is needed. The Bible says the Scripture is sufficient in all matters for the believers spiritual life, there is no need to go anywhere else to learn how to be spiritual. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Tim.3:16-17). The doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures and its priority in all matters of faith is one of the core teachings of the Christian faith.
This inspiration has to do with the words; the Words of Scripture came from God; they were God breathed through the human agency of men. They as imperfect men did not affect the accuracy or infallibility of the Book. The Bible is as accurate and infallible as if God had written it without any human agent. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet.1:21). God has never left us without a witness; He commanded those who he revealed himself to, prophets, judges or Kings to write down what he has said. The writings were God breathed; He purposely moved the prophets and scribes to write the words down. So it was not by there own initiative, they were not the source but God instructed them and it became God’s communication to mankind.
The word for Scripture in Greek is “graphe” it means “a writing,” or “anything written.” The expression “Holy Scriptures” is found twice in the New Testament: “Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” Rom.1:2. “And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” 2 Tim.3:15. Wherever we see the word Scriptures it is referring to the Divine writings. The Bible does not contain the Word of God; it is the Word of God.
In a day of various opinions The Bible stands as an absolute reliable source for us to know exactly what God wants us to know, believe, and act in our the spiritual life. Christ is the focus and the theme of all the Scripture, John 5:39.
Peter recalls 2 Pet. 1:18-21 “And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Peter heard the audible voice of God and saw Jesus transformed as showed the disciples the power of the future Kingdom and who He really was by revealing his glory. Peter did not exalt his experience over the Scripture; his experience validated the Scripture. He showed us that we are to make Scripture the rule of our experience. The light that shines in a dark place is our world. We are to take heed to the Word from God as a light for us in the world until the “day” dawns (v.19). That day will establish everlasting righteousness, Christ’s kingdom come to the earth. At that time the “morning star” will arise in our hearts and a new day, the messianic age will begin. This refers to Jesus, as the “ bright morning star” (Num. 24:17; Rev. 22:16), the one whose presence will illuminate any uncertainty that we now experience. At that time our faith will become sight, and we will know even as we are now known (1 Cor.13:12). But until Jesus comes, our first and final authority must always be the sacred Scriptures, which is a lamp unto our feet.
It is written!
Knowing, trusting and obeying God’s Word is our shield to falsehood and the temptations of the world. Christ quoted the Bible as his ultimate authority and witness and it is to be our ultimate authority and guide to living. The Bible, according to the way Christ and the apostles used it, sets the standard for us, providing us with everyday guidance. So why have so many put the Scriptures into a second place next to the Spirit? Why is the word read less and studied in the churches than ever before? The answer is one that you may not like, Jesus said in John 14:24 “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” Jesus wants His words to consistently be first in our life, having the highest priority or we will not be led by the Spirit into truth, but be lead away.
Jesus prayed in John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” God changes the believers life through the Word, it is a steady work of the Holy Spirit as we walk, yield and obey, He fills us with the Spirit. There is no impartation that will change us like this. The Word is Spirit, and it affect us by our understanding it so we can be changed into the people Christ wants us to be.Ps.119:130 “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”
Christians that insist on the Holy Scriptures as their only most trusted source of spiritual knowledge are mocked as unspiritual and some consider them to be in idolatry of a book. Move with the spirit is cry of the experientialists. But to have a spirit divorced from the word proves it cannot be the same Holy Spirit who wrote the Word.
Christians since the Scriptures were written have always faithfully reverenced the Holy Scriptures as the VOICE of GOD. If we’re practicing bibliolatry were in good company with David, Moses, Jesus and the apostles.
Only Christians who want to know God by his HOLY WRITTEN WORD, and enter by faith will hear from him. Those who want to know God without it, by any other means are not following the Holy Spirits direction and are only fooling themselves. God does not speak to us new doctrine, it is complete and written down. We are to get in the Word, and let the Word dwell in us, as Jesus said whoever does these sayings of mine will build their house on the rock. These saying are written by the apostles to the church. They are our sure foundation.
Listen to the Psalmist who wrote, “My soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word. My eyes fail from searching Your word, Saying, “When will You comfort me?” (Ps. 119:81-82) Ps. 119:134-136 “Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes. Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law.”
To put the Word as first is to fear God Himself. Isa. 66:2. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My Word.” Isa. 66:5 “Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at His word” Ezra 10:3 “tremble at the commandment of our God.” Do we do this today? To honor God’s Word is to honor the God of the Word; He makes no distinction. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Eccl. 12:13). To fear God is to respect His Word above all else. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” But for those who do not have this respect The Lord says in Prov.13:13-14 “He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.”
Things are changing all over the world, and they are also changing inside the church. There are those who want to hear something new from God, showing their disrespect for what he has already spoken.
Those who want to hear the fresh word of God need to look for it where it has always been “For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. (2 Pt. 1:12) The word which is eternal continues to be the same eternal absolute truth to all generations. We may change; our culture our society may change, it has not, the Word continues to have the same power and life to make us new creations.
The Bible states without faith it is impossible to please God, yet the Bible also tells us faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. Our faith cannot be divorced from the Scriptures, to honor and practice what God has said is to respect the God who said it. Our faith is developed by learning the doctrines by applying them to our life. Scripture can be divided into numerous subjects with its teaching spread throughout the Word. We are to gather the scriptures on subjects to know what God has said and train ourselves in His worldview, so we would be in the world not of it. The Bible states us if you do not continue in the doctrine of Christ you are not his. “Whosoever abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, HATH NOT GOD. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9) That’s how important doctrine is, and the doctrine of Christ can only be found in the word of God, the Bible. We need to be in the Word of God.
The Word is the like the lines on the highway that keep us driving correctly. But we need to listen to it. Many of us have become frustrated because we do not see the results that others have, God is not a respecter of persons, he wants you to be fruitful. To be in Christ and be fruitful we must abide in His teachings, walk in the Spirit. Jesus said in John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine” “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John goes on writing in v:10-11 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
The commandments are all his instructions found in His Word (He is not just talking about 10). The abiding factor is done by the Holy Spirit who is in us, when we yield to him.
As Jesus himself said in John 15:26: “when the Helper comes… He will testify of Me [the truth].” I John 2:27 “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” He (the Holy Spirit) is to give us understanding to comprehend the truth: knowing Scripture. The Word of God convicts, saves, and changes us daily.
The Scripture does tell us what the church will be like in the end of time, they will no longer adhere to sound doctrine, they will heap up teachers for themselves. “Now the Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). They will hear other spirits who teach them, leading them away from the Word of God. They will think they are hearing from God when in fact it is the enemy of their soul. We seem to have a built in tendency to wander away from what is right and good for us. We also have an enemy who is constantly trying to remove us from being in the truth and doing the will of God.
Because the Israel did not obey God’s word, he needed to send prophets. The prophet Jeremiah was frustrated because of the peoples unwillingness to hear God’s word “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” (6:10-11) Jeremiah had a godly anger against the people that were now unable to hear what God had to say. They had listened to the false prophets messages for so long that they were unable to hear what God really had to say. They could no longer listen to the voice of God because they were trained to hear another’s voice.
When Jesus was among the people he asked and answered his own question. “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word”(John 8:43)
Matt. 11:15-17 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear! But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.” Jesus is explaining to them that they were unmoved in the heart from something that should bring joy, or something that would have them grieve. They were unresponsive, cold; it was all a matter of their heart.
This generation that Jesus offered his messiahship to was more privileged than any other, He was there physically in front of them, they saw the miracles and how he cared for people, they heard His voice, but many were not moved in their innermost being to take to heart what was said and follow. At one point the Scripture says that all the people were going after him but when the questions came up the religious leaders stepped in and the people instead listened to their leaders who were not leading them to know the Word of God, but their own words.
So Jesus was justified to scold them, “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered”(Luke 11:52).
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matt 23:13) What happened to the loving Jesus, this doesn’t sound like tolerance. Actually this was the most loving thing he could do, reproof them so they would turn. Yet today we hear do not judge what anyone says, but we see Jesus’ example of doing this all through the Scripture. Those who apostasize from the truth always come against those who stand for it.
Peter said of Paul in 2 Peter 3:15-17, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” Yes ones faith can be shipwrecked by listening to those who cannot explain things and yet dress them up as a message of faith. “A Christian would love and adhere to what Jesus and the apostles said before any man. “He who loves the Lord hates everything that offends him” (W.M Cowper)
Much of the church is in denial that they have taken part in any deception. Many do not believe in any deception affecting the Church. Its as if we are behind some wall invulnerable to anything negative taking place. By thinking this they are denying Jesus’ own words who said that deception would take place from false teachers and prophets from inside the church at the end of the age (Mt.24:4-5,23-24). I know none of us like to hear this or talk about it, we want to hope that anything like this will just go away. These heresies have become like stampeding elephants inside the church, yet people act as if they are but a flea that’s barely been noticed.
When someone does not admit this they only going further into the darkness of deception, turning themselves over to the ones leading it, instead of dealing with them.
There are many who want to lead the church into new things, new ways of doing church. One can often hear we don’t need doctrine we need a fresh word, we need to hear from the spirit. To say “lets dispense of doctrine” in place of the spirit is equivalent to saying “lets get rid of truth.” For the truth is given in the doctrine of Christ. The Catholic church has already set the precedence for this by allowing their church to dictate new teachings they call sacred tradition and made it equal to written the doctrine of the apostles. The evangelicals that once were protestants have done this in even a greater way. By allowing what they call signs and wonders, miracles to have precedent over the teaching of the Word.
Listen to this story that represents the way the majority of Christians think today. R.W. Shambach tells a story of him having an evangelistic crusade and asking a woman to come up to the stage. He then told the interpreter to repeat what he says, so he states in the name of Mohammad heal her. The interpreter complained about this, he did not want to repeat this, he told him to repeat it anyway. After a bit of haggling he did so. This name did nothing; but then he prayed in the name of Jesus be healed and she miraculously was. He was asked, what if she got healed in the name of Mohammad? He replied, then I would be telling about Mohammad today, not Jesus.
What is he saying? If someone is healed in another name and he has results, that is what counts. This gives us the bankrupt mindset that miracles mean more than what Jesus said. For if he did not produce a single miracle at all, we would still be asked to believe and follow because of who he is, not for what miracle He does. Jesus actually rebuked the people on this by saying to the great crowd around him they came for the miracles and not for his teaching. Think about it?
Enemies of all reason
Jer. 23:36: “And the oracle of the LORD you shall mention no more. For every man’s word will be his oracle, for you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God.”
Paul admonishes us in 1 Corinthians 4:6: “that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written “do not go beyond what is written.” God makes us wise to what is written not beyond it, what is written is wisdom for living. Today’s new revelation teaching has done just as much harm to the growth of Christians than the cults, because it comes from teachers within the Church, those that many have trusted. The Bible is made to prove anything under the qualification of “the Spirit showed me” but when examined its not in the context of its original meaning. To obey God’s voice is equal to hearing it from Scripture. The sheep are to hear the voice of the shepherd who is found in the word, not in new words by those calling themselves prophets. Paul’s recommendation for our spiritual health is not exceed beyond what is written. When we do not esteem the word as our source of authority and look to something other than Scripture we become prompted by pride. This warning is given so pride will not have a chance to operate. Intentional false teaching always finds its source in pride. People do not want to submit to its original intent, so they do not seek what the actual meaning of the Scripture but conform it to what they want it to mean. They allegorize it, spiritualize it so it no longer has a literal meaning or application.
When someone says they are anointed or led by the Spirit and teach contrary to the Word in its accurate context you can be assured they are not led by His Spirit.
Is God’s Word your “lamp” and your “light” (Ps 119:105)? Does what He say settle it? Or have extra-biblical sources, personal experiences and particularly feelings become the favored components for your Bible interpretations.
The word when preached in its truth with conviction is like water flooding the desert; it will nourish the ground for life. Every personal revival begins with God’s Word as Ps. 119:25-28 David wrote “My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your Word.” (Ps. 119:107, 133, 154).
Ps 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul” This is His Word that brings salvation to those yet in unbelief, and it Believers sanctification changing us to be like the one we are to follow, Jesus the Son of God.
Isa. 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Jesus said, “My words are spirit and they are life. The flesh profits nothing Notice MY WORDS.” When his close disciples saw the people leaving because of what had said was to hard to understand, He asked them will they leave also, Peter replied, where else can we go only you have the words of eternal life. Jesus himself said, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words” John 14:25. To be devoted to the Word shows our love of Christ. The Word is said to be more desirable than honey Ps.10:10. Apostates like those in the book of Hebrews could only taste the good word, they did not feed on Jesus Christ as he asked. They do not stand His gospel as Paul writes in 1 Cor.15 “hold fast that word I preached to you, by which you stand, by which you are also saved.” Somewhere along in their growth they neglected the Word and turned away from the spiritual food set on the master’s table. We cannot live on mere tasting; we are to feed on the Word as we feed on food. Just as food is digested and runs through our system to give us nourishment and life so it is with the Word of God, it is life to our spiritual life. We want to grow and be sufficient in doing spiritual works and fulfilling our ministry. In this the writer of Hebrews gives the rebuke to his own brethren “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb 5:12-14).
Some have been eating a word that is so far away form the truth that they need to lay the foundation again and wean on milk. It is better to do this then to continue on their current present course. They need to learn the basics all over again because of their neglect; they were not faithful in building on the foundation. It is for this same reason we put up with so much false teaching in the church, solid food is not being taught. It’s a fact that those who have a diet on milk that finally eat meat will get indigestion. It immediately makes them feel uncomfortable and bad and they are repulsed; though in the long run it would eventually do them good, if they would continue to eat it and learn to digest it. It takes time to train oneself to take it in and live it out. Jesus said “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John 7:17). Today we can know if someone speaks on their own authority or God’s by the doctrine they keep.
Heb 6:4-6 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” They wanted to go back to Judaism to avoid persecution and temporarily reject the once and for all sacrifice.
They tasted the gift by the Holy Spirit, they heard the word, they saw the salvations, but it was not enough to move them to faith to hold Christ as dear to them as life, they did not consume Jesus but only tasted what was needed for their immediate need. Eventually they went back to Judaism rejecting the once and for all sacrifice.
Eph. 5:26-27 “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Only the Church that allows itself to be washed by the Word will be cleansed and stand before the Lord. As Jesus said to Peter if you do not allow me to wash your feet you can have no part of me.
Ps 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul” This is His Word that brings salvation to those yet in unbelief, and it Believers sanctification changing us to be like the one we are to follow, Jesus the Son of God.
Isa. 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Jesus said, “My words are spirit and they are life. The flesh profits nothing Notice MY WORDS.” When his close disciples saw the people leaving because of what had said was to hard he asked them will they leave also, Peter replied, where else can we go only you have the words of eternal life. Jesus himself said, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words” John 14:25. “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” I Jn. 2:5. To be devoted to the Word shows our love of Christ. The Word is said to be more desirable than honey Ps.10:10. Apostates like those in the book of Hebrews could only taste the good word, they did not feed on Jesus Christ as he asked. They do not stand His gospel as Paul writes in 1 Cor.15 “hold fast that word I preached to you.” Somewhere along in their growth they neglected the Word and turned away from the spiritual food set on the master’s table. We cannot live on mere tasting; we are to feed on the Word as we feed on food. Just as food is digested and runs through our system to give us nourishment and life so it is with the Word of God, it is life to our spiritual life. We want to grow and be sufficient in doing spiritual works and fulfilling our ministry. In this the writer of Hebrews gives the rebuke to his own brethren “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb 5:12-14).
Some have been eating a word that is so far away form the truth that they need to lay the foundation again and wean on milk. It is better to do this then to continue on their current present course. They need to learn the basics all over again because of their neglect; they were not faithful in building on the foundation. It is for this same reason we put up with so much false teaching in the church, solid food is not being taught. It’s a fact that those who have a diet on milk that finally eat meat will get indigestion. It immediately makes them feel uncomfortable and bad and they are repulsed; though in the long run it would eventually do them good, if they would continue to eat it and learn to digest it. It takes time to train oneself to take it in and live it out. Jesus said “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John 7:17). Today we can know if someone speaks on their own authority or God’s by the doctrine thy keep.
Heb 6:4-6 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” They wanted to go back to Judaism to avoid persecution and temporarily reject the once and for all sacrifice.
They tasted the gift by the Holy Spirit, they heard the word, they saw the salvations, but it was not enough to move them to faith to hold Christ as dear to them as life, they did not consume Jesus but only tasted what was needed for their immediate need. Eventually they went back to Judaism rejecting the once and for all sacrifice.
Eph. 5:26-27 “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Only the Church that allows itself to be washed by the Word will be cleansed and stand before the Lord. As Jesus said to Peter if you do not allow me to wash your feet you can have no part of me.
We can see today’s church is in the same place Israel was numerous times, “Then the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.”(1 Sam. 3:1) Do we really grasp what we have in our hands today, we have the final and complete revelation of what God has spoken in our hands, people died so we can have this book. So many Bibles and too few readers! And even less who understand. I think it’s time for a change. Lets get back to what is called “the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15), “the Scripture of Truth” (Dan.10:21), the Word of life (I Jn.1:1). When we walk in the light of His word, then we will have victory over the world. In Luke 11:28 the people blessed Jesus’ mother for bearing him He responded, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” Let’s all be blessed.
Wayne,
You continue to use other people’s writings without giving proper credit. Your plagiarized posting came from LET US REASON MINISTRIES. How long dear fellow?
http://www.letusreason.org/Doct42.htm
© 2009 No portion of this site is to be copied or used unless kept in its original format- the way it appears. Articles can be reproduced in portions for ones personal use. Any other use is to have the permission of Let Us Reason Ministries first. Thank You.
Wayne, if the Lord doesn’t speak to you, then you should be very concerned about your spiritual condition. You need to repent and get right with God, and stop quenching the Holy Spirit. Trying to brainwash with your vain repetitions is also a sin, it is of the flesh and not the spirit..
I learned the hard way that God speaks to His people today – when I was young and still a new believer the Lord spoke to me in anwer to prayer asking for guidance concerning a most important life decision I was making. I went at that time to an elder of my church who dealt with this particular ‘department’, explaining my predicament and what the Lord had spoken, not yet realizing that this church didn’t believe in a God who speaks, so new in the faith I didn’t know which end was up except that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that God was real. This well-respected elder just shrugged his shoulders and ignored my problem as if he didn’t hear me and went on to talk about other things. He didn’t even give me the courtesy of honestly telling me what he believed, or more specifically what he didn’t believe. When I think back his behaviour was just as frankly strange as what you are doing. I was completely clueless as to what was going on, and ended up making a very serious, life-changing, life-long, nearly tragic, mistake that has robbed me and my son of so much. I learned the hard way that yes, the Lord certainly does speak to those who are His!
Wayne, your actions and behaviour remind me in some ways of this elder. If you don’t hear from the Holy Spirit then maybe you don’t yet belong to the Lord. You can still repent from serving a dead religion and come to serve the Living God through His risen Son Jesus Christ, who is also alive and far from mute. May I ask you Wayne how was it you came to faith in Jesus, what is your testimony?
Do you know that only His living word can wash us and transform our minds? It is only His living word that cannot come back to Him void. We can read and quote the bible all the day long and nothing will happen until and unless the Holy Spirit injects it with His life and power, or gives forth a word that is not in the bible, but will not contradict it. How many times have you or I quoted the bible at something and nothing changed, as though the power were of us? Quoting the dead letter always comes back void, doesn’t it, that’s just a fact that most of us have experienced. Now why is that? Repent of your dead works brother and come to the living Saviour..
Man, things kinda got off point, but what an excellent opportunity to explore!
My first thought was, Dang this is one long response, I feel guilty skimming when there is so much truth included.
After reading the well deserved and “must be said” responses, my first thought was, man how easy it is to make bad decisions that can come to light.
In my mind cut and paste theology (if agreed to by the poster) is not near as bad as lack of any discernable brevity. (Ha-ha)
My real second thought was, we all have shortcomings, we all have sin that needs covered (daily for me) by Our Lords Sacrifice. Maybe we have lusts issues, that’s a bad one! But is it any worse than a prideful man, and is the drunkered less in the eyes of God than the preacher or teacher who spreads a hard heart of legalism to his flock? Is the Pharisee closer to God than the glutton?
What disturbs me about Michaels piece is not what he shared without proper reference, but that he chose to share Gods Law above His Love. Both of course are true and just. But I need the truth of His sacrificial love above the truth of His just law. I cannot keep the law, neither can you. Admitting that is the first step to the acceptence of His sacrifice, and the clear knowledge that it will never be without need in these bodies of flesh and eyes who see through darkened glass.
But someday Our Saviour will come for us, glorify us, live with us!
Until that day, brothers, we will always have need of that deed done for us so long ago.
If we judge in love and mercy, we will judge rightly.
J.Byron and everyone,
I think somehow I can identify with you. For many years, although I had a full-time ministerial position in church, I saw myself as a very limited member of the body of Christ, being very much in need to be “complemented” by the other members and by the “official leadership”. My gift is teaching, so I was a teacher and not much else. I know I am not an evangelist, nor a pastor/shepherd, nor a leader, nor a social assistant, nor a lot of other things. So, when I was confronted with any need other than teaching, my first reaction was to turn this need to the person or institution “officially charged” with attending this kind of need, and to leave it there. Much like you shared in your testimony, J.Byron.
And like you, when I look back I feel very sad about it. There were some teenagers with whom I and my family shared our lives during some weeks, while they spent an “official” discipleship program with us. We could have continued attending them and helping them; but they “belonged” to some church and so we felt under an obligation to “give them back” under the authority of that church – where they were completely neglected spiritually, and most of them are now far away from the faith. – There was a young woman whom my wife and I counselled during some time and who experienced freedom from demonic bondage. But we were not “her leaders”, so we felt under an obligation to integrate her in an established church – where she experienced some deep disappointments and later got lost in immorality. – There were a lot of church collaborators whom I taught to understand some of God’s Word and to do some ministry in their respective churches; only to watch them being discouraged there and soon giving up their responsibilities.
The sad thing is that the body of Christ SHOULD work the way you and I expected; and that we have Biblical ground to expect that all these people SHOULD have received the help they needed from other members of the body. The very sad thing is that in today’s dysfunctional church situation, what would be the right thing to do in a functional church, is no longer right and actually disastrous!
Today I have no longer any “ministerial position”, I am not even a member of a church any longer; but when I asked God what I should do now in this situation, He spoke to me by means of Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” And I understood that from now on, God expected from me to care MYSELF (with His help, of course) for every need He would put before my hands. So, if someone needed the Gospel, I was to evangelize this person myself, although I have no “evangelistic gift”. If someone had material needs, I was to help him, although I am no “welfare worker” nor do I have the “gift of mercy”. And so on.
What happened was that after some time, God began sending children from the neighborhood to our house. Most of them needed help with their schoolwork; others had family problems; others needed attention of physical hurts and wounds; other simply had nowhere else to play. Taking time for these children, helping them, praying for them, sharing the Gospel with them, I feel I am doing more meaningful ministry than ever before. Sometimes we feel that we get beyond the limits of our strength, but God has been faithful so far.
I would still wish to be part of a functioning Christian “body”, but sadly this is not possible in the current circumstances. On the contrary, many friends who supported us when we had an official “ministry”, have retired their support and their friendship when we stopped being “ministers”. Churches will not support something which will not result in some benefit for their own particular institution. So our prospect for now is rather praying and waiting for the Lord to convert one or more families in our neighborhood, so that a house church would begin in a natural way.
To resume: What should have been the body of Christ failed; but my wife and I discovered that WE ARE the body.
Amen, we are the body – It seems that “church” is the WORST place to do the real work of the Lord – reason being it is a “system” not designed or blessed by God..the gospel is personal and the kingdom is within us, not here or there visible to our careful observation.
My story of woe is that back in the day, the second church I attended was a large Pentecostal church (not mega-sized, but large enough that not everybody knew everybody) which started a children’s outreach program into an impoverished area (we call it subsidized housing in Canada). I volunteered and helped to pioneer this work, with all the spiritual plowing that goes along with that – long story short, after being there for seven years we were well-known and accepted by the community and many of our children were getting too old for the program we had, I was very concerned for what would happen to them at that age in those circumstances, the need was great and the opportunity was there, it would have been cruel to just shut the doors on them – I saw an absolutely wide open door to begin a program for teens, the Lord had given me an open vision of the fields being white unto harvest. So I approached the church leadership with the suggestion and to my shock and dismay they wouldn’t allow it. I was still spiritually naive, but the Lord kept showing me scripture after scripture to share with them, but they wouldn’t budge, and I realized they were really only interested in doing their “token bit” with no real love for the kids. But what else does the church exist for, really?? The tragedy is that the door was open to harvest that entire community, which was a breeding ground for gangs, and not just the children and teens, but one thing would have led to another and another and we were in a position to be able to reach the parents of these kids as well with the gospel.
I still wonder if I let the Lord down and if I should have tried to do something by myself, though at the time I didn’t see how, I saw too many obstacles to going it alone, only one of which was that I was going through the worst years of my life all that time, which were still far from over, had come very close to a nervous breakdown twice, and had been left with “fried nerves” and completely unable to cope with stress (still to this day, actually worse now) – and I still wonder if only I had faith enough and walked by faith not by sight. Is it ever possible to be thwarted by the devil without it being our fault as believers? Honestly don’t know for sure, but I have this niggling feeling that I failed God in this and have repented anyway. I hung around the children’s program a little while longer, clinging to hope – until they let me know I wasn’t really needed any more.
I miss the joy of serving Him that way, that was around 10 years ago now – and a few days ago the Holy Spirit told me my time has not yet come, just like Jesus said at the wedding feast when His time had not yet come…a few months ago the Lord showed me through scripture that I would be one who is “hired” to work in His vineyard at the last hour of the day and still receive the full day’s wages.. I don’t know why, it’s in the sovereignty of the Lord, maybe I’m one of His more stubborn children to take so long to be ready, wouldn’t be surprised at that, but sometimes to be honest I worry in case I’m deceiving myself.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART WHO PRAYED FOR AMANDA THE LADY WITH CANCER. I PUT HER AND JOSEPH UP FOR THE NIGHT IN A EMPTY APT WE HAD. SHE WALKED OUT OF THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO PUMP HER FULL OF MORE DRUGS. THIS MORNING THEY WOKE UP AND WE HAD BREAKFAST AND TOOK OFF TO A CHURCH HERE IN SPOKANE. THEY HEAVENLY FATHER TOUCHED BOTH OF THEM THROUGH A SPEAKER WHO WAS THERE. HE WALKED OVER TO WHERE WE WERE SITTING AND LAYED HANDS ON JOSEPH AND GAVE HIM A POWERFUL WORD OF HEALING THEY LAYED HANDS ON AMANDA, ABOUT 25 PEOPLE AND PRAYED FOR HER HEALING AND FOR THE BABY. THERE WAS A SWEET SWEET PRESENCE OF YHWH THERE TODAY. I COULD FEEL HIS LOVE FOR THESE TWO. THEN THE CONGREGATION BLESSED THEM AFTER THEY ATE LUNCH AND THEY ARE IN A HOTEL TONIGHT, AND NOW HAVE THE MONEY THEY NEEDED TO GET A MARRIAGE LICENSE. IT WAS SO EXCITING TO SEE THERE FACES, AND TO WATCH THEM LOUDLY PRAISING GOD. I EVEN BELIEVE THEY ARE GOING TO GET THE MONEY THEY NEED TOMMORROW TO GET A PLACE HERE AT THE BUILDING. JESUS LOVES THEM THIS I KNOW CAUSE THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO. LITTLE ONES TO HIM BELONG. WE ARE WEAK, BUT HE IS SO SO SO SO STRONG. BLESS YOU ALL. YOU SISTER RUTHIE
I say to myself “I post too much”, but you move me, and here I go again.
What a wonderful Saint you are! I feel you are what the Lord called Andrew (one of the disciples anyway), a true person without guile.
I often say to myself, what am I to do, what have I not done that I should have. Let me say, If God opens the door, you are the person He will call to walk through it and you will! The fact that you have not seen the door simply means God is waiting for your time. If He had opened it, is He not wise enough to make you see it? Of course.
Don’t place yourself in a low place, you love Our Lord! That makes you special, and your special works will come with His time.
You are fighting the good fight. Sometimes just getting through a day can be a challange, I know this. Stress and anxiety are closer to some than others, and they simply cannot understand your battles. Some are very quick to say, “If you have these conditions, you obviously are not where you should be with God”. They simply do not know the road on which you have been placed. They would not be so quick to condemn a man for having a heart attack, yet they will create doubts in your mind if you come close to a nervous break-down.
You are walking a path which God knows. His path for you has different obsticles than many who may not seek understanding.
Do you not know that this life is a vapor? Of course you do. Has that thought been a comfort to you? I know it has. We are in training for an ETERNITY of service. Must we dictate to Our Lord that we need different training while here? For all we know, you may need to go through this here for the HIGH CALLING of your place in eternity. So what if we see through our glass darkly. If we love Our Lord, and I know you do, we are on His road, and that’s a good place to be.
If the scenery sucks, you just wait. God is in control.
My comments were directed towards, “Watchful”
Thanks J. Byron, your story was refreshingly honest, that’s what I believe is called walking in the light :) – and didn’t Paul say to boast in our weaknesses – I thought some were being rather hard on you! We aren’t “born” knowing how to serve God, just with the desire to do so..there is a learning curve and we each have our own different corner of the battlefield that we have to fight through to apprehend and learn truth. Unfortunately those who were supposed to teach and equip us were falling asleep on the job so it has made the way more difficult and treacherous, but by the grace of the Lord we will get there! I am truly encouraged by your last post – thank you so much – it truly is all about eternity and being prepared for that – I laughed at what you said about the scenery, so true it’s all just a bunch of scenery that we’re travelling through on the “Peace train” (lol!) The more time goes by, the more of that desolate scenery is behind us and good riddance – onward to the mountains, it’ll be much nicer there! Bess you!
Ruth, God bless you and your precious friends – He is so good! I was thinking about you and this situation again this afternoon and wondering if you would post an update..thanks for sharing that good news, what a joy!
Amen, He is so strong – I just went outside to watch a huge storm gather, it was so majestic and beautiful with the sun setting and golden light all over these HUGE beautiful clouds white and billowy on top, bright blue sky still peeking through in places, with the sound of thunder rumbling and rolling non-stop, and that’s exactly what I was thinking, how big and strong our Abba is and how small we are, and how much He loves His children, and how able and desirous He is to protect and keep and provide for us..
Robert Glenn,
As stated previously I refuse to invent anything new or to seek originality for its own sake or for personal aggrandisement.
I do not write for academic recognition any more than I share the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to gain a personal following for fame, fortune or prestige but that some may be snatched from the snare of the fowler and be found amongst the remnant faithful church on the judgement day by living in accordance with HIS revealed will.
Jeremiah 6: 16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
But they said, We will not walk therein. (They ignored the Will of God in favour of the perverse imaginations of their own minds.)
As in the days of Noah, ignorance of the Truth is taking most people to HELL.
MANY religious people are so conceited as to believe they know a better way and thereby seek to continually come up with something new and are thereby deceiving the scripturally ignorant and spiritually naive. The Bible refers to these people as wolves.
By the Grace of God I will never be one of these people but will remain faithful to the revealed Word of God and sound bible teaching by Godly bible expositors until the Judgement Day. My prayer is always to remain humbly submitted to HIS Word until the very end.
Jeremiah 6:16 is one of my favorite verses in the Old Testament.
This was written by Jeremiah the prophet unto the people of Israel and Judah. Over and over throughout the Old Testament Israel turned away from following God and followed after their own hearts and minds. After brief periods of restoration and fellowship with God, they would soon return to sin, ignoring the commandments of the Lord.
SIN IS ANYTHING WHICH IS NOT IN ACCORD WITH THE WORD OF GOD as revealed to us in THE BIBLE and is what the apostate church is guilty of today.
This is why God pleads with them to ask for the old paths. To return to the good way such as when Israel walked with God and served Him. This applies to those of us today who foolishly accept claims by the spiritually perverse to have revelation about some new thing or to receive from the Holy Spirit something which cannot be supported by sound Bible exegesis.
As stated on numerous occasions before I have NO intention of reinvesting the wheel with any form of NEW THING.
That repugnant thing is what the false church is doing.
Claiming personal revelation in competition with the revealed word of God and subverting the clear teaching of the Word of God by suggesting there is something NEW is the ultimate foolishness for which the judgement of God is waiting to deal with.
We have been repeatedly warned by GOD that there is NOTHING NEW under the SUN and we disregard these warnings at our eternal peril.
ONLY THE JESUS CHRIST PRESENTED TO US IN THE BIBLE WILL BE ABLE TO SAVE US ON THE JUDGEMENT DAY.
The demonically inspired imaginations of the human mind will be completely ineffective for the apostate.
O Amen “watchful”, I got blessed by reading your posts above, Praise God, I get a witness in my spirit that what you have heard from the Lord will surely come to pass… :-)
The Lord will reward us all – all of His Church – with a full days wages because that is His nature and it is all of Him – salvation that is – from first to last… :-)
We are blessed to be His children and there is nothing that we have done, are doing or will do that would have ever made us deserve His love or His salvation or the priviledge of bringing others to Him… :-)
We are what we are by the grace of God, I have experienced something very similar to what you share above with my open brethren church which was situated right within one of the neediest communities in Christchurch NZ, we had a year of seeking God for vision for the church and I kept pleading with them for us to come and live in the community and lay down of lives for the gospel, everyone was so rich and so well off and they were just not willing to make the sacrifice, I and another 30 or so of the very keen members of the church ended up, sadly, leaving and most of us going to the main charismatic baptist church who were really involved in the community…
God forgive us… and God revive us… and God break our proud hearts and fill them with His love and compassion for those who need Him…
I just posted this over on the members side of the forum and feel led to repost it here… Let Your will be done on earth Father, as it is in heaven, in Jesus Name in the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen
Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble? – Delirious?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO_bKR2Wzhk&feature=related
Wayne,
You need to give it a rest! I and several others have tried to throw you a life line of repentance, but you seemingly can not grasp the line because of all of the mud in your eyes. All of your twisting and turning has you only sinking further into your own mire of vanity and deceit.
You presumably wrote the following:
You are what you said you would never be. It appear to me that you are a hungry wolf savaging on the carcasses of other peoples writings. You are not even a leader but a follower of the pack who winds up fighting over the dead remains claiming it for your own.
The following is a portion of the left over carcass you presented to us as your own kill.
Those left over mangled writing belong to another who has better eyesight than you. They came from Dorna’s Lighthouse, entitled “ASK FOR THE OLD PATHS. http://www.dornaslighthouse.com/oldpaths.html
God’s thoughts are far higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9); He does not think as humans do. Though we are surely growing in forming His mind in us (I Corinthians 2:16; Ephesians 4:13, 15; Philippians 2:5; II Peter 3:18), we still have a very long way to go!
Paul puts it another way: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then [in the resurrection] face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (I Corinthians 13:12). Or, as he quotes Isaiah in I Corinthians 2:9, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
We, in this fleshly form, with our limited minds and perspectives, just do not know it all yet!
NOR SHOULD WE EVER PRESUME TO DO SO – WE MUST BE TOTALLY DEPENDENT UPON HIS WORD ALONE OR WE WILL BE DECEIVED
DEAD WORKS ARE THE FUTILE EFFORTS OF FOOLISH MEN WHO THINK THE IMAGINATIONS OF THEIR SINFUL MINDS ARE SUPERIOR TO THE REVEALED WORD OF GOD – REPENT AND SEEK THE TRUE GOD BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
shalom to all of you, watchful you have really touched my heart by your testimony. I understand what it is like too have a nervous breakdown. I experienced somthing simialar to your story back in 1991. I was a baby christian and so in love with Jesus. All I wanted to do was to love everyone. I got a job and just started to feed people in the building I lived in. I would spend my entire paycheck on food, and cook big pots of beans, rice and cornbread, then my friend floyd would put it in HIs pickup truck and off we would go down to china town in Fresno ca. we would search for the worst alcholics the ones that lived by the railroad tracks and in the empty warehouses and before long the Holy Spirit began to touch these precious ones and set them free. people were amazed at the annointing and they all wanted to know what church i went to. I would tell them . I dont go to church, I just love jesus and want to feed his children. I forgot to mention I was bapitzed in the holy spirit when I was in jail, the chaplain baptized me in a tub, and when I came up out of the water I was speaking in another language. that was about 2 years before i moved to Fresno. Abba was supernatuarally paying my rent through people i did not know. they would walk up to me and tell me, that the Heavenly Father told them to give me this money. one day I heard a knock on the door, and a man was standing at my little 2 room apt where I lived. He said my name is Pastor Don and I heard you are feeding YHWHs children, im going to take you to cosco every week and load your kitchen up with food. All I could do was shout and cry. I started to attend his church, and many of the people who I met on the streets began to go there. some of the people stopped going to his church because they did not like those people. Pastor Don did not care. he told them to leave. He started to go with me, and others from his church. then i made a terrible mistake,
I was born to a holocaust survivor, My father was in Ausschwitz. he and my grandmother where the only survivors. He was very angry and was never able to forgive. He also used me as a sounding board to pour all of his stories about the holocaust, by the time i was 4 I would have dreams that the natzis where coming to get me.
there was alot of abuse in my family, and i was a angry child who had surpressed alot of memories and there was alot of hidden stuff that i was not aware of. I remember doing what ever i could to try and be good enough, so they would love me, but as soon as i would make a mistake i would be abused. ONE DAY I JUST HAD HAD ENOUGH SO AT THE AGE OF 12 I BECAME A HEROIN ADDICT. AND WAS EXTREMELY REBELLIOUS. EXPECIALLY AGAINST AUTHORITY.
I was so excited about what the Lord was doing in my life , that my brother who had not talked to me in 5 years called me up and said he would be coming to fresno on His way to Seattle, and ask me if I wanted to go see my mom. WELL MY THOUGHT WAS, SURLEY SHE WILL LOVE ME NOW. BUT ON THE WAY TO SEATTLE I WAS DRIVING AND FELL ASLEEP BEHIND THE WHEEL AND OFF WE WENT DOWN A FRONTAGE ROAD, THE HIGHWAY PATROL SAID WE WERE TRAVELING AT 95 MILES AN HOUR AND AT THE LAST MINUTE WHEN THE HIGHWAY RAILING WOULD HAVE CUT THE CAR IN HALF IT SOMHOW JUMPED TO THE SIDE. THEY COULD TELL BY THE TRACKS ON THE ROAD.
I FOUND OUT QUICKLY HE DID NOT HAVE INSURANCE AND HE JUST BEGAN TO CALL ME EVERY EVIL NAME YOU CAN THINK OF, SCREAMING AT ME THAT I WAS A BAD SEED AND WOULD ALWAS BE A BAD SEED, WELL I RECIEVED THAT LIE FROM A SPIRIT OF DEEP REJECTION, AND AS SOON AS WE GOT BACK TO SEATTLE, I WENT STRAIGHT TO THE THING THAT HAD ALWAYS GIVEN ME COMFORT WHEN I WAS IN PAIN. HEROIN. WHAT A LIEING DEMON THAT IS.
I WAS BACK ON THE STREETS FOR 4 MONTHS AND WHEN I GOT BACK TO FRESNO I FELT SO CONDEMNED AND ASHAMED i JUST DISSAPEARED,
FROM THEN ON IT WAS BACK AND FORTH, IN AND OUT OF JAIL. I WAS EVEN RAISED FROM THE DEAD ONE NIGHT, WHICH WAS WITNESSED BY THE PEOPLE WHO DID CPR ON ME. DEAR PASTOR DON WOULD ALWAYS COME LOOKING FOR ME AND VISIT ME IN JAIL, AND ONE WINTER NIGHT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SLEEPING WITH ME ON THE SIDEWALK SAID A MAN CAME OUT THIER LOOKING FOR ME AND TOLD THEM DONT WAKE HER UP, I JUST WANT TO PRAY FOR HER. HE PROPHESED SHE SHALL NOT DIE, BUT SHE SHALL LIVE ,AND DECLARE THE WORD OF THE LORD. I RAN FOR 14 YEARS, AND ENDED UP IN SKID ROW IN LOS ANGLES. THAT IS THE END OF THE ROAD, BUT ONE DAY ON DEC 23. AS I WAS BEGGING ON THE SIDEWALK LIKE A LEPER. A MAN WALKED UP TO ME, HE HAD THE MOST BEAUTIFUL EYES I HAD EVER SEEN AND HE WAS THE FIRST ON IN A LONG LONG TIME WHO LOOKED AT ME WITH LOVE. HE SPOKE THESE WORDS AND I KNEW REPENTECE HAD COME. HE SAID.
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Isa 52:2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, [and] sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
Isa 52:3 ¶ For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY MORE MIRICLES SINCE THEN, I HAVE BEEN HEALED IN MANY WAYS. I HAVE A HUSBAND AND ALL MY CHILDREN ARE BACK IN MY LIFE. WE MANAGE THESE APTS HERE IN SPOKANE, AND THE FATHER HAS HELPED ME TO START A CLEANING BUSINESS BECAUSE NOT MANY WOULD HIRE ME BECAUSE OF MY PAST. AND SO LITTLE BY LITTLE , I AM GETTING MORE WORK BY WORD OF MOUTH, I WORK FOR PEOPLE WHO WOULD HAVE PASSED ME BY ON THE STREET 5 YEARS AGO AND NOT GIVEN ME A SECOND GLANCE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY I HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED FOR THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND I KNOW LONGER HAVE ANY DESIRE FOR THIS WORLD OR THE THINGS OF THE WORLD. MY DESIRE IS TO KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTON AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS UNTIL I BE CONFORMED INTO THE IMAGE OF THIS KING WHO I SO DEARLY LOVE.
BY THE WAY SHE GOT THE APT, AND THE BOYS MOTHER SHOWED UP TODAY, VERY BROKEN AND IN NEED OF MERCY. IT WAS HARD WORK AND VERY PAINFUL TO REPENT OF A BITTER ROOT AGAINST THE NATZIS AND ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO WOUNDED ME AS A CHIILD, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE THINGS I WENT THROUGH ON THE STREETS, BUT ONE DAY AT A TIME HE HEALS MY FRAGMENTED HEART, AND I KNOW THAT I AM MADE WHOLE BY THE BLOOD WHICH HE SHED FOR ME.
I forgot years ago I had a dream. I was sitting in a large room at these round tables, there where lots of people but I could not see thier faces, as they were veiled. I could hear everyone talking about who the speaker was going to be. all of a sudden I heard a loud loud voice say. KAREN, GO TO THE PODIUM. I stood up and walked up to the podium and when I got there, I said I have no idea what the Father wants me to say, so lets all pray and wait on him.
then I heard that voice again, and it was very strong and very serious and stern, and this is what it said.
KAREN, TELL THEM, TELL THEM, THAT I AM ABLE, THAT I AM ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST, ALL WHO COME TO ME THROUGH YESHUA HA MOSIACH.
THEN I WOKE UP
I HAD NEVER HAD A DREAM BEFORE, AND I WAS NOT SURE AT THE TIME IF IT WAS THE FATHER, BUT ABOUT 3 WEEKS LATER WHEN I WAS READING THE WORD I CAME ACROSS THE SCRUPTURE.
“Where he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”—Hebrews 7:25.
GLORY TO YHWH WHO EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR US. IT IS BECAUSE OF THIS THAT THIS MARY MAGDALENE WAS NOT DESTROYED.
so there is no confusion my birth name is Karen, however the Father gave me word, that I would no longer be called Karen,but I would be called Ruth, and I would cling unto the Lord, as Ruth clung unto Naomi.
The person who prophesied that word over me, had no idea that my Father dedicated me in the synagouge as Ruth bas Peretz.
GOD will indeed humble those who exalt themselves.
GOD has exalted HIS Word above HIS name
As the psalmist turns to worship he writes in
Psalm 138:2: “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” God’s Word is His communication, His promise, the revelation of Himself to His people. It is to be a lamp to our feet in a dark and fallen world, without it we would have no way to know God or how to do God’s will.
Throughout scripture we have a consistent theme of the dichotomy of light versus darkness. The world we live in is darkness reserved for judgment. John the apostle in 1 John 1:5 tells us God is light. Light is God’s very nature, it represents to us Holiness and perfection. This is why we often read that a physical manifestation of God ‘s glory is light or fire. Sin is associated with darkness and judgment. It implies imperfection, and principally ignorance, sinfulness, and misery.
The Psalmist asks Ps 119:9 “How can a young man cleanse his way? He answers, “By taking heed according to Your Word. Just a few more verses later v:11 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” God’s word keeps us from sin and keeps us on his path, as the Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Ps.119:105) in a dark world.
Ps. 43:3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me. As one reads the psalms one grasps the importance of the Word to the the people of Israel, especially the leaders.
To disregard God’s Word that is holy, pure and absolutely true is to defame God’s name and character. It is to bring ruin upon our walk. So it becomes the main focus point in our daily walk with Christ.
There is a price to pay for humble submission to the Word and revealed Will of God.
Nothing stirs satan and his cohorts more than the unadulterated Word of God particularly when it is presented by Godly expositors of HIS Word with a preaching and teaching Gift.
Satanic influences will always seek to pervert the message or the presentation of the message in order to minimise its effectiveness.
We all need to use all of the spiritual armoury which God has provided in order to defeat the devil at this point and thereby resist the temptation to accept the spiritual depravity and mediocrity which has overrun the contemporary church like a tsunami.
There is NO new thing and certainly NO new revelation ONLY the same old rugged cross, repentance, forgiveness and faithfulness to HIS Word.
Generally it seems that the world and the FALSE church enjoys the slanderous allegations by which it seeks to make the faithful pay the price of humble submission to the Word and Will of God.
We have been assured by GOD, however, that the reward is well worth the price.
Praise God Ruth, Praise God for what He is doing in your life, your testimony has blessed me, God bless you sister… :-)
Ruth, I’m humbled into the dust and speechlessness by your testimony, which is very powerful and so full of light..trying and failing to think of something to say in response..think if I were there with you I’d just hug you and cry on your shoulder. What can we do but give thanks to God who is so faithful and knows every hair on our heads, who never leaves us or forsakes us, I’m just ashamed of every time I have doubted Him and worried..just one little word from Him and everything has to change, the storm has to stop, hope has to be reborn, the whole world has to change, life has to spring up out of our ashes.
My oldest son has been to jail, I’ve been to visit him and bail him out more than once, and now everybody in a prison uniform is my son, my child. His first time in court, I was nursing my newborn daughter, and had to bring her to the court with me. (Never thought my life would turn out to be such a nightmare, but I needed humbling.) My son was living on the street or couch surfing and using every drug on the street at one point. One day he was delirious and found by the police who took him to rehab – he’s free of drugs now and never looked back, all because God is faithful. I’m watching him bloom into a man and now at 31 he is starting his own business in landscaping, building decks and fences, etc. My son believes in Jesus, and has experienced the Holy Spirit on more than one occasion, but he doesn’t believe in churches or Christians, he’s not ‘serving’ the Lord, still has some issues to resolve, but one day who knows, anything is possible with God..isn’t there something in that He is glorified just by my son being alive..
I worked in a Jewish health care facility for several years, taking care of mostly the elderly – many who were Holocaust survivors. I got to know and love many Jewish people very well during those years. When someone is traumatized, I’ve come to realize it’s so hard for them to let go of the past, they still ‘live there’ because on some level they are trying to change what happened, trying to still resolve the problem – they need with God’s help to come to the place of accepting what happened, as impossible as that seems to be to accept something so horrible..I’ve had trauma in my life too, so I have some understanding of that part of it..there are things I still have to just accept. But what a loss it will be when all the Holocaust survivors are gone – they are like living archeological treasures, witnesses of something so awful but also so significant. To me as wounded as they are, they represent hope and mercy, I’ve heard many stories of how only one in a family survived – as though God in His mercy did that on purpose even in the Holocaust He shows Himself sovereign.. The Lord called me to serve His chosen people a long time ago, to my joy, but I began in the flesh like Moses, and since then I’ve had to let the dream die and live in the wilderness – but I know that God is in the resurrection business..so all hope is not entirely gone, just sometimes my patience.. (lol)
Ruth, the dream you had reminds me of where it says in scripture (paraphrasing from memory) “to this day a veil covers their faces whenever Moses is read”, speaking of the Jews..
The 1st one doesnt add up to me, if that were a godly church and pastor they would help the poor not make excuses, seems more like a whitewashed wall to me, like the pharasies in Jesus day, the bible tells us to judge a tree by its fruit and they wouldnt even help the poor.
I left a church two years ago because I couldn’t reconcile how they “stewarded” God’s resources with the gospel they preached. I have tried to find a new church home since that time, but after being disappointed over and over, I’ve given up. My love and devotion for Jesus Christ has not changed, but my faith in the church as an institution is gone. Ruth, bless you, it does my heart good to see people living the faith, and not just talking about it.
The words of Jesus in
John 15:18
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Recently I learned that may possible be getting a rather significant amount of money. I told the Lord, “I want to tithe to your body, but I don’t feel I can tithe to the system. If this is what you want, show me the people in need.”
That day, a lady whom I had never met but who my friend had told me about, called me. She said, “God told me I should call you and talk to you today.” We had a great time in the Lord, and in the conversation I told her she should write the God dreams she had been having in a book. She said, “I’ve been told that before. I want to write a screenplay. I have the software, but do not have a computer for the software. It’s going to cost a couple of thousand dollars and I just can’t do it.
The Lord nudged me, as if to tell me I was on the right track. What are the odds of this lady calling me on this day after I prayed that prayer. I am looking for needs around me. I will not put money into a system which God is going to judge. I did that for years and years.
Good on ya Diana, Praise the Lord… :-)
Seek the Lord while HE may be found – Turn away from the false religions that have overrun the church.
Repent of apostasy and use HIS WORD to show you what he requires of us all.
That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows (Luke 12:47).
God says to
“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16) and “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31, 32).
Therefore, we must strive for the truth as revealed in Scripture and resist all other teachings. Our eternal destiny depends on our faithfulness to HIS Word.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Paul’s words to Timothy reveal an interesting truth for handling the Word of Truth—it requires work. A workman applies his best effort to his trade on a regular basis. Interpreting the bible correctly is not an accident; it is a deliberate effort and the result of on-going application and study. Since Paul expected Timothy to be a workman in this effort, we should expect no different requirement for us today.
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8).
The work of interpreting the Word of God is important work. It requires continuous study and meditation. It should become a part of our lifestyle. This type of life builds up and transforms leading to maturity in Christ. However, just as correctly handling the Word leads to maturity, incorrectly handling the Word leads to false teaching, deception and ultimately destruction.
Do not add to his words, or he [God] will rebuke you and prove you a liar (Proverbs 30:6).
No matter how sure you are about what God meant by a particular verse, it is very dangerous to add your opinion to His divine wisdom. Few things could be worse than the rebuke of God, and nothing could be worse than being proved a liar by God. Not only does the incorrect use of the Word of God have serious consequences for the careless teacher, it can also be detrimental for others.
My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children (Hosea 4:6).
It is no wonder God gives such grave warnings against incorrectly handling His Word since lives are at stake. In the closing words of the book of Revelation, the Lord issues one of the most direct warnings of the entire Bible:
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Revelation 22:18, 19).
This same warning was first issued in the Old Testament when God opened the law to Israel:
Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you (Deuteronomy 4:2).
As i haved prayed… we have been able to bring over 200 souls into the kingdom this last month… the churches have not been willing to help…
In my spirit i keep hearing these words… be the church…don’t just go to church… BE THE CHURCH!!!
We have a nation of christians that go to church!!!
WE HAVE A CALL… TO BE THE CHURCH!!!
A CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS… BUT ARMS TO LOVE A LOST &
BROKEN WORLD… INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD…
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST!!!
WE CAN HAVE ALL THE BIBLE VERSES IN THE WORLD…
BUT WITH OUT LOVE WE ARE NOTHING!!!
WE ARE SOUNDING BRASS OR A TINKLING CYMBAL…
THE WORLD IS SICK OF THE NOISE!!!
WITH OUT THE EVIDENCE…
YOU SHALL KNOW THEM… BY THIER LOVE!!!
Is there enough evidence to convict you?
in a court room
Could you be convicted for being a christian based only on your LOVE?
not a word… not a verse… only your LOVE…
YOU SHALL KNOW THEM BY THIER LOVE!!!
Robert Burke wrote:
This is from Gary Amirault……. http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/christs-body.htm
Where the funds of the Body of Christ go are going to dramatically change. In the past, 90% of the income has gone into bricks and mortar and steeples and stained glass and padded pews and carpets and parking lots – and, oh yes, lots of salaries. That’s going to change.
This is from Gary Amirault, also:
But in the days ahead, God the Father is going to be restored to his rightful position. Jesus within His Body is going to bring proper teaching and we’re going to understand that God the Father was in Christ on the cross reconciling the world to himself, that there is no difference between the Son and the Father, even though through our tradition and our teaching in the past it seems to be that Jesus was the one who was able to lay down His life for His enemies, but God the Father couldn’t. In the days ahead, in this new expression, that’s going to be corrected. God the Father is going to take his rightful and lawful and glorious place in his Body of Christ. And there’ll be some radical new changes that most of the older expressions will not be able to handle – the Charismatic, Pentecostal, Restoration, Holiness, Catholic, Reformation expressions of religious life will not be able to handle this new wine. God is going to have to raise up new wineskins. They’re going to be smaller, more numerous, but they’re going to be filled with so much more love, so much more grace, so much more mercy, so much more righteousness, so much more holiness than has ever been expressed in local worships. Like I said before, if what I’m saying is hitting the spot with you, get in touch with us. I told you that my wife would say something about the woman being exalted and taking a rightful place side-by-side in leadership in the Body of Christ in the days ahead. Let her share with you what she has captured and seen by the Spirit, and what I bear witness to. And I think that those of you, the half of the Body of Christ that is female, I think you’re going to rejoice and I think you’re going to say it’s about time! But the woman in these expressions that I’m talking about is going to come forth in a glory that she hasn’t had in the Church in this old structure in a long, long time.
Comment:
Gary Amirault, as well as Robert Burke, are not Christians as we are, but believe in Christian Universalism. They do not believe in the trinity as we do, and they believe that all people will be saved (no one sent to Hell).
Isn’t that right, Robert Burke?
Wayne wrote:
Robert Glenn,
As stated previously I refuse to invent anything new or to seek originality for its own sake or for personal aggrandisement.
I do not write for academic recognition any more than I share the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to gain a personal following for fame, fortune or prestige but that some may be snatched from the snare of the fowler and be found amongst the remnant faithful church on the judgement day by living in accordance with HIS revealed will.
Comment:
If you insist on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, then do it right.
You cannot only share the portion of the gospel that you approve of (old covenant), but you must fully share the gospel as the apostle Paul did (new covenant) Rom 15:19.
Galatians 2:20 –
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
2 Corinthians 3:6 –
6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Romans 8:1 – 14:
RO 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation–but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Galatians 5:16:
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Ephesians 5:18:
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Wayne, you cannot be found amongst the remnant faithful church on the judgement day, living in accordance with HIS revealed will. if you keep grieving the Holy Spirit of God by refusing to preach the entire gospel of God.
Preach all of it, Brother.
The simple message is that we all have a choice between faithfulness to the Word of God or faithfulness to false teachings and false teachers – the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Satan.
The Charismatic Movement would become, as Rev. B.H. Clendenen has pointed out, the “Trojan Horse” that would lead to the downfall of true Pentecost:
In 1956, the world saw the first meeting of the Charismatic Movement. That was the
day the horse came to our gate…When we allowed that horse on the inside, there came with
it many phony ideas and manifestations. We had reached the place we did not know what we
were hearing. This false thing knocked down the walls of separation and doctrinal purity.
Roman Catholics said the rosary in tongues, and Pentecostal believers thought it was real. A friend of mine was speaking at a Full Gospel Businessmen’s meeting in Denver. This wassoon after the Charismatic renewal began. He was the morning speaker, and a Mormon was
the night speaker. At the breakfast meeting, sitting by the Mormon, my friend said to him, “I am very anxious to hear you tonight. I’ve never heard the testimony of a Mormon who had
been born-again.” The Mormon said to him, “I don’t have that yet.” “What do you mean, you
don’t have that yet?” my friend asked. “I mean, I’ve not been born-again, but I talk in
tongues.” The horse is on the inside…Pentecost must not be watered down. The only way
the world could get in, and did get in, was through imitation. We fought the system of Babel
until the sword cleaved to our hand. We preached against a handshake religion. We stood
against all that was not Bible. That horse came to our gate – a Pentecostal antichrist, and he
fooled us. We had fought long and hard. We were tired. There he stood with his prayer
language, “Look,” he said, “I can do what you do.” It totally disarmed us, and we opened the
gate. There was nothing demanded; he came in as he was. We thought he had joined us, but
he led us to the slaughter. Fifty years of battlefield experience traded off, for a worldly crowd
with a taught tongue, a worldly dance, and a false Christ. The cost of this deception cannot be
calculated. The same sins that are in the world are now in the church. The nation sinks in a
moral crisis, healing has been reduced to a confession. Salvation is merely going to church,
and the baptism in the Holy Ghost is a taught tongue. We didn’t change the horse, he changed
us. And we called it “revival”.”
The Charismatic Movement traces its beginning to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon an
Episcopalian priest and many of those in his congregation in 1960. When Father Dennis Bennet, of St.
Mark’s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, California, published his personal testimony of being baptized in the
Holy Spirit it wasn’t long before he was forced to resign by the denomination. Soon other leaders in the
historic Protestant denominations were experiencing the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of
speaking in other tongues. People who had never shown any evidence of the new birth suddenly began
speaking in tongues! In the late 1960’s Roman Catholics started receiving the baptism and the Catholic
Charismatic Movement was born. One has to wonder how people who are trusting in the salvation-by-works
gospel of the Roman Catholic Church, people who are practicing idolatry every time they partake of the
“Mass”, people who believe they were “born-again” when they were “baptized” into the church as an infant,
were baptized by the Spirit of Truth!
I’m sorry. I just don’t buy it. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR A TRULY BORN AGAIN BIBLE BELIEVING CHRISTIAN TO BUY ANY OF IT.
Unsaved Protestants and Catholics getting baptized in the
Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance? My Bible says that one must be
saved in order to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. A believer. A born-again believer. I don’t have a
problem with the baptism or the tongues and I experienced it myself, after I was saved. I do have a problem,
however, when thousands of people who have shown no trace of true repentance and no inclination to put
away their idols speak in tongues and claim to be baptized in the Spirit.
A leading Catholic Charismatic wrote:
Baptism in the Holy Spirit leads to a greater love of Mary, a greater veneration of the
Pope, a greater submission to the Catholic Church, a more frequent attendance at mass, and a
greater authority in witnessing to these matters.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth who leads us into “all truth”, not errors such as these. I don’t
believe it. I’ve been called judgmental, unloving, and a Pharisee for saying so, but I just do not buy it. Not
now – not ever.
The Charismatic Movement has become the vehicle that the enemy is using to reunite the Protestant
denominations and the Roman Catholic Church, forming the “Great Harlot” of the last days. Right from the
beginning of the Latter Rain Movement to the present day there has been an emphasis upon an unscriptural
unity for the church A unity based not on the truth, but on the common experience being shared by those in
the revival. A unity based on “signs and wonders.”
“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Matt. 24:24
The TRUTH of the WORD OF GOD WILL PREVAIL
2 Corinthians 11: 3-4
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
Those who are new to what’s happening in the religious realm are probably unfamiliar with events that are taking place. There is a rapid move to try to unite all denominations worldwide. From the papacy to Pentecostals, from Lutherans to witch doctors, there is an incredible move to bring all religions together. Many bear the label of being Bible-believing or upholding the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, many have simply become vehicles and fronts of compromise and contradiction.
Good to hear your voice again Gary (“Gary Simpson”)… :-)
Luke 18:8 “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
This hybrid religion masquerading as christian but in reality comprised of New Age philosophies and occultic practices FORBIDDEN by God in HIS WORD THE BIBLE will continue to deceive the scripturally ignorant and spiritually naive until HE calls a halt and returns for the faithful.
Gary Simpson
Who set you up as judge?
Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead
thou shalt be saved.
This is the standard that almighty God are Father has set for salavation how dare you or any one else add to it with your own set of rules. If Robert or Gary have this in place they are brothers in Christ and not you nor any one have any right to say other wise. I will remind you that with the jugdment you judge you will be judged.
David Larsen wrote:
Gary Simpson
Who set you up as judge?
Comment:
David Larsen, Robert Burke, and Gary Amirault (three peas in a pod).
Three men who:
1- Deny the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God) and therefore worship a false God.
2- Deny the Bible teaching of Revelation 20:11-15 concerning the great white throne judgement and the fate (lake of fire) of those judged. People who deny what scripture clearly teaches, are not only resisting the Holy Spirit, but are calling the Holy Spirit who wrote it, a liar.
3- Deny the Bible teaching of Eph 5:23 which says:
23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Gary Amirault also writes:
I told you that my wife would say something about the woman being exalted and taking a rightful place side-by-side in leadership in the Body of Christ in the days ahead. Let her share with you what she has captured and seen by the Spirit, and what I bear witness to. And I think that those of you, the half of the Body of Christ that is female, I think you’re going to rejoice and I think you’re going to say it’s about time! But the woman in these expressions that I’m talking about is going to come forth in a glory that she hasn’t had in the Church in this old structure in a long, long time.
Question:
If the Holy Spirit says that Christ is the head of man, and that man is the head of woman,
then,
Which spirit is Gary Amirault, and David Larsen, and Robert Burke listening to when they say that all of this will change, and women will be side by side in leadership with man?
It certainly cannot be the Holy Spirit of God, since it would be against His nature to contradict Himself.
Must be a lying spirit from Satan?
Wayne wrote:
The simple message is that we all have a choice between faithfulness to the Word of God or faithfulness to false teachings and false teachers – the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Satan.
Comment:
No one is asking you to be unfaithful to the Word of God.
What we are asking you to do is to be faithful to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
You cannot be faithful to the Word of God if you only teach and preach your selected portions. You must preach and teach all of the gospel.
You must preach and teach the new covenant of the Spirit, and the Law of the Spirit of Life.
These are not inventions of the Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches, but are the foundations of the new covenant which is clearly taught in the Bible (NIV).
As Stephen said to the Jewish Leaders (Sanhedrin) in Acts 7:51:
51 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
Any one who resists the Holy Spirit of God is a stiff-necked person with and uncircumcised heart and ears, and is not a born-again believer who is walking in God’s will and grace.
You cannot ignore all of the Holy Spirit verses in the Bible and not resist the Holy Spirit.
If you don’t believe that every verse of the Bible is the truth of God, and preach and teach it as such, then you cannot call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, or claim that the Holy Spirit of God (who you deny by your unbelief) lives within you.
Because you allege some men in the Charismatic Movement have misused the Bible and have gone astray, does not give you a license to ignore those verses of Scripture that they misused. You are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Instead of focusing upon men, and how they have gone astray, focus upon God and the truth of His Bible, and preach the whole gospel, not just your old covenant protions. God is the one who keeps us from going astray, as we are led by His Holy Spirit.
Whether you like it or not, the Bible says in Eph 5:18:
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
You cannot be filled with the Spirit when you continue to resist the Holy Spirit.
Whether you like it or not, the Bible says in Rom 8:6:
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace
If you want God’s life and peace, you must surrender to (quit resisting) the Holy Spirit, and allow Him to control your mind.
Whether you like it or not, the Bible says in Rom 8:13:
13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
If you want the Spirit to put to death the misdeeds of your body so that you can live, you must quit resisting Him, and allow Him to have free reign in your life (complete control).
Wayne, this is 100% scripture (the Bible).
Surrender to Him now, allow the Holy Spirit of God to control your mind, and you will have the life of Jesus and the peace of God which passes all understanding.
Amen and Amen Gary (“Gary Simpson”) to your last post to “Wayne”, Have mercy on “Wayne” Father and bring him to a knowledge of the truth…
Regarding your previous post Gary addressed to “David Larsen”, “Robert Burke”, and “Gary Amirault” if what you are saying is true then these men do not believe the gospel and fall under the condemnation of Paul’s words which I quote below,
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Gal 1:8-10 KJV)
If “David Larsen”, “Robert Burke” and “Gary Amirault” do believe the heresies which you purport then they are still in their sins and need to repent and believe the gospel…
“David Larsen”, “Robert Burke” and “Gary Amirault” do you believe these heresies as Gary asserts in his post above?
Love in the Lord Gary, Andrew
Gary Simpson
All i have to say is i love you Gary and that is the mark of a true believer you will know them by the love they have for one another. This is something you might want to think about as you stir up trouble for all by making up lies about your brothers in Christ that is if you really are a brother if not just believe on Jesus Christ and you will be. But that is alright with me God tells us true believers to even love are enemys and i love you no matter what you say. Can you say the same from your post i wonder who your lord really is you seem to be set against the teachings of Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:11
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not wither he goeth because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Now for all who want to go against the clear teaching of this scripture with your man made lies be my guest. These our not my words they are the words of God spoken by John. I have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ filled with the Spirit of the living God for over 26 years come through many trials and over come drug addiction and many other things by the power of God. I am your brother like it or not. If we believe something a little diffrent well praise God lets grow up and little be little that may change for both of us one way or the other. But i have had enough of this let us pick and choose who we follow by what they believe. Any thing less then that and you are spitting right in the face of Christ with your i am so holy club and you make God want to puke. The one thing that was suppose to be the hall mark of who we are in Christ is LOVE for one another and in fact LOVE for all men and so many just seem all they want to do is point fingers and find why they do not have to follow this simple little rule. I really believe that reason is because with out Christ this is not possible. So the real Christ followers please stand up and proclaim the love of God and not all the reasons you dont have to do this. The Church world is full of thigs that seperate and it would seem that many here have brought this with them.
I really believe that we were only given this simple rule because God knew that men would pick thier favorite doctrine and try to make thier own kingdom from it and keep ever one else out that is why the church world is so divided i thought that is what this sight was about stopping.
Andrew Horton
If you can not tell what spirit Gary Simpson is of then you are the one who needs to repent. Read his posts and go back and read them over again he is always putting things in peoples mouths to do one thing stir up trouble amoung brothers need i say more.
Who does the bible say does this? If you think that what Gary has written is the Spirit of God and the love of Christ then i am not the one who needs to repent and i suggest you take your own advice. Other then that i am your brother in Christ and if that is good enough for you that is good enough for me.
One other thing i never said that I agreed with every thing that was written in the article by Gary Amiralut even though i think it is worth reading and i consider him a brother in Christ as i do Robert Burke who i also consider a friend. I consider all who name the name of Christ as brothers and hate no man even non believers. And that menns you Gary so live with it.
Romans 14
The Law of Liberty
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord;[a] and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose[b] and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.[c] 11 For it is written:
“ As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”[d]
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
The Law of Love
14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things[e]is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.[f] 22 Do you have faith?[g] Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is
Andrew J Horton wrote:
If “David Larsen”, “Robert Burke” and “Gary Amirault” do believe the heresies which you purport then they are still in their sins and need to repent and believe the gospel…
Comment:
Did you not notice that Robert Burke in his Aug 13 post above promoted Gary Amirault’s teachings by providing a link to his website.
Did you not notice that David Larsen defended both Robert Burke and Gary Amirault in his Aug 23 post.
Did you not notice that David Larsen made 3 additional posts today Aug 24 answering your question about heresies, and did not once deny believing these heresies.
I would invite anyone who has any question about the truthfulness of what I wrote to go to Gary Amirault’s website and check it out for yourselves. That is what I did. You can too.
Don’t only read the article, “Christ’s Body Assembled in the New Day”, but go to the end of the article and click on the FAQ link.
There is nothing “Christian” about this website, and there is nothing “Christian” about anybody who believes its teachings or promotes or defends them either.
Judge for yourselves. The website is:
http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/christs-body.htm
Gary Simpson
ruth farley
Right on sister could not have said it better. In fact no one could have thank you.
Hey Gary
You have a link to Garys web site you better repent quick
somebody may believe you are not a christian.
The reason i am not talking about the things you keep bringing up is because on this web site that is the rules and i am going to stick to the rules while here. I made up my mind a long time ago i would try to be at peace with all men as much as possible and never kick out any or walk away from any who have been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. And that means you Gary no matter what you say we are one get use to it. It is like a marriage and will be forever. A lot of people have trouble after the honeymoon so i dont fault you for it you just dont know me very well. We have the rest of eterinty to grow on one another.
That will be fun dont you thinlk?
David Larsen wrote:
The reason i am not talking about the things you keep bringing up is because on this web site that is the rules and i am going to stick to the rules while here.
From the Forum (rules) John wrote:
There are a few things we just do not discuss here, that divide the body of Christ and cause the most arguing.
They are.
1. Teaching no Godhead/Trinity – We here believe God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to be the Divine part of the Godhead, One God in Three entities. Father Son and Holy Spirit.
2. Universalism – all go to heaven
3. No hell.
4. Claiming the Word of God is not all truth and in error.
From David Larson’s post of June 6, 2010 on The Washtub Vision he wrote:
As far as the doctrine of the trinity that you are talking about that is man made and to be found nowhere in the bible so why tell me about something that is never brought up by
Jesus or any of the apostles. Why dont you ask God Himself if he is three diffrent people. I have and i know what he said and that aint it. So why would i believe you and a bunch of others over the one who should know. You read scripture with your carnal mind and believe these things to be true. They simply are not.
http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/2010/06/05/the-washtub-vision-hollie-l-moody/comment-page-1/#comment-1745
Question for David Larsen and Robert Burke?
Why are you here at this site?
You know what the site rules are, and why they exist.
You know that this sight is composed of Christians who believe in the trinity,
a heaven for believers only,
a hell for unbelievers only,
and a bible that is the inspired word of God and without error.
You also know that you do not believe these things, but
no trinity,
universalism,
no hell,
a Bible filled with errors.
Don’t you believe that it is deceptive (from Satan) to pretend to be something that you are not?
Gary Simpson
Gary Simpson’s comment:
Gary
if you want to keep bringing up stuff just to stir the pot and the moderators think you are of the Spirit of Christ so be it.
I myself know what was said in the past and you seem to be the only one bringing it up at this point all i can say is you truly are not the spirit of love and forgivness as to what you really are i will leave that to those in charge. Can you do the same i doubt it.
All i can see about you is a very spite full and hate full person and any who think this is the Spirit of Christ need a overhaul.
One other thing John the moderator says these are things we dont discuss which i am not doing. You Gary are the one bringing them up. He did not say any and all who believe these things would be kicked off only those who discuss them which i am not doing nor will i do so why dont you just give it a rest.
Hi David (“David Larsen”),
In your response to your post addressed to me above all I can say again, as I posted above, is:
“David Larsen”, “Robert Burke” and “Gary Amirault” do you believe these heresies as Gary asserts in his post above?
If you, “Robert Burke” and “Gary Amirault” do not answer with an affirmative “no” then we, as participants on this forum, have to take your silence to be an affirmative “yes” in which case what I said in my post above, which I re-post again below, stands:
“If “David Larsen”, “Robert Burke” and “Gary Amirault” do believe the heresies which you purport then they are still in their sins and need to repent and believe the gospel…”
The Lord loves you David and is reaching out to you through me, please give us an affirmative “yes” or “no” answer to the question I asked you in my post above and in this response, All the best, Andrew
Hi Gary (“Gary Simpson”),
I’ve just gone back and checked out the website which you posted the link to above and clicked on the FAQ link and yes, there is an article there by “Gary Amirault” which is definitely heretical, teaching that there is no such thing as eternal (for ever and ever), conscious torment in the lake of fire in the presence of God’s wrath for the unbeliever contrary to the clear teaching of scripture…
Is “Gary Amirault” actually a poster on this forum? I don’t think, come to think of it, that I’ve ever seen a post by him but I have definitely seen posts by “David Larsen” and “Robert Burke”…
In my post above Gary I was not questioning “the truthfulness of what *you* wrote” but I was just wanting to give “David Larsen”, “Gary Amirault” and “Robert Burke” an opportunity to “confirm or deny” “the truthfulness of what you wrote”…
It does us all good to hear things “from the horses mouth” so to speak and also gives “David Larsen”, “Gary Amirault” and “Robert Burke” the “right of response”…
God Bless you brother and I want to make it abundantly clear to all on this forum that I support you 100% in your pursuit of faithfulness to the truth of scripture – all of it – in the power of the Holy Spirit – I too am pursuing this goal with my whole heart, I love you in the Lord, Andrew
You two guys make me laugh it is people like you that is the reason the churches are in the state they are in now.
You believe that you have all the truth and the way you see things is the way of God. There is no love in any thing you have to say you truly are white washed tombs and if any on this forum can not see that you are in need of salavation because it is clear to me that neither of you know the God and father of the Lord Jesus Christ your God is your own doctrines and your demented minds.
Do either of you happen to live in Salem Mass people like you are still on a witch hunt and just looking for others to follow your evil ways. Who has set either of you up as judges you are the ones who keep coming agaist the rules by your bullying and proding about things that are not suppose to be talked about on this forum. I would suggest both of you find something else to talk about and stick to the rules.
When we start looking for God to do some “New Thing”, some “thing” not revealed to us in
the scriptures, we are setting ourselves up for a strong delusion and giving place to the Devil! The
scriptures are clear – God has in these last days spoken to us through his son Jesus Christ. Since the
canon of scripture was completed with the inspired writings of the Apostles of our Lord, there has
not been, and will not be, any “new” revelation by God. The Bible makes this perfectly clear, with
warnings in the beginning, middle, and end of the scriptures – warnings against taking away from or
adding to the revelation of God to man contained in the Bible:
“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away
from it.” (Deut. 12:32 NKJV)
“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him; do not add to
His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6 NKJV)
“For I testify to everyone who heard the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds
to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes
away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of
Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev. 22:18-19 NKJV)
To these I could certainly add Isaiah’s admonition, “To the law and to the testimony! If they
do not speak according to this word it is because there is no light in them.” And many others.
The point is that if God gives any revelation to men today that revelation will line up perfectly with the
revelation He has already given “once for all” in His word. If it doesn’t then it is not from God. This
hunger for a “new thing” or “new revelation” reminds one of the pagan philosophers that Paul encountered
on Mars Hill, and the early Gnostic heretics:
“ For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either
to tell or to hear some new thing.” (Acts 17:21 NKJV)
R. C. Sproul writes:
The Gnostics were so called because of their view of revelation. The word gnosis is the
Greek word for knowledge. In many cases the Gnostic heretics did not make a frontal assault against
the apostles or against the apostolic teaching of scripture. In fact, many of them insisted that they
were genuine, Bible believing Christians. It wasn’t that they rejected the Bible; they just claimed an
additional source of knowledge or insight that was superior to or at least beyond the knowledge of
Scripture. The “gnostikoi” were “those in the know.” Their knowledge was not derived from
intellectual comprehension of Scripture or by empirical research, but was mystical, direct, and
immediate. God “revealed” private, intuitive insights to them that carried nothing less than divine
authority.
God is not giving any “new revelation” to men today. And neither is He doing any “new
thing” on the Earth. Any “thing”, any experience or knowledge that God has for his people will be
found in the scriptures. Any experience or knowledge that is not found among it’s pages is not for
God’s people. Yes, there are spiritual gifts, valid spiritual gifts – revelation gifts, like the word of
wisdom, the word of knowledge, and prophecy that I believe are just as valid for the Church today as
they were for the Church of the Apostles.
I have seen these gifts in operation in the Church, and have
experienced some of them myself and they are a beautiful thing both to behold and experience. Very
edifying. However, when the revelations that come through these gifts go beyond or contradict, or
add to or take away from the revelation of God contained in the Scriptures then they are nothing but
counterfeits. Experiences such as “slain in the spirit”, “holy laughter”, “drunkness in the spirit” and
most of the others that are coming with the so-called “revivals” at Toronto, Pensacola and other
places simply cannot be found anywhere in scripture. The leadership of these “revivals” know this
full well – and have stopped for the most part trying to defend them scripturally. Tricia Tillin writes:
John Wimber came from Quakerism. Is this why he has traces of the belief in the supremacy
of the inner revelation over and above the written word? In his book Power Evangelism Wimber
explains: “God uses our experiences to show us more fully what he teaches us in scripture, many
times toppling or altering elements of our theology and world view.” From Testing the Fruit of the
Vineyard, by John Goodwin (former pastor of the Calvary Chapel, San Jose [1990]) who traveled
extensively with John Wimber: “It is a common statement of Wimber’s that ‘God is greater than his
Word’. This means two things. First, that there is an essential truth in extra-biblical sources, and
secondly that the phenomena experienced by attendees of Vineyard seminars and church services do
not need to be validated by scripture. They could, according to Wimber, contradict God’s word and
still be ‘from the Lord.’”
If you can’t explain this out of the Bible than it’s not God.
Wayne, cutting and pasting other work is indicated by lack of justification in your above paragraphs. It’s just not cool, Wayno.
Also, if God wanted to do a new thing, would you allow it?
Or would you copy stuff from others, endlessly complaining against God’s newness?
Are you claiming to know everything without the need to study or to work hard in any way Robert Burke?
As stated many times before there is NO need to reinvent the wheel as the TRUTH of the WORD of GOD is unchangeable.
Faithfulness to this TRUTH is the test the HOLY SPIRIT is applying to the CHURCH. As in the days of Noah, ignorance and unfaithfulness are taking MOST people to hell.
Were you born with this knowledge of everything or is it a result of some special “anointing” that you are claiming? Do you associate with a special bredd of people who also claim to know everything without having to study or seek out the TRUTH in any way?
Are you one of the cutting edge of the new breed of christian leading the church into this “new thing” of God?
The uninformed are being deceived for want of knowledge and you attempt to belittle efforts to help people to understand the delusion which has over run the church.
What manner of wickedness would deny the uninformed the misinformed and those devoted to the false teachings of self appointed “anointed ones” any opportunity to learn the Truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
This means to work hard at knowing and understanding the truth NOT pretend that you know it all yourself because you are a special person with a “special anointing” that God has not made available to everybody who seeks it.
2 Timothy 3
The apostle foretells the rise of dangerous enemies to the gospel. (1-9) Proposes his own example to Timothy. (10-13) And exhorts him to continue in the doctrine he had learned from the Holy Scriptures. (14-17) This is the only way to remain faithful until the end.
Verses 1-9 Even in gospel times there would be perilous times; on account of persecution from without, still more on account of corruptions within the church and within the individula. Men love to gratify their own lusts, more than to please God and do their duty.
The gnostics even dared to challenge the authority of the Apostle Paul. They were so much more spiritual than him because they had “special” revelations to pass on to gullible “christians” who also wanted to go to the “next level.”
This is the level that satan offered Adam and Eve and Jesus Christ Himself and that must be rejected by all who will be saved from the coming judgement.
Only the very foolish or the extremely arrogant would dare to compete with the wisdom of the Word of God.
Those who would learn the things of God, and be assured of them, must know the Holy Scriptures, for they are the Divine revelation.
The age of children is the age to learn; and those who would get true learning, must get it out of the Scriptures. They must not lie by us neglected, seldom or never looked into. The Bible is a sure guide to eternal life. The prophets and apostles did not speak from themselves as the modern day imposters are doing.
There is something in the Scriptures suitable for every situation. Oh that we may love our Bibles more, and keep closer to them then shall we find benefit, and at last gain the happiness therein promised by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the main subject of both Testaments.
We best oppose error by promoting a solid knowledge of the word of truth; and the greatest kindness we can do to children, is to make them early to know the Bible.
ONLY THE TRUTH OF THE WORD OF GOD WILL ENABLE US TO WITHSTAND THE FALSE RELIGIONS MASQUERADING AS CHRISTIANITY IN THESE DANGEROUS DAYS BEFORE THE RETURN OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST FOR THE FAITHFUL.
The idea of God doing a new thing is, well, not new. He’s done it before, and the scriptures speak of it. The millenniel age is new, just as the age of grace was new in it’s time..watch for it or risk missing it..just as the suffering Messiah did not fit the image that man had in mind (and they had the scriptures too and studied them well, though without revelation), neither will this next new thing..
“As in the days of Noah, ignorance and unfaithfulness are taking MOST people to hell.”
Isn’t sin the reason people are sent to hell? There have been many saints throughout the ages who didn’t have a copy of the bible prior to the invention of the printing press and after, whose sandals most of us here are probably not fit to tie. They had nothing to bank on but Jesus, and I’d say He is sufficient.
Those that love the Lord are willing to risk His wrath, (read Esther, look at Jesus), because they know Him and He knows them – love “knows”, it’s one of love’s characteristics. Those that love God know that He is just and merciful. Those that only serve Him to save their own necks are not pleasing Him.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AND FAITHFULNESS TO THE WORD OF GOD MUST PREVAIL IF JESUS IS TO FIND EVEN A REMNANT OF FAITHFUL BELIEVERS ON HIS RETURN
Abel was prepared to humbly submit to the will of God and offered up the form of worship that God had stipulated. The superspirituals, however, are represented by Cain who also decided that he knew better than God and offered up his fruit platter instead only to be devastated when he was rejected by GOD.
FALSE TEACHING IS ALWAYS FALSE TEACHING – THE ONE TRUE GOD REQUIRES FAITHFULNESS NOT NOVELTY
THE DELUSION THAT GOD HAS SENT TO TEST FAITHFULNESS WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO THINK THAT GOD DOES NOT CARE ABOUT HOW THEY GO ABOUT DOING HIS WORK AND THAT SOMEHOW COMPROMISE WITH WHAT IS FALSE AND EVEN STRICTLY FORBIDDEN EQUATES TO “LOVE.” What a perversion this sickly form of love is in the eyes of MY HOLY GOD – THE TRUE GOD THE GOD WHO HAS GIVEN ME THE BIBLE TO LIVE BY AND NOT THE VAIN IMAGINATIONS OF ARROGANT MEN.
This sickly form of love is really a willingness to let people go to hell trapped in their false religions and superstitions so long as they add worship of the “anointed ones” to their religious activities.
Historically this was the basis of emperor and subsequently papal worship which is driving the usurper church towards the obscene acts of whoredom and the ever increasing levels of spiritual depravity we are witnessing today.
Satan offered Jesus Christ the kingdoms of the earth if HE would merely bow down and worship him. Jesus responded to this pivotal temptation with the teachings and the very words of scripture.
Occultic control over the lives of people is the primary motive behind calling this evil compromise with doctrines of demons “love” and is the foundation of ALL false religion.
As satan said to Eve in the garden of Eden – Did God really say that?
He then urged her to disobey what she clearly knew to be HIS revealed will by suggesting that disobedience to HIS revealed Will would actually enable them to be as God.
This is the basis of the “new” thing this delusion has brought to the church and what MUST be avoided at ANY cost by those who will be saved on the judgement day.
Those who know God and are humbly submitted to HIS WILL will, of course, have nothing to do with the HARLOT church and will be rewarded by HIM on the judgement day.
The arrogant who believe they know better than GOD HIMSELF and that GOD has somehow sent HIS HOLY SPIRIT to disprove HIS WORD thereby proving HIM to be a liar as satan has always tried to do will ignore the warnings HE has provided for our well being in the BIBLE and will be punished with eternal damnation.
The choice is clear for the pure in heart between the HOLY SPIRIT and the rampaging horde of demonic spirits that have overrun the church.
Tragically, however, only those humbly submitted to HIS WORD are able to see and accept the TRUTH.
FALSE anointings, FALSE teachings and the resultant demonic activity have obscured the vision of the “superspiritual wackos” who have usurped the leadership of the “christian church” and many deluded souls have accepted the teaching that they must follow these peole without question.
1 Cor. 12:7-10 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom, through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another the gift of faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to 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.”
Discerning of spirits is such a vital gift to the body of Christ. The enemy has gotten away with a lot of demonic manifestations in our church services because the gift of discerning of spirits was not functioning in the leadership.
This spiritual ignorance destroys the church when their eyes are not opened to the truth of God’s WORD. This clearly the case today.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the body of Christ today, and we must accept His gifts so that the church can prosper and function according to His purpose and plan.
Unfortunately the OCCULT has much greater entertainment value in the church today and has been used to pervert the GOSPEL to such an extent that it is largely unrecognisable from the BIBLICAL version that Jesus and the original Apostles taught.
The real Spiritual GIFTS MUST operate HIS way or they default to the occultic counterfeit which is ravaging the usurper church where personal “revelations” are allowed to assume greater credibility that the clear teachings of scripture and where occultic filth is presented as a “new thing” that God is doing. Church has become an occultic circus rather than the sanctuary for teaching and preaching the Word of God so that sincere believers might know what God requires of them.
Most of these “new things” actually as old as the garden of Eden itself have been specifically forbidden by GOD in his Word but only those faithful to HIS Word have an ear to Hear what the HOLY SPIRIT is really saying and reject these evil things outright.
Tragically for the deluded occultic filth will always be occultic filth. NO amount of worldly support will convince GOD to change HIS mind and make a “new thing” out of what HE has previously forbidden.
Acts 16:16-19 – Now it happened as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
The Lord revealed to Paul and his companions, by the discerning of spirits, that the slave girl in their midst was possessed with a spirit of divination.
What is the gift of discerning of spirits?
Discerning of spirits is the God-given ability to detect the presence of and the identity of spirits. It gives supernatural insight into the realm of “spirits.” It’s not just a discerning of devils or evil spirits, but a discerning of both good and evil spirits.
There are many voices speaking today. We must be able to discern which voice is the voice of the Holy Spirit. The enemy is very subtle in his tactics and wiles against Christians. He doesn’t come knocking on the door of our homes to introduce himself when we open the door. “Hey, how ya doing? I’m the devil and I’ve come to destroy your life!” He doesn’t operate like that. He often comes as an angel of light. He uses people to fulfill his evil purposes. This is why we must spend quality time in the presence of the Lord, hearing His voice, knowing His voice and responding to His voice. We must allow the gifts of His Spirit to operate and function in us.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today! They didn’t pass away with the original apostles. God is still moving, still healing, still performing miracles and still bringing deliverance to thousands of people! Our God is alive and well. He wants to use us in His Kingdom.
He URGES ALL who claim HIS name to get back to the Word of God, believe what it says and ignore the lies of the FALSE PROPHETS AND FALSE TEACHERS who have come to rob us of the prize that GOD has for those who persevere to the very end.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you – take on all of the spiritual armour that God has provided for us and we are able to resist all of this nonsense masquerading as christianity today and remain faithful to HIM.
Graciously HE has provided HIS HOLY SPIRIT to empower us to do so. We MUST honour HIM by accepting this unmerited grace before it is too late.
The prophetess Anna and the righteous Simeon recognized the Messiah when He was presented at the Temple by His parents as a baby, only because they had both been watching and waiting for Him (the Pharisees were preoccupied with everything but)…are you watching for the new thing God is about to do very soon, Wayne? Will you recognize Him when He comes? We will need to not be clinging to our preconceived ideas – imagine the humility of Anna and Simeon to recognize their mighty Messiah, the King of Kings, the Mighty God whose shoulders the government would be upon, in a mere gurgling baby, sucking his toes, born into the family of a humble subsistence carpenter!
(I’m NOT talking about the fleshly ‘new things’ the false church keeps going on about to justify every unbiblical thing that comes along.)
I guess the trick is to be watching and preparing for the new thing without losing the foundation of the old thing. The problem with the neo-charismatic group is that it has lost its moorings on the old thing, which is a springboard to the new.
Wayne at least no one can say you are unfaithful right or wrong you just keep on going and going. I have to take my hat off to you for that.
…he’s a regular Energizer bunny, just keeps beating that drum………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
;)
Hello again Andrew J Horton
I appreciate you so much as a true brother in Christ.
You are not led away by the cults which would encourage us to abandon the truth of God’s word and worship a different God, but reach out to them with the love of God
and
you are able to understand and experience the new covenant where the Lord Jesus lives within us in power by His Holy Spirit.
May God;s discernment, blessing and power be upon you, your family and ministry.
Gary Simpson
“All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the
royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, ‘Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal
dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?’ While the word was still in the king’s
mouth, a voice fell from heaven: ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from
you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall
make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules
in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.’ That very hour the word was fulfilled
concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the
dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.” (Dan 4:28-33 NKJV)
God judged Nebuchadnezzar because of his pride in the kingdom which he had built “for the honor of his majesty”. God is judging the Latter Rain church that is building a kingdom by its
pride – for it’s own honor and glory. (Rev. 17:1-6)
Like Nebuchadnezzar they are being debased like
animals. One can only hope and pray that like Nebuchadnezzar they will wake up and come to their senses
before it is too late. It certainly looks like it is time for judgement in the house of God.
“Babylon shall become a heap, A dwelling place for jackals, An astonishment and a hissing, Without
an inhabitant. They shall roar together like lions, They shall growl like lions’ whelps.” (Jer 51:37, 38
NKJV)
I am not saying that in every case the demonic is being manifested, although I certainly believe that
this is true in many cases. I believe that there is a tremendous amount of peer pressure to conform and
“manifest something” on the part of many participants. I’m sure much of this can be directly attributed to the
flesh. Some is probably produced intentionally to set the atmosphere for the manifestations:
Vicky Conroy [at Brownsville Assembly of God] says she was told to fake manifestations – physical demonstrations that the Holy Spirit had filled her body.
She says she came to her senses when she took what the revival leaders were saying – about how to pray, what
to say, how to act – and held that up to the light of her convictions and her deep knowledge of Biblical truth.
Clearly, the “anointing” passed on to the Vineyard from Rodney Howard-Browne is a sensuous, fleshly anointing. Pastor Bill Randles, in Weighed and Found Wanting writes:
Rodney Howard-Browne proceeds in the book to relate changes in his ministry after
that anointing with fire, while preaching in a Methodist church. I’ll let him tell it in his own
humorous way: “We were preaching in a Methodist church. I was back in the vestibule –
which is a holy name for a plain old office – preparing for service. One of the young
ladies came into the office and asked me to pray for her because she was in terrible
pain…I got my hand halfway to her head, almost like a gunslinger would draw a gun
out of a holster, and point it at his opponent. Suddenly, unexpectedly, it felt like my
fingertips came off. I felt a full volume of anointing flow out of my hand. The only way I
can explain it is to liken it to a fireman holding a fire hose with a full volume of water
flowing out of it. The anointing went right into her. It looked like someone had hit her in
the head with an invisible baseball bat and she fell to the floor…” On and on it goes.
Notice the sensuality of the testimony though. The fire of God courses through his body. It
shoots out of his fingers, like a gun, she gets hit by an invisible bat! The concept behind the
word sensual is not always referring to “sexual”. Sensual refers to the things pertaining to the
five physical senses. Rodney Howard-Browne has a very sensual ministry. The promise is
held out that you are going to be touched by God, you’re going to feel God, you’ll even get
drunk on the new wine! You’ll laugh, stagger, get stuck to the floor, and generally have an all
out good time! It’s “fun” going to these meetings.
It makes me wonder, since the results seem to be the same, what is the difference between a
Christian getting drunk at “Joel’s bar”, or walking in to a local saloon and getting drunk on scotch whiskey?
These two things are equal to each other and equal the same thing – sin.
Thank you Gary (“Gary Simpson”), that means a lot to me, I pray the same for you, your family and ministry, to all the fullness of God which He has for you all and your testimony, Praise You Father, in Jesus Name, Let the blessing of God be upon you all, in the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen
Unfortunately, we can expect this apostasy to continue to spread and grow worse until the Lord returns.
The spirit of Anti-Christ is growing increasingly more powerful and seductive and more and more churches are falling under its ecumenical Latter Rain spell.
As the “revivals” continue to spread there is going to be increasing pressure upon those of us who continue to stubbornly stand against them. As lying signs and wonders grow more and more powerful and as the claimed “salvations” increase they will put
more pressure upon us to “jump into the river”, accusing us of being “Pharisees with a religious Spirit” or
worse – “Anti-Christ”, if we continue to reject what they consider to be so great a move of God. “Look at
the sinners being saved! The lives changed! The fruit! The miracles, signs and wonders! How can you
continue to stand against this mighty move of God?” In what I am afraid is a sign of things to come, we read
in the same Charisma article of a local pastor who gave in to the pressure to embrace this counterfeit revival
as the real thing:
One local minister accused the pastor introducing latter rain teaching into his church of being a cult leader and labeled the church a cult.
He later apologized, “There has been too many converts for me to deny any longer this is a
move of God,” the minister said.
The Gnostic heretics of the first century gained many converts. So did the later Arian heretics. Did
this make their rising up within the midst of the church “moves of God”? No! The Holy Spirit is still the
Spirit of truth. Until our Lord returns, and we rise up to meet Him in the clouds at the rapture – let us
remember His admonition to the faithful Philadelphian Church:
“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall
come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast
what you have, that no one may take your crown.” (Rev 3:10,11 NKJV)
If you are participating in any of these Latter Rain revivals or churches today I urge you to turn back
to the Bible. Compare what you are hearing and seeing with what is recorded and portrayed in the scriptures.
“Test all things, hold fast to what is good.” Call the leadership into account for everything they say, or teach,
or do that does not line up with the word of God. If they refuse to repent – leave. Flee from the place and
don’t look back. “Remember Lot’s wife.” I know it can be hard to leave a church, especially if you have
family and close personal friends there. But if they will not hear you – leave them behind.
The Latter Rain prophets are right about one thing – doctrine divides. Truth separates the wheat from the chaff.
In the early Church the Apostles kept the deceivers and false apostles out. They did this by publicly identifying the heretics and warning the sheep of their false doctrines. Because of the diligence of the true apostles of our Lord, the false apostles and their followers were forced to leave the Church. The
Apostle John writes:
“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”
(1 John 2:18,19 NKJV)
Today we face just the opposite situation in that the false prophets and apostles are in the majority in many churches.
When they gain inroads into a church it’s more likely that only a minority will reject their false doctrines, revelations, and counterfeit “anointing” and stand on the Bible, being forced to go out from among the apostate majority.
Remember – “He who endures to the end shall be saved.”
“Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.”
ONLY FAITHFULNESS TO HIS WORD WILL CUT IT WITH GOD ON THE JUDGEMENT DAY