Worship What is our focus?

Worship

What is our focus?

“So here’s what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight.”

“The Message” 1 Cor. 14:26

“Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.”

“The Message” Eph. 5:17-20

“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”

“The Message” Col. 3:15-17

In the Old Covenant Congregation of Moses you had a prescribed Priesthood doing the entire ministry and then you had the laity the common folks who were the ones being ministered to. God designed for all His people to be priest unto Him (Ex. 19:5-6). There was a catch they had to “indeed obey His voice and keep His covenant” then according to His word “They would become to Him a kingdom of priest and a holy nation.” Truth is they did not obey His voice or keep His covenant and due to their fall He choose the tribe of Levi to be His priesthood for the nation (Num. 3:1-9; 25:10). God’s plan for His New Covenant Congregation is that all believers are to be priests unto God but somewhere down the line we strayed back into an Old Covenant way of doing business. Somewhere during the 2nd Century we had Christian leaders who begin to reorganize Church according to Old Covenant way of doing business. Thus today we find ourselves in almost every area of Christian worship plagued by this clergy laity split that Christ never designed nor desired for His Body. We’ll not go into this in detail but will say probably Ignatius of Antioch was the first to lead the church down this slippery slope to where we are today.

Part of the clergy laity split is the formation of what we call praise and worship teams with a whole new ministry of what we call praise and worship leaders. So on a typical Sunday morning we come to hear a professional preacher and listen to spit and polished praise and worship from praise and worship leaders trained in Bible Colleges along with his or her praise and worship team. Unfortunately far too often there is far too much emphasis in some churches as to what draws the most people; the highly refined message from the pulpit orator or the spit and polished performance from the worship team. You can hear it in many churches after the service wasn’t the worship wonderful or it could be didn’t the pastor bring us a lovely word, but far to often that’s their spiritual food for the week and next week they have to come back to the refueling station to get recharged. In the Old Covenant Congregation this was the way it was designed you had a men or group of men who stood between God and the people and today sadly enough we fallen back into that Old covenant pattern. We tell people not to get caught up in the Old Covenant legalism but how about Old Covenant worship styles?

In the verses I placed at the top of this little essay I believe we have the pattern set for worship in the First Century Church and what should be the standard for us today as well. When we come together pretty much everything is done for us by the professional staff or clergy. When they came together for worship in Paul’s day he told them; “When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight.” They all had something to contribute to the worship; a true picture of Christ’s Body functioning as it should. There wasn’t just one mouth talking and an audience of ears listening; everyone had a part. I believe Paul’s teaching in 1 Cor. 12-14; Ephesians 5; and Colossians 3 point us in that same direction.

Yes, it is true that Jesus gave as ascension or five fold ministry gifts but they were given to equip all the saints so they could fulfill their Kingdom mandates as “a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). Today five fold ministry is much more about equipping leaders than it is about equipping ALL the saints.

Sorry folks but personally I am tired of canned messages and well rehearsed worship. You can sound anointed but true anointing come from the Spirit not out of all of our well thought out rehearsed preparation. We say we must give our very best to God but that can become very legalistic; God doesn’t want our sacrifice He wants’ our hearts. I may not sound like a well polished preacher but do I have something to say from God or on the other hand people may want to leave, and usually do, when I begin to sing but is my song from the heart or did I learn it and polish it up just for the Sunday service? Coming back to the heart of worship and it’s ALL about Him.

Blessings

Come To Me

Come to Me

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
(Matt. 11:28-30)

Interesting that Jesus said “Come to Me” yet today even in Christian circles we find people running to all kinds of religion and religious activity and unfortunately not many running to Jesus. Jesus said so very simply “Come to Me.” He did not say to a church or a denomination not to some new or recycled religious movement He simply said “Come to Me.” The truth is man can never find rest in all his religious activities; true rest can be found only IN Christ.

If we are bringing men to religion; to some man made denomination then we can no longer quote “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Simply because when it becomes man made it then becomes very heavy and burdensome.

If you continue the thought of Christ on into chapter 12 you’ll find the religious leaders, the Pharisees, condemning the disciples of Jesus for grabbing a little snack off some grain stalks in a field they were passing through which according to their law and tradition they were not supposed to do on the Sabbath. However Jesus Who not only knew the letter of the law but also the Divine intent of the law corrected those legalist by going to the very root of what God desired and not legalistic compliance to a rigid set of rules. Jesus quoted to them from Hosea 6:6 to correct those who knew the rules but did not know the Ruler; “For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (See also Ps. 52:16-17)

The law was not given to reveal God; the law was not the heart of God. The law very simply to reveal to fallen man; “That through the works of the Law (religious activity) no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law come the Knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20)

Two Iranian Christian Women Still Held in Evin Prison

Two Iranian Christian Women Still Held in
Evin Prison

Maryam Rustampoor, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, were arrested and sent to Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. The two women did not rob a bank, kill a man or beat up someone.

Their crime? Loving Jesus. And it is for this reason alone they are still imprisoned.

In August during a court hearing, the two were questioned repeatedly about their faith. They were told to return to Islam.

“We love Jesus,” was their reply. Prosecutors asked the women, who had already spent five months in prison, if they regretted being Christians.

“We have no regrets,” they said. “We will not deny our faith.”

The judge sent them back to Evin Prison – notorious for its brutality – to “think about” their decision.

“We have already done our thinking,” they told him.

Maryam and Marzieh are among dozens of Iranian Christians arrested, detained or interrogated in Iran in recent months. The harassment is the radical Islamic government’s response to an Iranian revival that has thousands of Iranians coming to Christ each month.

The Voice of the Martyrs helps the Iranian church in many ways, including supporting gospel television broadcasts transmitted into Iran and printing Christian literature for distribution inside the country.

Putting God’s Move on our new carts

Been reading some of the new stuff coming out; new movement etc., etc. And personally I am troubled; it seems with every new movement we also have new Christian gurus who write books and articles and tell us how it should be done. Almost every time these so-cal…led God moves end up being side-tracked by men and become man putting the “Ark” on their new carts and doing with it what they purpose not what God desires. Let’s get our focus off men and movements and come back to the message of Paul; “Him we preach!”

The Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes

The Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes

In reflecting on Jesus’ teaching in what we call the Sermon on the Mount or The Beatitudes I think how utterly impossible it would seem for an unregenerate man, one who has never been born again, to understand much less live up to the teachings of Christ in Matthew 5-7. Yet, even those of us who are born again new creation Christians struggle with the words of Christ not only in this passage but in many other things He taught.

To many the teaching of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount becomes very legalistic and they become much like the Scribes and Pharisees in their efforts to keep them. To others who may have bought into greasy grace and simply never try, their rational Jesus accomplished this for us, we’re exempt it’s already been done accomplished for us. Their understanding of grace is far different than the grace the New Testament proclaims to us. They seem to feel because of his grace we can pretty much do and live the way we want to His grace covers us and we’re OK. Yet, there are also many who know and understand God’s Word and even have a valid understanding of New Testament grace yet we stumble over the words of Christ in these passages. We just never seem to be able to live up to the standard of life in the Kingdom or Kingdom culture that Christ’s sets forth for us in the Scriptures as well as in the life He lived for our supreme example.

Fortunately there is hope for us if we’ll grasp it. In Matt. 5:20 Jesus told His listeners “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.” We simply need to understand that their righteousness was a self righteousness based on their own efforts and achievements and not on the finished work of Christ. Then when we read the words of Paul the apostle to those who were believers; “We are the righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus” it should give us great hope to know our righteousness is not based on our efforts but only His finished work, it is done we are the righteousness of God IN Christ and that righteousness is worked out daily in our lives as we learn to yield to the life of the Spirit within us.

Jesus was not asking or telling His listeners to do the humanly impossible He was speaking of the standard of life in the Kingdom that is granted to all who are IN Christ. A standard of Kingdom life only accomplished by those who learn to overcome the flesh and all it’s cravings by learning to live their lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul taught us in Romans 8 that it’s by the Spirit we overcome the works of the flesh, and it’s those who are lead by the Spirit who are the sons of God. Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount was looking ahead to the potential all who are IN Christ have received by His act of obedience to the Father’s will not yielding to His own.

Is Obama really the problem????

Obama isn’t the problem we are

“The Lord the Most High God rules and He governs the affairs of me”

As believers we find it is God who sets in place all governing authority, therefore it would be wise for believers to stop complaining and being so critical of the man God set in office and start following Paul’s word to Timothy to pray for our elected official (Obama included) instead (Rom. 13:1-3; 1 Tim. 2:1-3). God even set pagan kings and rulers to first conquer His backslidden nation Israel and then to rule over her.

Check out Dan. 2:21; 4:17 to see how Daniel address this issue in his writings: “It is he who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings (presidents); He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.” That the Most High is Ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men.”

As one brother put it during the Clinton years God doesn’t always give us the leaders we want but He always gives us the leaders we deserve!

Another brother in reference to the ‘gates of hell” Jesus spoke of in Matt. 16:18 as being between our ears; and from what I’ve being seeing and hearing recently I for one believe he was right!

Jerry Sorrow <

Okinawa, Japan

Criminalizing Criticism of Islam

FYI!

OPINION

By ELIZABETH SAMSON
FROM TODAY’S WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE
September 10, 2008

There are strange happenings in the world of international jurisprudence that do not bode well for the future of free speech. In an unprecedented case, a Jordanian court is prosecuting 12 Europeans in an extraterritorial attempt to silence the debate on radical Islam.

The prosecutor general in Amman charged the 12 with blasphemy, demeaning Islam and Muslim feelings, and slandering and insulting the prophet Muhammad in violation of the Jordanian Penal Code. The charges are especially unusual because the alleged violations were not committed on Jordanian soil.

Among the defendants is the Danish cartoonist whose alleged crime was to draw in 2005 one of the Muhammad illustrations that instigators then used to spark Muslim riots around the world. His co-defendants include 10 editors of Danish newspapers that published the images. The 12th accused man is Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, who supposedly broke Jordanian law by releasing on the Web his recent film, “Fitna,” which tries to examine how the Quran inspires Islamic terrorism.

Jordan’s attempt at criminalizing free speech beyond its own borders wouldn’t be so serious if it were an isolated case. Unfortunately, it is part of a larger campaign to use the law and international forums to intimidate critics of militant Islam. For instance, in December the United Nations General Assembly passed the Resolution on Combating Defamation of Religions; the only religion mentioned by name was Islam. While such resolutions aren’t legally binding, national governments sometimes cite them as justification for legislation or other actions.

More worrying, the U.N. Human Rights Council in June said it would refrain from condemning human-rights abuses related to “a particular religion.” The ban applies to all religions, but it was prompted by Muslim countries that complained about linking Islamic law, Shariah, to such outrages as female genital mutilation and death by stoning for adulterers. This kind of self-censorship could prove dangerous for people suffering abuse, and it follows the council’s March decision to have its expert on free speech investigate individuals and the media for negative comments about Islam.

Given this trend, it’s worth taking a closer look at the Jordanian case.

The prosecutor is relying on a 2006 amendment to the Jordanian Justice Act that casts a worryingly wide net for such prosecution. Passed in response to the Danish cartoons incident, the law allows the prosecution of individuals whose actions affect the Jordanian people by “electronic means,” such as the Internet. The 2006 amendment, in theory, means anyone who publishes on the Internet could be subject to prosecution in Jordan. If the case against the 12 defendants is allowed to go forward, they will be the first but probably not the last Westerners to be hit by Jordan’s law.

Amman has already requested that Interpol apprehend Mr. Wilders and the Danes and bring them to stand before its court for an act that is not a crime in their home countries. To the contrary. Dutch prosecutors said in July that although some of Mr. Wilders’s statements may be offensive, they are protected under Dutch free-speech legislation. Likewise, Danish law protects the rights of the Danish cartoonists and newspapers to express their views.

Neither Denmark nor the Netherlands will turn over its citizens to Interpol, as the premise of Jordan’s extradition request is an affront to the very principles that define democracies. It is thus unlikely that any Western country would do so, either. But there is no guarantee for the defendants’ protection if they travel to countries that are more sympathetic to the Jordanian court.

Unless democratic countries stand up to this challenge to free speech, other nations may be emboldened to follow the Jordanian example. Kangaroo courts across the globe will be ready to charge free people with obscure violations of other societies’ norms and customs, and send Interpol to bring them to stand trial in frivolous litigation.

 A new form of forum shopping would soon take root. Activists would be able to choose countries whose laws and policies are informed by their religious values to prosecute critical voices in other countries. The case before the Jordanian court is not just about Mr. Wilders and the Danes. It is about the subjugation of Western standards of free speech to fear and coercion by foreign courts.

Ms. Samson, an attorney specializing in international and constitutional law, will join the Hudson Institute this fall.

See all of today’s editorials and op-eds, plus video commentary, on Opinion Journal.

Joe Cook does a commercial!! Excellent!

The DEPRESSION HAS BEGUN -by Andrew Strom.

Your thoughts on this prophetic word by Andrew Strom. Is Andrew right on or has he missed it?

The DEPRESSION HAS BEGUN
-by Andrew Strom.

Ten months ago in November 2007 while preaching in Wisconsin
USA, I felt a strong unction from the Holy Spirit to speak about
the future of the United States and the imminent Crash. As often
happens under that kind of anointing, a real boldness came over
me, and for the first time I found myself clearly putting a “date”
on the coming financial Depression – something I had never done
before – except in the vaguest of terms. I found myself predicting
that tragically within six months America would be in Recession,
and within 12 months the actual Depression would begin.
(-This audio is on our website – http://www.revivalschool.com )

So let us look at the evidence. It is now ten months later. Has the
Depression begun? Sadly the answer has to be “Yes”. In the last
two weeks the two largest mortgage giants in the world (Fannie
Mae & Freddie Mac) failed, the largest Insurance Company on earth
crashed (all taken over by the US Government), Lehman Brothers
went bankrupt (almost taking the entire financial system with it),
Money Markets reeled, the two remaining giant Investment banks
sought protection as “holding banks” – which means the end of
Wall Street as we know it, etc, etc. Stocks are in turmoil, Oil leapt
on Monday by the most ever recorded, gold is volatile – and on it
goes. -The most shattering two weeks since the Great Depression.
Meanwhile the US Treasury is seeking 700 billion dollars in a
forlorn effort to put Humpty back together again – tragically too late.

THERE ARE “JONAHS” on THE BOAT

Why is this storm hitting America at this time? There are certainly
many reasons – most of which we have discussed before. But let
me put something else before you that I believe God spoke to me
not long ago:- There are “Jonahs” on the boat – and they are
sending the nation down.

Who are these Jonahs? I believe they are the “prophets” of America
who will not preach the truth – who sleep comfortably in the bowels
of the nation while chaos reigns all around them. Too afraid to
deliver God’s word ‘Repent’, they run the other way – toward smooth
talk and pleasant sayings – “Peace peace” when there is no peace.
And the depths of this great crisis can be laid directly at their door.

Yes – that’s right. A big reason why the ship of America is sinking
is because her prophets ran away from their God-given task and
message at the crucial moment.

If only these prophets had preached the TRUTH when the nation
so desperately needed to hear it. If only they had begun – way
back in the 1980’s – to call the lukewarm church to repentance,
to rebuke the people for their love of money, their greed, their sin.
But no – the siren call of “popularity” was too strong. The call of
“grace, grace”, of mass acceptance, of big reputations and even
bigger offerings. And so they sold out. And now they sleep bliss-
fully in the midst of the ship, while the storm whips to fury all
around. How do you sleep, O Jonahs, who would not cry “Repent”?

And it is not just the “prophets” either. It is the televangelists too.
Caught up in a world of fakery, hype and money-grubbing unseen
in the church since the Dark Ages, these hucksters are spreading
their garbage to every Third World Revival nation around the globe.
Greed, manipulation and pride on a scale that only America could
generate. Where is your shame, O charlatans of greed?

And so God is forced to act. And just like Jonah, the storm will
not abate until the wayward preachers are thrown overboard. Until
America is rid of these international thieves and prostitutes, she
is finished. And she will not recover until they are gone.

You see, it is not just the leaders who are at fault here. It is also
the people, who “love to have it so”. And thus until the heart of the
people is scourged and purged they will accomodate the “Jonahs” -
even seeking more of their ear-tickling fables to comfort themselves
in this time of breaking.

Until the heart of American greed is shattered – until her people
act of their own volition to throw these Jonahs overboard – this
storm will go on and on. In fact, it is about to grow a whole lot worse.

Mark my words, America: Until you remove these Jonahs, your
nation cannot recover. They have held the whole world in thrall by
their apostasy. And God cannot have it so any more. How long will
it take you to realize? How long will it take you to act?

THROW THE JONAHS OVERBOARD and be done with them!!
Only then will this mother of all storms subside.

-Comments welcome. -Send to- prophetic@revivalschool.com

Two Visions given in 1997 about the economy!

As the Body of Christ we are not to despise prophecy rather we are to judge prophecy. I present to you two visions one given in mid 1997 and the other in late 1997. What do you think? Are these two prophetic visions accurate or what?

Let me know your thoughts whether you agree or disagree. As one living in the nations I can certainly see the effects of America’s economic woes here in Japan, and the panic it has caused those in international based business such as the auto industry.

Blessings from Okinawa, Japan
Ginowan 777

(1) VISION – ECONOMY on LIFE SUPPORT
- by Bryan Hupperts. (Nov 3, 1997)

I wanted to write and share a vision I had several years ago…

The Lord showed me a body laying on a bed in a hospital setting.
The patient was named The Economy. His chart was at the foot
of his bed and the lines on the graphs seemed to be marked by
sharp up and down turns.

He was breathing “falsely”. He was surrounded by many specialists
who were doing many things to keep him alive. He was totally on
artificial life support. Just then, the Chief Physician came in,
looked at the patient, and declared, “This patient is dead. Let that
which is dead die.” With his own finger, he threw the switch to cut
off the life support.

The Economy heaved, gasped, and died horribly.

End.

I believe that we are headed for a global meltdown of the world
economy. This will bring chaos and ruin but will strip people of
their false god of money and many souls will be brought to Christ.

If we are walking in obedience to the Lord, we have nothing to fear.
Ask the Lord for wisdom to get your economic house in order.
Seek first the kingdom of God, And his righteousness, and all
these things (materials needs) will be added unto you.
[~ www.sheeptrax.com ]
————————————–
(2) VISION:- Two BLACK MONDAYS
- by Harold Eatmon. (1997).

“…In my last article I mentioned a vision of the Stock Market’s
‘Big Board’ having serious upcoming problems. I saw the Stock
Market soar and then crash. After the crash, many big business
corporations and private parties bought up stocks because of the
low cost to buy in. Then I saw the market begin to climb again
in a short period of time. Then it crashed again bringing tremendous
loss, ruin, and devastation to all who bought in the first time.
This is what I have labeled “Two Black Mondays.” The time period
between the Two Black Mondays was very close together. I could
not tell exactly how close. It could be a couple of days to a
couple of months. There are some tell-tale signs indicating the
season and the setting. *I saw the season to be when ‘the leaves
fall to the ground’ then the first crash would occur.* I also saw
the Yen and Mark fall dramatically just before this sudden and
inexplicable crash. Like Joseph in Genesis, I believe America
will have fat years of financial blessing. I also believe there
are coming lean years of financial difficulty for America.
I do not believe God is showing this so people can beat the game
financially. I rather believe He is saying keep your eyes on
eternal things. Store up treasures in Heaven.”

~The Trumpeter Journal, mid-1997.
Harold Eatmon Ministries, Int’l
PO Box 48402
Minneapolis, MN 55448, USA.

Implications of Same Sex Marriage, do we want to pay this price?

Check of the following link to see some implications of same sex marriage and ask yourself as a father or mother am I will to pay this price, to be politically correect?

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815820715?bctid=1822459319

This should be an eye opener to us as to the way our nation is going. The Church in America has no one to blame but ourselves. Our lack of prayer and proclamation of God’s eternal Kingdom truths has brought our nation to this point, not our politics. We much like Adam in the garden gave up our God given authority and allowed satan’s crowd to take the reigns, NOW is the time to humble ourselves before a Mighty God; repent of our ways and take back what is rightfully ours IN Christ. The earth is the Lord’s not the devil’s; if that is true then as joint-heirs with Christ we should take back what He has accomplished for us IN His definitive Victory at the cross and IN His resurrection.

God has given us the definitive Victory IN Christ (1 Cor. 15:57). We don’t have to run here and there trying to defeat the devil at every turn. In Christ the devil has been cast down. We in turn have been raised up with God the Father IN Christ Jesus (Eph. 2: 5-6). This is past tense; meaning that it is a done deal not someday will be. Let’s begin to see from our place IN Christ and take a stand for what is right in God’s sight. Let us not give in to satan and his crowd and lose another generation of young people to the homosexual gay rights crowd.

Ginowan777 <><

Please pray for the believers in India

Please pray for the believers in India .  This is an email from a YWAM (Youth With A Mission ) Missionary in India and has been forwarded to us for prayer.

Pastors Dave & Gloria White

From: Mark Wold <Mark.Wold@efca.org> Sorry to send out another email so quickly, but this is an urgent prayer request that just arrived from some YWAM leaders in India , that needs immediate attention. Thank you. “We have never seen anything like this.  We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned.  And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work.  But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kin d of carnage…. And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media …. Let me explain…. A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and ‘reconverting’ people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in   Central Orissa last weekend.  Immediately the Christians were blamed.  The cry rose up…’Kill the Christians!’  And the horror began…. In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered.  For no other reason than they bea r the name of Christ. Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa… they are right in the middle of all this chaos.  In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc.  They have promised to come back and ‘finish the job.’  Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past three days.  It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection.  In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate.  No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging.  As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building.  We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace.  In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions.  The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area.  So they left. We had favor.  The same thing happened in Balasore. All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside.  The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill.  Others were not so fortunate.  In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death.  Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road…. even women and children.  At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind.  Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said:  ’We stay with our kids…. we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.’  More tha n 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace.  But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days…. supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest.  Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed.  Many more churches will be smashed down.  The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down.  We ask for your prayers.  Only the Hand of God can calm this storm.  None of us know the meaning of persecution.  But now our kids and staff know what that means.  So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them.  So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times. < /SPAN> Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children.  Orissa will be saved… that is our heart’s cry.  If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region.  It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.  What can you do?  First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer.  Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can.  We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning.  We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom.  The next 10 days are crucial.   We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa….Prayer works!”                                                             Chip & Sandy Wanner, Team Facilitators to YWAM frontlines  Mark & Marilyn Wold ReachGlobal Church Health 760-406-3506 Mark.Wold@efca.org

 

A King after God’s Own Heart; not always

A King after God’s Own Heart

Not Always

 

Jesus of Nazareth hasn’t left the throne, nor will He after November’s elections. Our God still rules and will always govern the affairs of men.

 

This was the message of the First Century Church, and it should be our message also. We need to stop preaching give Jesus a try and preach God has commanded “All people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).

 

Again I say Jesus of Nazareth hasn’t left the throne, nor will He after November’s elections. Our God still rules and will always govern the affairs of men. God has always had a Kingdom He has always been the King. Sometimes He has allowed certain men to be kings and rulers over the other kings or nations of the earth that is His prerogative and sometimes the one He chooses certainly don’t live up to the expectations of man. Jesus certainly didn’t live up to the expectations of the Jews of his day who wanted an earthly political kingdom with a king like David who would defeat the Romans and restore their once prestigious kingdom.

 

In Samuel’s day the nation wanted a king to protect them from all the nations who surrounded them. The problem wasn’t in desiring a king the problem was not in waiting for the Lord’s timing. God had long ago promised them a King who would rise up from the tribe of Judah, He never promised a Saul who would come out of the tribe of Benjamin. But because they insisted on a king who would meet their expectations for that time He gave them a Saul. It wasn’t quite time for David yet and perhaps the Lord wanted them to experience the consequence of their own desires. Then when the time was right God brought forth David a man after His own heart but even Samuel the great Old Testament prophet was fooled because he judged the sons of Jesse by outward observance he couldn’t see their hearts. God could and true to the prophetic word spoken through Jacob so many years earlier God brought forth a king out of Judah (Gen. 49:8-12). For those who believe God didn’t want Israel to have a King remember that for Jesus to come from a kingly lineage there first had to be a David, and then there could come forth One later who would sit upon his throne (exalted throne) as King of kings and as Lord of lords (Acts 2:29-36).

 

God gave them a Saul but in just a few more years the timing for David would have been right. Saul could not have been the king God truly desired for Israel because as I mentioned earlier God’s promise was not for a king to come from the tribe of Benjamin but from Judah, so what happened? The problem started with Judah’s two sons Er and Onan who sinned and God literally killed them both.  So Judah promised Tamar who had been the wife of both Judah’s sons that when his son Shelah grows up she would become his wife, but secretly Judah was afraid God would slay him also so he was not faithful in his promise to Tamar. So Tamar waited and when Judah did not live up to his word, she tricked him into having intercourse with her and she conceived and brought forth twins through that out of wedlock encounter (Gen. 38). From one of those twins, Perez, we can trace the genealogy of Christ in Matt. 1:3; of interest in our little study here is the fact that if you trace from Judah’s son Perez through to king David you would find there are ten generations. The reason that becomes important is found in Deut. 23:2 in a little know commandment that God gave Moses concerning bastard or illegitimate sons. Anyone from the tribe of Judah who came through the lineage of Judah’s brief episode with Tamar would fit into that category and would thus be excluded from holding any office in the nation of Israel, but David who was in the tenth generation would now be eligible. So even though the nation wanted a king before its time God’s plan His divine purpose from the beginning could not be thwarted. At exactly the right time in history God brought forth His King from the tribe of Judah.

 

God has never failed to have a man or woman for accomplishing His purpose in the earth realm and sometimes His choices might surprise us! God chooses Abraham and Sarah to father a nation in their old age; long past their child bearing years. Later God choose Moses and when Moses was at the prime of life and ready to lead (or so he thought) the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage God humbled him and sent him into the desert for 40 years of real training. God later takes a Gideon who had been hiding in a wine press to deliver His people Israel and then after that God takes Samson a womanizer who doesn’t always appear to be too bright to deliver his people. God makes choices throughout the Scriptures that we would probably never make.

 

We have already looked at the timing of David’s rise to fame but have we looked closely to see and learn from the lesson God taught His prophet Samuel is all of this? Samuel even though he was a prophet used of the Lord from his youth was still a man and in many ways thought like many of us do today and was swayed by the outward appearance of things and not always seeing things or people the way God sees. We see that in his words concerning Saul the Benjamite; “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” The people must have agreed because they all shouted and said, “Long live the king!” You would think Samuel would learn through his experiences with Saul that outward appearance a king does not make one a king. With all of his height and seemingly good looks Saul made Israel a lousy king, because his heart was not right toward the Lord. In fact we find that Saul was really the king of the people, the one they choose but he was certainly not the King that God desired for His nation (1 Sam. 12:12-13).

 

Later when Saul has shown his total lack of ability to be the king over God’s chosen people Samuel tells Saul that God has rejected him from being king and that He would give the kingdom to one who was better than him (1 Sam. 15: 10-35). So what happens when Samuel goes to Bethlehem to anoint the king that God desires for His people; he looks at Eliab David’s older brother and thinks, “surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But God corrects Samuel on his thinking telling him; “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

 

David with all his imperfections was no Mr. Goody Two Shoes, or simply put Mr. Nice Guy, he’d kill you in a heart beat if it would serve his political purpose and he’d steal your wife if you weren’t careful, but and it’s a very big BUT David was a man who although he could get into a world of flesh knew how to repent and get right with God. Later we find Solomon David’s son through David’s little indiscretion with Bathsheba did not have the same heart of repentance and even though God protected him for David’s sake his reign was the beginning of the end for the nation of Israel. It is of great interest to note that both David and Solomon both disregarded the commandment that God had given earlier concerning kings in Deut. 17:16-20; especially the part concerning multiplying horses, wives, and silver and gold. If you take the time and read 1 Kings 10:14-29 you’ll see how this especially applied to Solomon. In fact the very first time at 666 appears in the Bible is in reference to Solomon. The man who started off his rule with such great promise actually turned from God and instead of being a godly king became the ruler of a beastly kingdom. When you read 1 Kings 11:4-12 you see where his heart was turned away from God and that he did not observe what the Lord had commanded him; as a result after he died and the kingdom went to his son Rehoboam the nation started to unravel.

 

The interesting part is that it was God who set all this up even before Solomon died. In 1 Kings 11: 14-40 we find God begins to raise up adversaries against Solomon even sending His prophet Ahijah to commission Jeroboam as the king over Israel in opposition to Solomon’s sons that followed. God gave Jeroboam ten tribes and a conditional promise “IF You will obey Me;” which if you’ve read your Bible you know he didn’t obey God and if you search it out; even with God’s promise he immediately set up two golden calves for the people to worship (1 Kings 12:25-33). Sadly enough it just got worse as you study the kings of the Northern Kingdom in the years that followed. Yet, according to God’s word He is the One who sets those in authority in place; it would seem the nation continually got the leaders they deserved. Again sadly enough it wasn’t much better for the Southern Kingdom although a godly king would occasionally arise the nation really never experienced a really heart felt revival; the Word says they worship Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me (Ps. 78:36-37; Is. 29:13; Matt. 15:7-9). Jesus told His own disciples just as the Father told Samuel; “That He knew what was in the heart of men.”

 

It is also of great interest at least to me that some of the Gentile/pagan kings that rose up God called some of them king of kings or His anointed and actually granted them kingdoms that ruled over all the know world of their day. One of these was Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:37) and later God called Cyrus a Pagan king His anointed (Is. 45:1). From the beginning of His creation until now God has used whomsoever He willed to accomplish His purpose or as Daniel put it; “That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind. And bestows it on who He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan. 4:17).

 

Many today have thought that in, what many are calling, the last days that a one world government led by some super powerful antichrist would rise up, but if we properly understand Daniel’s prophecy we would know that the four great one world governments spoken of by Daniel have come and gone the last was the Roman empire which in its day encompassed the previous three Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. In the time of the Roman Empire God DID set up a Kingdom which will never destroyed; a Kingdom that crushed and put and end to all previous one world governments, but this Kingdom God said; “Will endure forever!” (Dan. 2:36-45). Jesus is the NOW reigning King of kings the NOW reigning Lord of lords there will be no other great one world power that will ever again rise up no matter what some prophecy book might tell you; IT JUST AIN’T SO. Jesus ascended to the Right Hand of Majesty and according to David it was at His Resurrection that He received His Kingdom (Acts 2:29-36).

 

How does this affect us today? It makes no difference who the next president of the United States will be Obama or McCain, Jesus is still on the Throne and forever will be. He makes choice and sets in places of authority whosoever He pleases. It’s His decision.  Romans 13:1 spells that out for us very clearly that “There is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” We are never called to complain or criticize those that God sets in but we are called to pray for them. When Israel was dispersed to Babylon they were not to curse the nation but rather to pray to the Lord for Babylon’s welfare for her peace (Jer. 29:7). The Rev. Jeremiah Wright was clearly wrong when he proclaimed God damn America and not God bless America!

 

Does this mean I don’t think we should vote? No, I personally think each of us has to vote as we see fit. I don’t think voting strictly party line will accomplish much and I think at this point in the game neither one of the two candidates running for president have the qualifications I would desire to see in a president. I know Christians who strongly dislike McCain on the war issue and his past relationship with Bush and on the other side of the coin there are those who strongly dislike Obama for many reasons, the abortion issue would probably top the bill with the homosexual issue running a very close second. But no matter which candidate we vote for it doesn’t change the fact that our next president is appointed by God, unless of course Paul missed it and Romans 13:1 is wrong. If Romans 13:1 is wrong then apparently Daniel was also wrong in Dan. 4:17.

 

If you read carefully Old Testament Scriptures you’ll find that many times God set up leaders over nations knowing exactly what the outcome would be. Saul was a good example the people wanted a king God gave them one; He gave them Saul. If they would have waited and stayed in obedience to God and heeded Samuel’s warning the day would have come when God would have given them His choice for king, and eventually after Saul’s dismal failure He did. But of course all these Old Testament kings were but types and shadows of the True King of kings and Lord of lords who was to come.

 

Today America has a King but due to the Churches lack of relevance in American society not many people take note of us or of what we say. In fact many if not most of American believers don’t even know that Jesus is the NOW reigning King, due to our wrong mindsets concerning the Kingdom of God and its timing most have put off the thought of the Kingdom of God until the Second coming. We’ve failed to heed the command of Christ to his disciples to preach the Kingdom and have instead preached the someday Kingdom, therefore much of our authority our ability to change nations has been stripped away from us.  We’ve mistakenly thought the Kingdom and the Covenants were for Israel and the Church somehow was just a parenthesis in God’s timeline for Israel; therefore we have habitually aimed low and the results we obtained little of what the Lord so greatly desires for us His Church.

 

The words the message we preach makes a difference, in Ephesus it was the “Word of the Lord that grew mightily and prevailed” (Acts 19:20). What was the word preached? The word Jesus preached throughout Israel was the message of the Kingdom, the word He commanded His disciples to teach was again the Kingdom of God. Jesus started the book of Acts instructing His disciples concerning the Kingdom and Paul finished up the Book of Acts in the last chapter the last verse “Preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered” (Lk. 4:43, 9:2;Acts 1:3, 28:31).

 

Do we know that according to Ps. 2:1-12 that Jesus the Anointed One of God was proclaimed King at His resurrection and the kings of the earth are to pay homage to Him, they are to worship Him kissing the son least they perish (Acts 2:29-36, 13:33; Heb. 5:5). If we aren’t preaching the message of the First Century apostles then we aren’t obeying Christ and our impact on our world will be considerably lessened, in fact with our weak watered down version of the gospel preached in many circles today we have castrated ourselves thus leaving us unable to bring forth Kingdom seed and accomplish God’s purpose. The reason America and the nations are in the sad state of affairs they’re in today is not political; its us. Like Pogo the Possum once said; “I have met the enemy and he is us!” Or as one brother put it the “gates of hell” is between our ears! We don’t believe the Gospel of the Kingdom as it was preached by Jesus and the First Century Church and we’ve bought into another gospel which is no good news at all; in fact it puts the good new of Christ’s Kingdom off to someday in the future.

 

If we really want to change America and the nations it’s not our vote in November that will make the difference and all our prayer meetings will accomplish us little it we don’t put feet to our prayers. The simple truth is our prayer should be just as Jesus told His disciples “Our Father who is in heaven HOLY is Your name, Your Kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and quit telling Him who we think the next president should be. What’s happening now and will continue to happen in America and in the nations is God is tipping the bottles of a complacent Church and nations that have literally turned their backs on God with their liberal agendas (Jer. 48:11-12).  Rick Goodwin once said concerning this very issue back in the Clinton years; “God gives us the president we deserve” but because God gives us our presidents and government leaders we should never condemn them or complain about them, “We should pray for them” (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Tim. 2:1-3).

 

I like what I saw recently on a website; “No matter who wins the November elections, Jesus Christ will not step down of His throne in protest.” He still rules; it is the Lord Jesus who governs the affairs of men. It is important for us to come back to teaching what Jesus commanded; it is only those who are built on the rock solid foundation of the Kingdom message who will endure and bring forth fruit. Do you know that when Jesus explained the parable of the sower in Matt. 13:19 He called the seed that was sown “The word of the Kingdom?” It is only those who hear this word and understand it; who will bring forth fruit. These are the ones who will endure the shaking that not only America but also the nations are going through at this time; they are the ones built on the foundation of Kingdom teaching they will stand while everything, everyone who has built on anything less will fall (Matt. 7:24-29; Heb. 12:25-29).

 

We don’t need anymore apostolic or prophetic seminars; we need a revival of the Truth of God’s Word; a return to the message of the First Century Church, nothing less will do. If we mix the message of the Kingdom with our fervent heartfelt prayers for a God move then we will find that God’s word will not return empty or void. We must preach it; proclaim it from every housetop until all the earth is filled with the knowledge of our glorious God. It was by the proclamation of the ever-increasing word that pagan Ephesus and all of Asia was evangelized and by the same word every stronghold of hell over our cities and nations can still today be broken.

 

Some quotes to consider:

“Folks, it’s getting late and it’s getting serious.” – David Wilkerson

 

“Are we not told to seek first the Kingdom of God — not the
means to advance it — and that ‘all these things’ shall be added
to us? Such promises are surely sufficient.” – Hudson Taylor If we preach the message of the First Century believers Jesus will add to His Church just as He did for them.

 

“Now, if the church ever recovers the power to break up demonism
in the community, it will bring down the wrath of evil and the
church may land in jail, but she’ll learn how to sing in prison, pray
down an earthquake. Folks are asking “Will the church go
underground?” Well, she may develop more power underground
than she’s got above ground these days. We’re not going to pray
down earth quakes in committee meetings, sipping coffee and
reading the minutes of the last meeting.” – Vance Havner

 

Our Identification with Christ

Check out my podcast at http://www.himwepreach.podomatic.com. This is a good reminder of who we are and what the Father has accomplished in us and for us IN Christ. Download and play it over until it becomes reality to you. It will change the way the way you think.

Blessings

Ginowan777 <><

Our Victory IN Christ

Hi! Check out my podcast Our Victory IN Christ

“For IN Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and IN Him you have been made complete, and He is The Head over ALL rule and authority.” (Col. 2:9-10) Everything I post here was freely given to me and I in turn freely give it to the Body of Christ. Listen in and enjoy.

http://www.himwepreach.podomatic.com

CHRIST is still on the Throne!

The election has come and gone; Obama is president as everyone suspected he would be and our Lord Jesus still reigns.

Many Christians are worried about what is to come but as I said before Christ still reigns and His Church, the one He’s building, will prosper no what state America or the world is in. When I say prosper I am not speaking of pockets full of money. I speak of the prosperity that is ours IN Christ (Eph. 1:3; Col. 2:1-3; 2 Pet. 1:2-4). The true riches are found in our revelation of Him, not in the size or beauty of the buildings we meet in. Believers in China and other nations facing daily persecution for the Gospel’s sake know this to be true. As Western believers many of us do not understand this concept. To those brought up on prosperity teaching the believers in China, India, Indonesia, and other anti-Christian nations would seem to be cursed because of their outward poverty. But the truth is that in Christ’s eyes they are blessed (Rev. 2:8-11).

Maybe it is in God’s timing for the Church in America to learn the lesson of the persecuted Church. Christ is now stripping away all that is artificial and man-made to establish and show to the world those that belong to Him. We think the glory of God is revealed in our wonderful buildings and our charismatic meetings but the real glory is as we bear fruit for the Father; then He receives glory and His glory is then revealed in us. Don’t be fooled for one minute thinking that big and beautiful buildings or large charismatic meeting are a sign of God’s blessings upon His Church. The true sign of Kingdom blessing is righteousness, peace, and joy in the lives of believers no matter what they endure (Rom. 14:17). The world will see Christ IN us as we endure the shaking that has come upon the nations; that whenever everything around us seems to be collapsing that His people stand (Lk. 6:46-49). The world will learn from us that our confidence is not found in our bank accounts or our stocks and bonds but IN Him alone. He is our financier and IN Him alone is our true provision found. The Lord our provider indwells His people!

All that is built on Christ alone will stand the fire of His testing; ALL that man has built will perish in the rubbish heap of wasted endeavors!

http://www.himwepreach.podomatic.com

CHINA violates Human Rights

DAY 50: Gao Zhisheng Held Hostage
CHINA AID Voice of the Martyrs

Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng, has now been missing 50 days, and there is increasing concern for his life. He was last seen being hauled away from his home by more than a dozen police officers on February 4. Reports from inside China indicate he is undergoing brutal torture.

The situation is critical, and with each day that passes, Gao Zhisheng’s life hangs in the balance.

Because of Gao’s work defending house church Christians and others persecuted in China, the Chinese government wants to silence his voice. ChinaAid president, Bob Fu calls Gao’s torture “the most severe persecution in China’s modern history.” Gao’s wife and two children, who have also been abused and tormented by the police, escaped to the U.S. less than two weeks ago. His family is afraid that authorities, furious at their escape, are taking revenge on Gao.

ChinaAid and The Voice of the Martyrs, together with Gao Zhisheng’s wife and children, call on all Christians and those who value human dignity and justice to speak out on Gao Zhisheng’s behalf by signing a petition to free Gao.

» Sign the petition at www.FreeGao.com

IN GOD WE TRUST!

True….and so sad!

Here is one that needs some forwarding to others and is all too true.

A dog had followed his owner to school. His owner was a fourth grader at a public elementary school. However, when the bell rang, the dog sidled inside the building and made it all the way to the child’s classroom before a teacher noticed and shooed him outside, closing the door behind him. The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors. Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said,

‘Don’t feel bad fella’…they won’t let ME in either’.

IN GOD WE TRUST!!

I totally agree God has not appointed believers to incur His wrath!

God has not appointed us for wrath

“For God has not appointed us (believers) [to incur] His wrath.” 1 Thess. 5:9

For years I was taught this meant that Christians would not have to go through the ‘Great Tribulation’ that we used to believe was somewhere out ahead of us. We were told, especially those of us in the west, that before tribulation would come we would be raptured up and out of here. We even held rapture practice in one of our little Charismatic assemblies whenever one certain traveling evangelist would pay us a visit. Many of the teachers of that time would spend all of their and our time teaching on the rapture and doing everything to prove their pre-tribulation rapture teaching was true, and woe to the soul that would dare disagree with them.

This kind of teaching went with the early missionaries into China and anyone who has studied any at all on the events in China know full well that persecution and tribulation have held a large part in the tremendous growth and establishment of the Underground Church in that nation. I promise you that Chinese believers who have suffered much for the Gospel’s sakes no longer buy into the early missionaries pre-tribulation teachings and many have actually prayed that the Western Church could experience some of what they’ve gone through so that we’d grow up and become a mature people having been seasoned with a little of the salt they’ve experienced.

While it is true that God has not assigned us as believers to experience His wrath but it certainly has nothing to do with us escaping suffering or persecution for the words sake. It has everything to do with us escaping the wrath that will come upon those who reject the Great Salvation offered to all who receive the Promised Son and are justified by His Blood. For the WOF prosperity types out there persecution was part of the promise Jesus made concerning the 100 fold in Mark 10:29-30; yet I don’t hear that part mentioned much in many of their teachings. When I questioned one who called himself an apostle concerning Mark 10:29-30 and his teaching that all who give their tithes would receive the 100 fold return his response was I just believe they will. Yet no where in the teaching of Jesus or the apostolic fathers do we find that teaching. But we do see that throughout the ages many godly men and women have suffered much for the Gospel’s sake. Was their faith weak; were they out of the will of the Father? I think not! Consider the following and this just a sample of the things I heard taught in my early WOF Charismatic experience; especially from the WOF radio teachers coming out of the Tulsa area.

One of the most if not the most well known of these WOF teachers actually said that if Paul had as much faith as he had today he would never have gone through or had to have suffered so much for the Gospel. He also taught Paul’s disobedience in going to the Jews first in every city he visited caused him to have to suffer and to be imprisoned. The thought was that if Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles then he shouldn’t go first to the Jews as was Christ’s command to His disciples before He ascended. Yet, it was through Paul’s teachings in the Jewish synagogues in the cities he visited that usually brought in his first Gentile believers through hearing the Message of the Kingdom. Plus how can one who has never been beaten for the Gospel’s sake, shipwrecked, or imprisoned and in chains say he has more faith than Paul?

Christ’s life, Paul’s life, the life of almost all First Century believers should reveal to us the fact that all who live godly IN Christ Jesus should expect persecution not expect to be raptured out before persecution comes as many seem to do. If perchance we are called upon to suffer for the Gospel’s sake we should remember the words of Christ that if we are to be His disciples we should then pick up our cross daily and follow Him. Remember his words to Peter in the last chapter of John’s Gospel after He told Peter by what death he would die; “Follow Me!” If we are really joint-heirs with Christ then according to Romans 8: 16-17 we should also expect that we must suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Islamic Justice for an 8 year old boy!

IS ISLAM A RELIGION OF LOVE AND PEACE? You tell me.

The Heavens Do Rule

The Heavens do rule and it is the Lord the Most High God who governs the affairs of men. (Dan. 4:17).

Consider the following verses the next time you want to judge or criticize God’s appointed leaders. whether we like our president or not for whatever reason he is still appointed by God and we are not to judge him rather we are told by Paul to pray for our nations leadership.

Dan.n2:20-21; Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed for ever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is he who changes the times and epochs; he removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to men of understanding.”

Again we find Daniel speaking as a prophet of God to King Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. Dan. 3:37; “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of Heaven has given the Kingdom, the power, the strength, the glory!” The next time we get angry with our president remember what God said concerning Nebuchadnezzar a pagan king. God called him and set him up as king of kings the ruler over the nations of the earth in his day. Today it is Jesus Christ who is presently seated at the Right Hand of Power and Majesty; He rules and He governs the affairs of men.

Again the take a look at the words of Daniel in the 4th chapter verse 17 here Daniel is speaking of the kingdoms of men; “That the Most High is the Ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and set over it the lowest of men.” God can put anyone he wants in office and just as easily He can remove him/her. He can establish a nation or He can tear it down. “7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it” (Jer. 18:7-10)

Lastly we will look at Paul’s words in Acts 17: 24-31: “24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

The God who made heaven and earth and everything in it has made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, HAVING DETERMINED THEIR APPOINTED TIMES AND THE BOUNDARIES OF THEIR HABITATION! For those a little afraid that America may lose her super-power ranking remember that God is still on the Throne, He rules, and He still governs the affairs of men; not some president, or dictator, but God Himself is in control; ALL IS WELL!

“You Are The Christ, The Son Of The Living God.”

Simon Peter answered,
“You Are The Christ, The Son Of The Living God.”
Matthew 16:16

(The definition of the word Christ is simply the Anointed One. So when Peter　made his famous statement in Matt. 16:16; “You are the Christ, the Son of the　Living God.” He　was actually saying You are the Anointed One, the Messiah　that Israel has been waiting for. Messiah is the Hebrew for Anointed, with　Christos being the Greek from which the name Christ is derived).

In 1 Samuel 2:10, we find Hanna, Samuel’s mother using the word anointed　for the first time in the Bible. She had prophetic revelation that her young　son Samuel would be used by the Lord to anoint God’s king for Israel. We　know of course later Samuel anointed both Saul and David. As you read　some of the Messianic cross references to this verse you’ll find many in the　Psalms that look ahead not only to King David, a type of the Messiah, but　they also have future fulfillment in Jesus The Christ, the Anointed One.

What I want us to see is that this ‘Anointed One’ Hanna speaks of means　’Anointed to be King’ and is looking far ahead past King David and Solomon　to Jesus. Look with me in Ps. 2:1-9; which is a Messianic Psalm looking　ahead to Jesus our Lord and Christ. The second time the word anointed is　used in Scripture is found here in verse 2.　“The kings of the earth set　themselves, And the rulers take council together, Against the Lord and　against His Anointed.” This is exactly what was happening in Jesus’　earthly ministry. Both the Jews and the Romans conspiring together to kill　God’s Anointed. In fact if we take this Psalm in sequence we can actually　see when the Father set the Son, as King, on His Holy Hill of Zion (verse 6). If　this Psalm is in sequence and I believe it is verse seven holds the answer.　Paul interprets this verse for us in Acts 13:33.

In Acts 13 Paul is talking to unconverted Jews giving a history of the events　that lead up to the Christ. In verse 22 Paul tells his listeners that after God　removed Saul from being king over the nation, He then raised up David a　man after His own heart. That from the descendants of David, according to　promise, God brought forth a Savior, Jesus. In verse 27 Paul goes on to say　that those in Jerusalem, and their rulers neither recognized their Savior nor　the words spoken of concerning by the prophets of old, actually fulfilled　those prophetic words by condemning Him. That even when they could find　no grounds for putting Him to death they asked Pilate that He be executed; then Paul continues by saying in verse 30, “But God raised Him from the　dead.”

Paul’s message to the unconverted Jews was, “The Good News of the　promise made to the Fathers” (verse 32). “That God has fulfilled this promise　to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is written in the Second　Psalm, “You are My Son TODAY I have begotten You” (verse 33)

Let’s take a moment an look at Psalms 2, at least up through verse seven.　I want to share with you what I Believe Scripture says concerning this　starting from a very prophetic portion of Scripture Psalm 2:1-7:

1. Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? (Because the　god of this world system has blinded their minds).

2-3. This is exactly what happened when the Jews and the Romans plotted　against Jesus and killed/murdered Him. The early apostles used this　Scripture in Acts 4:25 after they had faced persecution from the Jewish　leaders.

4-5. God quite literally laughs at them. Had they know what they were doing　Scripture says they would not have done so, but again their minds were　blinded. God spoke to the nation of Israel through His Son, Heb. 1:2; “Has in　the last days (literally the last days of the Old Covenant Age, or Age of　Moses) spoken to us by His Son. Whom He appointed heir of all things.　Through whom He made the world.” God throughout the Gospels warned　the apostate nation of the judgment that was to come on that generation, the　generation that rejected the Promise, and missed the Kingdom. Matt. 12:39;　41-42; 45; 23:34-36; 24:2-34 are only some of the verses Jesus Himself
targeted toward the ‘terminal generation’ that crucified Him. Also Matt. 21:43,　would clearly show that the Kingdom was taken from natural Israel and　given to the Church, the Israel of God, where neither circumcision nor　uncircumcision avails much but a new creation (Gal. 6:15-16).

6. In verse 2 we see the word Anointed/Messiah used I believe for actually the 2nd time in Scripture, and again we see the same thought continued in verse 6, but　instead of Anointed here he uses King. The Amp. Bible says, “I have　anointed [installed and placed] My King [firmly] on My Holy Hill of Zion.” We　have to understand as we read these passage that they are written in order,　there is a sequence used here, from the nations revolting against God and His Anointed and the enthronement of the King. As we go on to read verse 7 we see more of the time frame these things happened in.

7. “I will declare the decree; The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son’ Today I have begotten You.” Speaking to us of Christ the first born from among the dead ones. In verses 6 & 7 the Psalmist makes Jesus’ birth and enthronement one event, if He is fathered by God He reigns. But in Acts 13:33; Paul tells us that verse 7 speaks of His resurrection and enthronement. In Acts 13, Paul again lays out for us a sequence of events starting with Israel’s enslavement in Egypt, their coming into the land, their desire for a king, on up to God sending them a Savior, Jesus, who they then condemned fulfilling all that had been written about Him by hanging Him on a tree. So Paul goes on to say in verse 32-33, That in Christ’s the Anointed Ones resurrection from the dead God fulfilled that which was made to the Fathers. He by the Spirit interpreted Psalm 7 for us by showing us that it was at His resurrection that Jesus was set in as King. In Romans 1:4; Paul’s tells us that Jesus was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection. Wow! The Church doesn’t have to turn the Kingdom over to the King, it’s already His. How can you give something to someone they already possess?

Peter on the Day of Pentecost also quoted David in Acts 2:29-36. Here we see David a prophet not looking ahead to the 2nd coming and an earthly Jewish throne, but seeing ahead to the resurrection as the fulfillment of the promise God made to him in 2 Sam. 7:13-14. And went on to say, “that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.”

Peter also stated that what was happening on the Day of Pentecost was that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel. That it was the fulfillment of what Joel had prophesied so many years earlier. (Contrary to what the Scofield Reference Bible teaches, “That it was like that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel). Not only did Joel speak to us of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, literally the whole earth being immersed in the Holy Spirit, Joel also spoke to us of the regathering of the nation. This actually begin with the ministry of John the Baptist as God, through John’s ministry, allured her/Israel into the wilderness, where all Judah went to hear John, as God spoke comfort to her through John’s ministry of reconciliation, as his message turned the hearts of the children back to the God of their fathers (References: Joel 3:1-2; Isaiah 40 The Comforting of Zion,” Mal. 4:5-6; and Matt. 3:1-2; Lk. 1: 15-17).

We can see that on the Day of Pentecost that God was gathering, as a new and holy nation was birthed as Peter opened the doors of the Kingdom first to the Jews who heard his first apostolic message and received their Messiah. Acts 2:5 tells us that on that day, “There were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.” This was the remnant along with the 120 who had been in the ‘upper room’ prayer meeting that God used to bring the “True Israel of God” into New Covenant reality. This is the True Israel of God that Paul speaks of in Gal. 6:15-16, “Where neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails much but a new creation.” (This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the earth realm today bring forth the new creation).

Jesus had told the apostate religious leaders of the nation that the Kingdom was taken from them and given to a nation bearing the fruit (Matt. 21:43), and on the Day of Pentecost a nation was birthed in one day, a new and holy nation comprised of both Jew and Gentile believers. This is the “one new man” Paul spoke of in Eph. 2:11-22. (Please note in those verses this is a done deal “Who MADE both groups one.)”

Paul also told us in Eph. 4:10 a verse not often taught on, “He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” (Notice He ascends not descends to fill the earth). So at least according to Peter and Paul, Jesus is the now reigning King, and He won’t come back to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory, that’s our job, His Church His Body the fullness of His who fills all things everywhere with Himself. Our job is to fill the earth with righteousness, peace, and joy
which is the evidence in the believers life of our being in the Kingdom, the Kingdom is in the Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Jesus Himself won’t return till every enemy has been made His footstool according to Ps. 110, He must reign in the midst of His enemies till every enemy is defeated, then he will return and turn the Kingdom over to the Father. Notice it’s not us turning the Kingdom over to Him, but He to the Father (1 Cor. 15:20-28). In Ps. 110 we see Jesus as the “Warrior King” of Ps. 45, Who rules in the midst of His enemies, not in some great time of world peace!

I know people will ask, “But what about the 1000 year reign spoken of in Revelation 20?” My reply to that would be is the 1000 years spoken of in Revelation 20 to be taken figuratively or literally? If you say it must be taken as literal, then how do we deal with the verse that says, “God owns the cattle on a 1000 hills?” If we interpret one verse as literal must we not also do the same with the other verse as well? We know the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, so 1000 hills speaks of an indefinite number of hills. Also how do we deal with Deut. 7:9; that tells us that for God’s people who love Him and keep His commandments that He’ll keep covenant with them for 1000 generations? If a Biblical generation is 40 years then we’re talking 40,000 years, which speaks to us of a good long time. What the writer of Revelation is showing us is the complete, fullness of the reign of Christ the King. The reign that begin with His ascension (Dan. 7:13-14) and will finally be consummated after every enemy has been made His footstool (1 Cor. 15:20-28; Ps. 110: 1-3). From the very first chapter and the very first verse of the Revelation we find it is a signified book, or a book of signs and symbols, a book that can not be taken or understood literally.

To fully understand, especially about some future 1000 year reign, the saints ruling with Christ, we must also look at the first chapter of Revelation verse 6, “And He HAS MADE US to be a Kingdom, priests to His God and Father.” Done deal HAS MADE past tense. Peter called us a “CHOSEN RACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION,” let’s stop putting of the New Covenant reality and fully embrace what the Father has so freely given us IN His Son.

Therefore I will agree with Peter and make the decree that God has made Jesus “BOTH LORD AND CHRIST!” (Ps. 2:6-7; Acts 2:36).

“It would be easy to show that at our present rate of progress the kingdoms of this world could never become he Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Indeed, many in the Church are giving up the idea of it except on the occasion of the advent of Christ, which, as it chimes in with our own idleness, is likely to become a popular doctrine. I myself believe that King Jesus will reign, and the idols be utterly abolished; but I expect the same power which turned the world upside down will still continue to do it. The Holy Ghost would never suffer the imputation to rest upon His Holy Name that He was not able to convert the world.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon

San Diego County officials shut down home Bible study

San Diego County officials shut down home Bible study
County official interrogates pastor and his wife
May 28, 2009

To Americans who believe in liberty READ THISl,

A San Diego pastor and his wife have been told they cannot have a Bible study in their home. The couple says they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, then threatened with ever increasing fines if they refuse to stop the Bible study. (See news article here)
According to the couple’s attorney, they were questioned about the Bible study. “‘Do you have a regular meeting in your home?” The pastor’s wife replied, “Yes.” “Do you say ‘amen’?” the official asked. “Yes,” she replied. “Do you pray?” Again she said, “Yes.” “Do you say ‘praise the Lord’?” Another “Yes.” The official told the pastor and his wife they were in violation of county rules.
The Bible study usually has an average of about 15 people.
A few days later they got a written warning that listed the home Bible study an “unlawful use of land.” They were notified to “stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit,” which could cost them thousands of dollars.
Could a small poetry club meet regularly in a home? Apparently, yes. What about a Cub Scout meeting? Evidently, yes. What if they meet regularly to watch Monday Night Football? Obviously, yes.
Take Action!
• Sign the petition supporting the couple’s right to hold the small Bible study in their home. The petition will go to the San Diego Board of Supervisors.

• Please forward this to others and ask them to sign. We will present the petitions to the San Diego Board of Supervisors.

TAKE ACTION
• Sign the petition supporting the couple’s right to hold the small Bible study in their home. The petition will go to the San Diego Board of Supervisors.
• Please forward this to others and ask them to sign. We will present the petitions to the San Diego Board of Supervisors.
https://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/signpetition.asp?id=1850

Divorce and the Believer Part 1

Divorce and the Believer Part 1

Are there absolutely no grounds for divorce in a Christian marriage? This has long been an issue in the Church and even now here in Okinawa there are many whose lives have been shattered by wrong teachings and misunderstandings concerning this issue.

“And He [Jesus] answered and said, ‘Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together let no man separate” (Matt. 19:5-6).

By these words, “…let no man ["anthropos" - a human being] separate [come between them],” Jesus let those who had asked the question understand that no person had a right to desire the spouse of another and attempt to seduce him/her away from his/her spouse; which would line up with The Ten Commandments on two points “You shall not commit adultery,” and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Ex. 20:14;17).

The above verses Matt. 19:5-6 in a little session that Jesus had with some Pharisees who were testing Him trying to entrap Him so that they would have some charge to bring against Him. One man teaches that because this whole episode took place in the area where Herod had power/jurisdiction that they were trying to try Jesus into the same fate of John the Baptist that He might be beheaded, but more on that erroneous thought later.

The 1st Century setting: The Jews had not been living under the Old Covenant Theocracy for over 400 years by the Time of Christ and they hadn’t up to this moment brought into the conversation, the divorce Law under Moses.

They had merely asked the question,” Is it lawful to divorce his wife for any cause at all?” After hearing Jesus’ history lesson regarding the intentions of God for creating Marriage in the first place, the Questioners appeared to believe they had Jesus in an uncomfortable position, as they then challenged Him with the Law under Moses:

“They said to Him,’Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?’

Matthew reports Jesus’ reply: “He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.’”

Jesus was providing them the target moral reason why a right to Divorce had been necessary (the divorce law instituted by Moses) and why this right had remained in effect within a morally fallen world.

By replying to the “test” question in such a manner, Jesus targeted the underlying moral failure of Mankind – both, male and female – to live within the “intentions” of God.

Within this initial reply to the “test” question, Jesus did not deny that Moses had instituted a divorce right or that a divorce right remained.

That Jesus intended to correct the false statement they had made (within the question asked) is clear by His replies.

Jesus, continued His reply by targeting the lie within their question, said:

“And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery…”

This reply exposed the deceit within their initial question regarding, their use of the words,
“…for any cause at all.” —

Here, once more, is the question Jesus was responding to:
“And some Pharisees came to Him, testing Him, and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause at all?”
Jesus stated clearly in this reply to the “test” question, what they already knew to be true.

They knew divorce had NOT been lawful or moral for,”…any cause at all.”
They knew full well what Moses had said in Deut. 24:1-4; but we must also remember that the Jews of Jesus’ time were heavily influenced by the “Oral Law’ which Jesus referred to as “the traditions of men” and that in the ‘Oral Law’ or Talmud women were looked down up even despised. Perhaps this is why even Jesus’ own disciples questioned Jesus on His answer to the Pharisees in Matt. 19:10 they also had been heavily influenced by the traditions of men.

Jesus exposed their attempt at deceit, and noted that under Moses there had been a divorce right (and He did not deny that there would be a divorce “right” under the New Covenant).

He used His own authority to affirm it: “And I say to you …”

Jesus made a defining statement within the context of the question asked (that is how He always responded.)

One of the reasons it is sometimes difficult to understand some of Jesus’ responses (by the present-day reader) is because HE consistently went for the TARGET MORALITY.

When He stated that if an eye caused you to sin (Matthew 5:29) a person should remove the eye, He was not teaching self-mutilation…

Jesus often taught using strong comparisons – powerful imaging – in order to teach that essential morality. Achieving that essential morality Jesus was pointing to can only be accomplished in the New Covenant by learning to live life in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

Here, it is the lesson that sin (unrepented of) has terrible consequences ~ living in sin brings separation from God.

Let’s touch again on the issue of Target Morality by looking at the teaching of Christ in Matt. 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

That is a hard thing, how many of us can control our thought’s so well that no evil lustful thought ever comes up? I know I can’t in fact we all have thoughts but our advantage over the Old Covenant Jews is found in the INDWELLING SPIRIT OF GRACE. IN CHRIST THERE IS A WAY. We all have thoughts some good some bad but as believers we are told that; we should renew our minds, we are told that IF we have been raised up with Christ that we are to keep seeking the things above (seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness) setting our minds on things above not on earthly things. For as Christians we have (past tense) died and our lives are hidden with Christ IN God! Also we learn from the writings of Paul that through the teaching of God’s word all thought strongholds against the knowledge of God that are in our minds or in our locality can be torn down and that our thoughts can be brought captive to the obedience of Christ (Rom. 12:1-2; Col. 3:1-3; Matt. 6:33; 2 Cor. 10:4-6. The context of 2 Cor. 10:1-6 is apostolic teaching or preaching not charismatic or Pentecostal spiritual warfare as is often practiced in today’s church world). Jesus never gives us something to do, a way to live, etc., etc. that He does not also give us the grace/His power to accomplish it!

So for us as New Covenant believers we must depend up His grace daily to live up to our full potential as believers. We must grasp the teachings of Paul in Rom. 5-8 and truly see ourselves as not only being dead to sin but made alive by the resurrection of Christ and raised up with Him to be Him as new creation beings. We don’t have to submit to fleshly lusts IFwe’re IN Christ, He not only made a way He is the Way!

Staying in Matthew 5 for a short while longer let’s move on to Matt. 5:32-33 where again Jesus raises the bar for life in the Kingdom. He sets our sights on something higher something that can only be accomplished by those who walk in Spirit and not in the flesh, those who walk by faith and not by sight. God has given us a way by the Indwelling Life of the Holy Spirit to live godly lives and have godly marriages.

In what we so often call the Beatitudes we see Jesus upon a mountain in the region of Galilee (Matt. 5:1) speaking to His disciples; some would say He was also speaking to the crowds or the multitude (Matt. 7:28-29). Later in Matt. 19:1-11 when Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees concerning the matter of divorce He was in the region of Judea in Herod’s jurisdiction. Because of this one man teaches that the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus into the same fate as John the Baptist; to beheaded by Herod but that is not the case. He teaches that the word used in Matt. 19:9; “that the only reason one can divorce their spouse is for the reason of ‘incest’ and because this incident took place in Herod’s jurisdiction that is how the word “immorality” must be interpreted in that verse. So incest would be the only criteria for divorce from the way I understand his teaching. Yet, Matt. 5:27-32 is the ‘first mention’ of adultery and divorce by Jesus and should set the standard by which we interpret His later words in Matt. 19:1-11. Matt. 5-7 did not take place in Judea or in Herod’s jurisdiction rather in Galilee at the beginning of Jesus’ teaching ministry yet we see almost if not the identical wording in Matt. 5:32 that we see in Matt. 19:9.

Mat 5:32 ButG1161 IG1473 sayG3004 unto you,G5213 ThatG3754 whosoeverG3739 G302 shall put awayG630 hisG848 wife,G1135 saving forG3924 the causeG3056 of fornication,G4202 causethG4160 herG846 to commit adultery:G3429 andG2532 whosoeverG3739 G1437 shall marryG1060 her that is divorcedG630 committeth adultery.G3429
Mat 19:9 AndG1161 I sayG3004 unto you,G5213 WhosoeverG3739 G302 shall put awayG630 hisG848 wife,G1135 exceptG1508 it be forG1909 fornication,G4202 andG2532 shall marryG1060 another,G243 committeth adultery:G3429 andG2532 whoso marriethG1060 her which is put awayG630 doth commit adultery.G3429

So the issue in Matt. 19:9 has nothing at all to do with Herod’s incestuous relationship with Herodias his Brother Phillip’s wife but with Jesus’ answer to the Pharisee’s test question, which Jesus answered with the same wording He used back at the beginning of His teaching ministry in Galilee far away from any fear or influence from Herod. The word fornication in both instances covers a broad range of immoral acts in which both incest and adultery can both play a part:
πορνεία
porneia
por-ni’-ah
From G4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry: – fornication

Jesus was not trying to single out incest as the only reason divorce would be allowed, He was covering a broad range of immoral acts that can come into a marriage situation IF one or even both partners allow the flesh to rule in their lives. We must remember that as believers Jesus is not just giving free reign for us to divorce for He has given us by His Spirit the ability to overcome the flesh and live godly lives well pleasing to the Father, but if one partner chooses not to live up to their potential IN Christ by engaging in immoral acts we can divorce that unfaithful partner, by the very words and teachings of Christ.

We must remember that the very God who in Mal 2:16 said “I hate divorce,”
[Mal 2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously] also said in verses 15 and 16 how the people of Israel had dealt “treacherously” with their mates. The word treacherously as used in Mal. 2:10-11
H898
בּגד
bâgad
baw-gad’
A primitive root; to cover (with a garment); figuratively to act covertly; by implication to pillage: – deal deceitfully (treacherously, unfaithfully), offend, transgress (-or), (depart), treacherous (dealer, -ly, man), unfaithful (-ly, man), X very.

This same God who hates divorce as l put away the nation of Israel for her treachery/unfaithfulness to Him.
Hos 2:2 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

Jer 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

Isa 50:1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

God’s covenant with Israel was always conditional on Israel was conditional: “IF you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, THEN you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.” When Israel continued in her adulterous ways God eventually divorced her bringing and end to the Old Covenant Age and bringing forth a New Covenant IN Christ.

It is also interesting to note Israel’s fate as prophesied by Jesus to His disciples in Matt. 24; she was both torn down and her stones were burned by? Titus and the Roman Army in 70 AD. Lev. 21:9 gives a little insight on what was to happen to the daughter of a priest who profanes herself by harlotry; “She profanes her father, she shall be burned with fire.”

In the New Covenant immorality brings with it judgments, Paul told his readers in 1 Cor. 5:9-11 not to associate with anyone who calls himself a brother who is an fornicator or an immoral person, and Heb. 13:4 is speaking of those who defile the wedding bed “whoremongers and adulterors God will judge.” God does not judge the innoceint brother or sister who finds themselves in these kind of marital traps but by His spoken word Jesus gives them a way out.

This is my opinion and not thus saith the Lord but I firmly believe God set the precedent on divorce first by His putting away the Northern Kingdom, Israel, and then later her sister Judah both for exactly the same reason unfaithfulness to the covenant He had made with them. Now IN Christ married couples are equipped by the Spirit to live godly lives and have godly marriages but if per chance one or the other partner act treacherously toward the other Jesus gave us an exception clause to come out of a bad relationship; we can divorce an unfaithful spouse. I do believe that wherever possible restoration is much more preferable to divorce but out off seeing many of these situations unfold throughout the years I know divorce is many times the best way out. Divorce does not automatically mean that the one who chooses divorce is headed for destruction or that God can never use them I’ve seen far too many cases where God blessed what seemed a no-win situation and many times restored to them much more than they had lost. It was through God’s putting away Old Covenant Israel that the Message of the Kingdom went forth to the Gentile nations out of Israel’s fall as a nation our salvation came, and even now if they will receive The Promised Son they also can be restored.

Jerry R. Sorrow <
Ginowan City, Okinawa
098-892-1833 phone & fax

This is the first part I am working on part 2 for a later date.

Having All Yet Living like Paupers

Having All Yet Living like Paupers
I wonder why?
By Not Knowing What We Have Received IN Christ
Eph. 1:3

“May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!”

I wonder how many Christians today actually grasp what Paul is saying here in Ephesians 1:3? But not only here in this verse but in almost all of Paul’s writing we find things that would literally set us free IF we could just get a Holy Ghost grip on them. Note also in Paul’s writing when he speaks of the things that the Father has accomplished for us IN Christ it is always in the PAST TENSE. These aren’t promises somewhere off in the future they are for us now IF we believe them.

Consider this IF I/we were IN Christ in His death, buried with Him, and then raised up with Him on the 3rd day in His glorious resurrection, as the Bible says we are, then why do we as believers run here and there, to this conference and that outpouring trying to get more when God has already given us His Best IN Christ? If what Paul said in Rom. 6:1-11 is actually true and the Bible states it as historical fact, then what I have to do is by faith receive what God’s word says about me to be true. I don’t have to get another word spoken over me, me I don’t have to go get some super-apostolic blessing on my life. I’m not saying these things are bad in and of them selves what I am saying is I need to learn to rejoice in what He has already accomplished for me IN His blessed Son, and not run here and there seeking what is already mine. In other words I need to have a revelation of who I am IN Him and who HE is and what He has accomplished IN me. Remember in all of Paul’s epistles his desire was that his readers grow in their revelation of Christ.

Rom. 6:1-11
1. WHAT SHALL we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God’s grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow? [God’s grace gives us power over sin, not to live with it, but to overcome it (Rom. 5:20-21). Sin has power but grace has the greater power].
2. Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? [If what Paul says is true and we died to sin, then we no longer owe sin a red cent when he comes knocking on the door. We owe that old man nothing he has no hold on us, unless we yield to him].
3. Are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? [Many Christians today do not understand what actually transpired at the resurrection. They don’t understand that those called and ordained of God before the foundations of the earth where IN Him partakers of all that He endured on the cross. We may not know it, feel it, or understand it but according to God’s word it is historical fact. If we can grasp that then it will help us to understand Eph. 2:5-6; Col. 2:9-13: 3:1-3. Paul called this a fact, it is a historical truth done and accomplished for us through Christ].
4. We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in newness of life! [Paul by the Holy Spirit explains for us our part in what happened in the cross event. Although physically we may not have been there yet through God’s election we were partakers with Christ, we who were dead in trespasses and sin were made alive to God IN Christ].
5. For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be [one with Him in sharing] His resurrection [by a new life lived for God]. [In His death and burial we were IN Christ, but now as we emerge from the waters of baptism His resurrection life now comes to abide IN us. This is the moment of new creation the old has passed away, behold all things become new. It is no longer just us IN Christ, it is now Christ IN us the hope of glory]!
6. We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [our] body [which is the instrument] of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.
[God accomplished for us IN Christ and the cross even what we could never accomplish for ourselves. Because of sin we could never come into the presence of a Holy and righteous God, we were in slave to sin and that old sin nature stood between us and a Holy God. We couldn’t crucify ourselves to die to sin God did it for us in the Body of His Son. Through God’s Sovereignty and grace He accomplished it for us. By His stripes we were healed]!
7. For when a man dies, he is freed (loosed, delivered) from [the power of] sin [among men]. [Paul is saying that once dead sin no longer has power over your life. If I die the one I’m indebted to can no longer collect from me, I’m dead you can’t collect from a dead man].
8. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, [Dying with Christ is not like physical death where they put you in a box and cover you up, NO! If we partake of His cross and His burial we believe according to Paul’s word, that we shall also live together with Him. Our death together with is the beginning of eternity for us; death no longer has a hold on us. We have become part of God’s New Creation, the New Thing that God is doing upon the earth].
9. Because we know that Christ (the Anointed One), being once raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him. [If we know that death no longer has power over Christ then can we believe that in Him death no longer has any power over us? Paul knew these earth suits we now live in would someday pass away, but to be absent from this short-lived is to be present with the Lord. Paul, Peter, and many others throughout the ages have been willing to lay down their earth life for the Gospel’s sake].
10. For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him]. [Christ broke once and for all time His relationship to sin by His obedience to the Father, and IF we are IN Him then our relationship with habitual sin should also be broken. Christ now lives in unbroken fellowship with the Father and with that in mind we also know that God has also raised us up with Him, the Father, seating us together with Him in unbroken fellowship IN Christ (Eph. 2:5-6; Col. 3:1-3)].
11. Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. [We say again that Christ brought us into unbroken relationship with the Father. We are NOW/PRESENTLY seated with the Father in the heavenly realm IN the Son, Christ Jesus. God is holy He has no part with sin; or relationship with God lost in the 1st Man Adam’s fall is restored to us as New Covenant believers through the obedience of the Last Man Adam. How do we receive this historic fact, by simply receiving by faith what Christ has accomplished for us? John 1:12 said; “those who receive the Son are given the right to become children of God.” We simply by faith through His grace receive the heavenly gift and daily live out our lives IN Christ the same way we entered in, by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8; Col. 2:6). This is our walk. Here is one Scripture you should memorize because it capsulates all of history. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were sinners, so by the obedience of ONE many shall be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). God’s first king, Adam, failed at the point of obedience. God’s last and ultimate King succeeded where the first king failed!].

If we are not walking in the rank and privilege we have as believers then we have no one to blame but ourselves, God has given us His word. If our teachers aren’t teaching us then we must with the Holy Spirit’s help seek out these truths for ourselves. In the Old Covenant God gave His people power to obtain material wealth that His covenant with them might be revealed for the nations to see. In the New Covenant God has given us power/authority/ the right to become children of God that He might reveal His Son through us. The real wealth is IN the Son not in the size of our bank accounts or the kind of car we drive. “But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name” (Jn. 1:12).

In Ephesians 1:1-8; we can find just how lavish a giver God is, do we know, do we understand that when God gave us Christ we received the greatest gift of ALL and really there is no earthly reason to keep nickeling and diming the Father for this or for that, He gave us ALL we will ever have need of IN the Son.

1. PAUL, AN apostle (special messenger) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah), by the divine will (the purpose and the choice of God) to the saints (the consecrated, set-apart ones) at Ephesus who are also faithful and loyal and steadfast in Christ Jesus: [Paul was chosen by God with no apparent qualifications to be His apostle to the Gentiles but God not only called him but also qualified him. Paul was God’s sent one with a message for Gentiles who up to now had not really had much opportunity to hear the word of God. But Paul said, “That God who had chosen him from his mother’s womb was pleased to reveal His son in me that he might preach Him among the Gentiles” (Gal. 1:15-16). So here in Ephesians 1 we have Paul revealing to a mostly Gentile Church all the wonderful things God had so lavishly given them IN Christ].
2. May grace (God’s unmerited favor) and spiritual peace [which means peace with God and harmony, unity, and undisturbedness] be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. [Paul’s normal apostolic greeting to those he called ‘saints’ at the Church in Ephesus. Grace is more than just God’s unmerited favor it is God’s ability working in us to live this Christian life].
3. May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm! [In a very real sense this is what the Christian life is “praise and adoration” to a Holy God who has given us so much. Jesus told the woman at the well God is seeking worshippers, this doesn’t mean our Sunday morning worship, but all of our lives devoted to worshipping Him. Paul called it “our spiritual service of worship” in Rom. 12:1 and described our worship as the way we stayed constantly filled with His Spirit in Ephesus 5:18-21. Why then do we give this “spiritual service of worship” to our God? Because; “He is worthy because; He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly IN Christ!” So let me ask what spiritual blessing are you/we falling short off? Then possibly as Brother Lawrence wrote in his little book so many years ago; we need to practice more and more the presence of God; acknowledging His Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives at all times. He never leaves us nor forsakes us].
4. Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love. [Wow! Remember when we were discussing Romans 3 I said God had chosen us, set us apart unto Himself, before the foundations of the earth, well here Paul verifies it for us. Paul describes not only how God has set us apart, but also how we should live before Him; “holy and blameless in love.” How is this possible you might ask? By the wonderful riches of His grace which He lavished upon us IN Christ. Our lives are lived daily by our faith in His grace to enable us to live out this Christ life. Sin has power but the life lived by grace is empowered to overcome and defeat sin in any situation].
5. For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]— [From the beginning God had a plan, and we who are IN Christ were a part of that plan. His plan was to bring us into His family as His very own children through Christ Jesus. This is what God wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure in accomplishing His plan].
6. [So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. [(What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son. This was God’s plan from before the creation to adopt us into His family through His Beloved Son].
7. In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor, 8. Which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence), [God through Christ’s sacrifice for us has set us free. We’ve been redeemed through the shed blood of Christ, our sins are forgiven, blotted out never to be remembered, and this was all accomplished through the riches of His grace. This was God’s work IN Christ; we could do nothing to save ourselves it was done for us. We have every reason to praise our God. It was all His doing, He thought of everything and provided us with everything we need to not only live this Christian life, but also to accomplish His detailed plan and purpose (good works) that He had already prepared beforehand, that we should accomplish them. We could never brag or take credit it is all our through our faith in His grace, His abundant power to accomplish all of this for us. (Eph. 2:5-9)]

Everything has been done and provided for us not only that He provided us the empowerment to accomplish all this, He gave us the Holy Spirit. It is through the Life of the Spirit in us that God’s plan, His work for our lives will be accomplished. Far too many seek the riches that fail but God IN Christ has given us the true riches and they are ours IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST (Col. 2:1-3). In fact it is by growing in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus that Peter tells us we’ll find that “God’s divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3).

Pulling Down the Stronghold of “Generational Curses” off the Lives of Believers

Pulling the Stronghold of “Generational Curses” off the Lives of Believers

In Romans 7 the whole chapter Paul is dealing with the whole area of us trying to deal with fleshly behavioral patterns while living under the influence of the Law. Paul had just finished in chapters 5 and 6 helping us to understand that God In Christ has broken the power of sin in the lives of believers and just how it was accomplished. And in chapter 7 he continues by showing that under the law which Paul said was good in that it revealed to us just what sin was, yet while living under the Law one could never overcome those fleshly sinful tendencies that we all have. Then in the closing of chapter 7 and on into chapter 8 Paul explains to us how the flesh is dealt with. Notice Paul never once in speaking to the Roman believers that he was writing to speaks of demonic oppression or activity; he instead speaks of believers overcoming the flesh by the Spirit.

If you will carefully notice in Paul’s writings as well as the other First Century apostolic fathers the focus was never on the demonic or the power of satan but rather it was on whom we are IN Christ and what was so freely accomplished and given to believers IN Christ. In the teaching and ministry of Christ we never see satan and his demons other than as defeated. The words of Christ in Matt. 28:18 really say it all: “ALL authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” If that is true and the First Century writers tell us it is, then how much authority does that leave satan and this followers? I’ll answer that for you, NONE! NONE; what-so-ever! In fact the only thing satan has working for his is deceit and if we know who we are IN Christ, we’ll quickly catch his lies and bring them into submission to Christ, it’s in our hands how we react to or respond to satan’s deceit. This is how sin enters our lives; through our thought life and if we continue to meditate on wrongful/lustful thoughts eventually they will conceive and bring forth birth to sin in our lives and when sin is accomplished it will bring forth death (Jms. 1:14-15). One brother put it this way “The gates of hell are between our ears!”

Paul did very clearly speak of the power of sin in Rom. 6:14-18 but he goes on to say that as believer’s “sin shall not be master over us; for we are not under Law but Grace.” Yes, sin has power but Grace has the greater power. Grace is the key to living a victorious life IN Christ Jesus. The reason for the success of the First Century Church was they were taught the words and teachings of Christ from the beginning by sitting at the apostle’s feet, and they not only heard they obeyed the Gospel. Those that choose not to obey but lied to the Holy Spirit didn’t get prophetic ministry or receive deliverance they were permanently removed from their midst. This was also true in 1 Cor. 5:1-13 the wicked man who called himself a brother was removed and delivered over to satan for the destruction of the flesh. Paul put much emphasis on the individual believer obeying the Truth especially in matters of moral behavior. He said for them not to even associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a partier, a drunkard, or a swindler, don’t even eat with one such as this! We would call the prayer warriors and the deliverance team and have a grand old deliverance meeting right on the spot. But Paul put this one out, and said to do the same to others who called themselves believers that engaged in that life-style. Paul said that it was in turning this one over to satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit might be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus. Paul didn’t take him through prophetic or generational curses teaching of deliverance, this guy was a brother who in knowing the Truth choose willingly to enter into sin.

Paul the First Century apostle to the Gentiles taught them that God’s salvation was a gift, it could not be earned, and it came freely by grace through faith. He told the believers in Rome that “having been justified by faith, we (now) have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul then goes on in Rom. 5:2 to explain how grace and faith work together for us to lead victorious Christian lives just look at what he says; “through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

How do we live, how do we stand when trial or temptations come? Paul told us the same way we are saved; “by grace through faith” we are to daily walk out our Christian lives (Eph. 2:8-9; Col. 2:6). “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk IN Him.” We received Him by grace through faith daily we live by grace through faith. We learn to stand in every situation or circumstance that confronts us the same way by faith IN His amazing grace. Paul’s way to live the overcoming Christian life; to live victoriously IN Christ Jesus was learning to live in the abundance of grace so richly supplied to us IN Christ Jesus. (1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:7-10; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:8; Phil. 4:11-13; Col. 1:29; to name a few and don’t forget Paul’s word to son Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:1; “You therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”)

To be strong in the grace that is IN Christ Jesus compels us to grow more and more in our knowledge of and relationship to Him. To be strong in the grace that is IN Christ Jesus means to be totally dependant upon Him His strength and not upon our flesh or our ability, this was the lesson Paul had learned and now he passes it on to his spiritual son Timothy and then on to us today who read his epistles. This requires us to understand that everything we need now and in the life to come is abundantly supplied us IN Christ and we don’t have to go back and dig up past junk it was dealt with at the cross. When we repent we don’t have to dig up every past sin, or go back and dig up every past sexual encounter or sexual partner we ever had, nor do we have to ask forgiveness of our ancestor’s sin done before we were even born, that is covered in Christ and the cross. IF WE OBEYED THE GOSPEL IN OUR SALVATION EXPERIENCE WE ARE FREE AND THE ONE SET FREE IN CHRIST IS FREE INDEED! If we did not obey the Gospel has presented so clearly by Peter in Acts 2:38 very simply we by an act of our own will make that choice and by faith receive what God has so freely given us IN Christ.

Blessings
Jerry Sorrow<

GETTING BACK to ‘CLASSIC’ CHRISTIANITY

What Are Your thougts of Lee Grady’s article?

GETTING BACK to ‘CLASSIC’ CHRISTIANITY
-by J. Lee Grady.

We need voices from the past-like Andrew Murray, Corrie Ten
Boom and Charles Spurgeon-to help us find our way to the
future.

During a visit with my parents in Georgia, two of my daughters
asked if they could listen to a tape recording my father made in
1962 when I was only 4 years old. So my dad rummaged through
some drawers and found the old reel-to-reel tape, which was
amazingly still intact. Then he went to the garage and found the
old Realistic tape player that no one in the family had used since
the Nixon administration.

To our surprise the scratchy tape actually played without breaking,
and my girls laughed when they heard me-in a babyish Southern
drawl-describing a Florida vacation and a fishing trip with my
grandfather. After my “interview,” it switched to an older recording
made in 1956. It included a conversation with my dad’s mother,
who died before I was born.

It was eerie to hear her voice. I’d never heard it before yet it
sounded hauntingly familiar. After that brief segment of the tape
ended we listened to comments from my other three grandparents
-all of whom died in the 1960s or 1970s. Their voices unearthed
long-buried but fond memories.

These sounds from the past reminded me of some other distant
voices I have been listening to recently. They are the voices of
dead Christians-writers of classic books and songs that we are
close to forgetting today.

Their names are probably somewhat familiar to you. Jonathan
Edwards. John Wesley. Charles Finney. Catherine Booth.
Andrew Murray. Evans Roberts. Charles Spurgeon. Fanny
Crosby. E.M. Bounds. Watchman Nee. A.W. Tozer. William
Seymour. A.B. Simpson. Corrie Ten Boom. Leonard Ravenhill.
Fuchsia Pickett.

All of them could be labeled revivalists. All challenged the
Christians of their generation to embrace repentance and humility.
They understood a realm of spiritual maturity and a depth of
character that few of us today even aspire to obtain.

When I read their words I feel much the same way I did after
hearing my grandparents’ voices on that old tape. I feel as if I am
tapping into a realm of spirituality that is on the verge of extinction.

What was the secret of these great Christians who left their
legacies buried in their books? They considered humility,
selflessness and sacrifice the crowning virtues of the Christian
journey. They called the church to die to selfishness, greed and
ambition. They knew what it means to carry a “burden” for lost
souls. They saw the glories of the kingdom and demanded total
surrender. They challenged God’s people to pursue obedience-
even if obedience hurts.

Even their hymns reflected a level of consecration that is foreign in
worship today. They sang often of the cross and its wonder. Their
worship focused on the blood and its power. They sang words of
heart-piercing conviction: “My richest gain I count but loss / And
pour contempt on all my pride / Forbid it Lord that I should boast /
Save in the death of Christ, My God.”

In so many churches today the cross is not mentioned. The blood
is avoided because we don’t want to offend visitors. And worship
is often a canned performance that involves plenty of rhythm and
orchestration but little or no substance. We can produce noise,
but often there is no heart … and certainly no tears.

In the books Christians buy today you will find little mention of
brokenness. We are not interested in a life that might require
suffering, patience, purging or the discipline of the Lord. We
want our blessings … and we want them now! So we look for
the Christian brand of spiritualized self-help that is quick and
painless.

We’re running on empty. We think we are sophisticated, but like
the Laodiceans we are actually poor, blind and naked. We need
to return to our first love but we don’t know where to begin the
journey.

These voices from the past will help point the way. I’ve found
myself drawn to reading books by Ravenhill, Ten Boom, Murray
and Spurgeon in recent days. I’ve even pulled out an old hymnal
and rediscovered the richness of songs that I had thrown out
years ago-because I thought anything old couldn’t possibly
maintain a fresh anointing.

I realize now that I must dig for this buried treasure. We will never
effectively reach our generation if we don’t reclaim the humility,
the brokenness, the consecration and the travail that our spiritual
forefathers considered normal Christianity.

-J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.
SOURCE: http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones

The Persecuted Church, Pray for believers in India

The Persecuted Church——————————————————————————–
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2009 00:59:57 -0700
Subject: pray
From: pastor.joyjacob@gmail.com
To: jkblessing@nirai.ne.jp
CC: n_thomas_sr_@hotmail.com

Dear brethren in Christ,
Loving greetings in Jesus Name! It is very sad to inform that, When every persecution is no more thought in Karnataka. Again happened in 4th of August,2009 at Thavaragere village. Since last four year one of our missionary and his wife and two children were toiling for our Master. His name is Shivanna. He and his three more believers from his village to conduct a cottage prayer in a village. While they were started to pray. Some group of anti-christian people came to that place with stick. By that time 3 of believers were run away from that place. Brother Shivanna was caught by that enemies of gospel and removed his clothes in the center of village and badly beaten to that brother and handed over the police and beaten of Brother Shivanna. He was in prison in 4th night and 5 whole day. His whole body is wounds.Soon after his wife called with tears to me. Myself and some brother went to Thavaragere and met the local police inspector. The local police officer was very badly abused to us. After that he was handed over to local magistrate. The local magistrate was inquired and given bail to that brother. Please pray for brother Shivanna and his family. God’s hand work on that land and know the love of Christ to whole village through that family. If you would like to encourage that brother prayer and support. Please share with others and pray. May God Bless!

Yours in His glad service,
Joy Jacob
944 82-97787

A MUSLIM EUROPE

This is presented for your consideration. I am not an alarmist I believe in the VICTORY of the Gospel not of Islam. “The earth will be filled with the Knowledge of the glory of the Lord” not of Islam.”

A MUSLIM EUROPE – How Close?? – THE FACTS

In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: “who lost Europe?”
Here is the speech of Geert Wilders, a member of Parliament
from the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York on Sept 28, 2008:

AMERICA as THE LAST MAN STANDING
-by Geert Wilders.

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world.
There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be
optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of
Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of
Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the
West. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization,
facing an Islamic Europe.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I
will say a few things about Islam. To close I will tell you about a
meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing. You have probably seen the
landmarks. But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks
away from your tourist destination, there is another world. It is the
world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration. All
throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighborhoods
where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if
they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It’s
the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless
tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands,
or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead, with mosques
on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot
read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity.
These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These
are Muslim neighborhoods, and they are mushrooming in every
city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial
control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street,
neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With
larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every
European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will
dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take
Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden.

In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim.
Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighborhoods.
Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.
In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer
be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig,
and that would be an insult to Muslims. Many state schools in
Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils…

The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of
Muslim sensitivity. In England sharia courts are now officially part
of the British legal system..

Many neighborhoods in France are no-go areas for women without
head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up
by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during the
Ramadan. Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run
for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is
now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya,
Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about
Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego
University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the
population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now…

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be
threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to
assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research
Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to
Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of French
Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for
Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students
are in favor of a worldwide caliphate. Muslims demand what they
call ‘respect’. And this is how we give them respect. We have
Muslim official state holidays.

The Christian-Democratic attorney general is willing to accept
sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have
cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey.
Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behavior, ranging from
petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance
workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its
uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. I call the
perpetrators ’settlers’. Because that is what they are. They do not
come to integrate into our societies, they come to integrate our
society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively
against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their
neighborhoods, their cities, their countries. Moreover, Muslims are
now a swing vote not to be ignored.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed
the prophet. His behavior is an example to all Muslims and cannot
be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us
say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would
be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer,
a pedophile, and had several marriages – at the same time. Islamic
tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies
murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed
himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. If it is good
for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad.

Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god,
and a here-after, and 72 virgins, but in its essence Islam is a
political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for
society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every
aspect of life. Islam means ’submission’. Islam is not compatible
with freedom and democracy, because what it striv es for is sharia.
If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism
or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.

Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam ‘the most
retrograde force in the world’, and why he compared Mein
Kampf to the Quran. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the
Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I have
lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel.
First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years
of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a
democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating
Islam’s territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad,
like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur
in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the
way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war
against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows
that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel,
Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its
energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who
send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in
Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the
dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to
address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel
were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the
West. It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a
sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the
contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to
the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of
Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of
Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only
the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world
domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything.

So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of
Islamization as a ‘right-wing extremists’ or ‘racists’. In my country,
the Netherlands, 60 percent of the population now sees the mass
immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since
World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest
threat. Yet there is a danger greater than terrorist attacks, the
scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go
out in Europe faster than you can imagine.

An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy,
an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of
military might for America – as its allies will turn into enemies,
enemies with atomic bombs….

That bad old devil

That bad old devil

1Pet. 5:8; “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

Church we have an enemy, the devil, Peter says he goes around “as a roaring lion” Peter does not say that he is one. There are some things we must know about our fallen adversary the devil or satan if you’d prefer:
1. He’s been cast down he no longer appears before the Throne of God to accuse the brethren as he did in Job’s day. Look at Luke 10:17-20; the seventy had been sent out ahead of Christ in the power and authority He invested in them. Later these seventy sent ones came back and reported to Christ, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us IN Your Name!” When Jesus gave power to men He stripped satan of his power to control the lives of men. Do we understand verse 19 that the same power and authority Christ gave the seventy is also ours IN Christ; “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you?”
2. Based on the seventies statement in verse 17 Jesus said; “I was watching satan fall from heaven like lightning.” Note again this statement from Christ was based on their success in dealing with the demons they encountered as they went on their God ordained mission. Before Christ; satan and his demons were in control but now a new thing is taking place satan’s power is being stripped from him and soon all power and authority will be totally given to Christ due to His obedience to the Father’s will (Matt. 28:18). The only way the defeated one can exercise any power over our lives is IF he can convince us to believe his lies. He is not a roaring lion but he would like you to believe that he is. He is a toothless defanged old liar seeking someone to deceive into believing he has power over them; he’s a noisy old liar to boot.
3. With the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ satan no longer has access to God’s Throne as he did in the days of Job. The price of Adam’s fall has been paid for IN Christ and the accuser has been cast down. It was on the way to the cross that Jesus said; “NOW judgment is upon this world; NOW the ruler of this world will be cast down” (Jn. 31-32).

Consider Matt. 28:18 where Jesus told His disciples; “ALL authority has been given to ME in heaven and on earth.” We see this clearly in this Scripture; satan has no authority. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me.” That leaves no authority to satan. Without authority, what can satan do? He can go about like a roaring lion (2 Timothy 4:17). In other words, since he has no real authority, he can only try to scare us. And, whenever he does succeed in making us afraid, what he has actually done is make us submit to him in that area where we are fearful. Fear arises from the belief that God will not protect us or deliver us. Instead, we believe that satan has authority in some area of our lives to do us harm. By becoming fearful, we submit to satan’s way to get out of our perceived trouble. Paul was clear in telling Timothy that “God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). Anything that attempts to bring fear into our life we must reject as not from God and recognize the toothless liar is attempting to deceive us again. Submit ourselves to God resist satan’s lie and he flee from us according to Scripture.

A few other verses to take into consideration:
1. Eph. 1:17-23; Jesus is seated “Far above ALL rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named only in this age but also in the age to come.”
2. Eph. 2:5-6; Guess where we are in all of this? We are seated in fellowship with the Father in the heavenly places IN Christ Jesus the Son. If this is true and according to Scripture it is then where does this put satan and his demons? Far beneath our feet as we are seated far above them IN Christ. The Victory has been won for us and we’ll walk in that Victory when we see ourselves seated IN Christ. How do you see yourself? I hope you see yourself as seated with the Father IN Christ Jesus the Son.
3. Col. 1:13 tells us that God has already rescued us from the dominion of satan and transferred us into the Kingdom of His Beloved Son; why put this off? Accept and recognize that IN and BY the power of the Indwelling Holy Spirit we can now live life IN the Spirit which in reality is life in the Kingdom; filled with His righteousness, peace, and joy (Rom. 14:17).
4. One more and there are many more I could add to this list but look at Heb.2:14 and you’ll that through the death of Christ; “He has rendered POWERLESS him who HAD the power of death, that is the devil.”

What more can I say?

Blessings
Jerry <

IS OBAMA REALLY the PROBLEM??

IS OBAMA REALLY the PROBLEM??

ARE WE BEING DISTRACTED From THE REAL FIGHT?
-by Andrew Strom.

Years ago a friend of mine, Robert Holmes, saw a vision of
Christians leaving the Harvest field to go and join in with a “Civil
War”. They were leaving their primary mission (the gospel) to go
and make war against their own countrymen. What does it mean
and why would they do such a thing? -This was unclear.

Like a lot of you, every day I get bombarded with the latest emails
against Obama – and what he is up to. I can truly understand this.
Unlike a lot of overseas Christians who can’t comprehend this kind
of American political partisanship, I truly get it. I lived in America
for four years, and one of the things I saw clearly while living there
is that America is at WAR with itself. And it is getting worse. Right
against left, liberal against conservative. And there is no doubt that
as an evangelical Christian, I am truly a “conservative” myself. But
there is a lot that troubles me about what is going on.

When the US conservatives elected Bush, a lot of the world could
not understand it. I understood it completely. America is at war
with itself and Bush seemed like the most robust campaigner
against the liberal agenda. It did not matter that he was not the
“smartest” guy. He was strongly on “our side” in the culture
war – and that is what mattered: Homosexuality, abortion, taxes,
health care, and so-on. To a lot of US Christians, politics has
become THE main arena where they fight and take a stand. So if
I am a conservative myself, why am I so troubled by a lot of this?

Well, let me ask you some questions and hopefully you will see why:

-Is “Politics” the arena that Christians are supposed to be putting
so much time and energy into fighting? Is that what the early
church did?
-Aren’t we supposed to be more passionate about prayer and the
gospel than we are about pulling the “liberals” down?
-Couldn’t this be a total distraction from our real mission?
-Doesn’t a lot of it amount to a giant “smear” campaign of rumor-
mongering that should be beneath Christians to participate in? -In
other words, isn’t the way we are speaking often gossipy, slanderous,
mocking and ungodly?
-Why are prayer and the gospel taking a backseat to Obama-baiting?
-Is the Christian community in any country supposed to become
a “voting bloc” for one particular party?

I think those are pretty important questions. And I think a lot of
Christians may have trouble answering them.

The fact is, I get more “political” anti-Obama emails from US
Christians every day than ’spiritual’ emails. What does this say
about conservative Christians? It says they care more about politics
than the gospel. That is the conclusion I have to come to. And I
believe this is Idolatry – pure and simple. Politics has replaced the
pure milk of the word for a lot of Christians. They are on a “campaign”
alright, but it is not a campaign for Jesus. And they devote hours
and hours to it. They are feverishly checking out the “latest dirt” on
Obama every night and hungrily devouring Fox News (which makes
more and more ratings dollars as it drives every fresh controversy).
They love it! There is only one problem: It is not Jesus, it is not the
gospel, and a lot of it is simply not godly at all. In fact, it is
replacing Jesus and replacing the gospel.

If I was the Republican Party or Fox News or Talk Radio (each
hungry for more ratings and dollars – these are not Christian
organizations at all) then I would absolutely LOVE the fact that the
Christians are so easy to whip up into a frenzy of Obama-rumors
and Obama-trash-talk. But none of this is godly, is it? It is not
remotely Christian. The early church would have renounced it
utterly. They took no interest in politics. They only cared about
Jesus and His simple gospel. And that is still the only thing that
can save America today. We are being sidetracked.

But the frenzy continues. “Did you hear the one about Obama
being likened to Hitler?” ‘Did you hear the one about Obama’s
birth certificate?’ ‘Did you hear the one about Obama’s “death
panels”? ‘Did you hear that there are really demons in the Swine
Flu vaccine?’ (canned laughter please).

A lot of this amounts to a kind-of Christian “smear” campaign. In
politics much of it would be considered in the ‘dirty tricks’ category -
the kind of thing you do when trying to ruin someone’s reputation
with sick rumors and innuendo. No matter if it’s true or not. As long
as it does the job of “smearing” the person. Is that the kind of thing
Jesus would want us involved in?

Here is the truly major thing that I believe the devil is trying to do
in America today:
-He is trying to create division so bitter and so extreme that both
sides literally start to fight one another with guns drawn. He is
trying to tear America apart.
-He is trying to sidetrack the one group that truly has the answer.
He is trying to wrap them up in fighting politics, so they will forget
that the pure GOSPEL is the only real hope for America today.

I believe the devil is truly succeeding in both of the above aims.

To conclude this article, I would like to ask some questions of
the Christians who spend so much time on this “Obama War”:

-Do you spend as much time spreading the pure gospel as you
spend spreading stuff about Obama? Why not?
-Is your mind and your energy and your passion more focused on
getting the true gospel out – or defeating Obama and the liberals
in politics?
-If you were asked to turn off Fox News and delete the “Obama”
emails and turn off Talk Radio, etc, could you bear it? Or are
you more-or-less an “addict”?
-Do you really think it is right for this to be the big focus of your life?

I truly believe these are huge issues and huge problems in the
American church today. But I guess I can expect a wave of angry
disagreement in response!

Please send feedback to- prophetic@revivalschool.com

God bless you all.

Andrew Strom.

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