Archive for the ‘disciples life’ Category

J u d g e N o t ?

Posted: October 22, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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With such deception in the church today, when it is spotted and pointed out, many that are deceived are rising up and calling the Watchman “judgmental” where a true Watchman enters into the situation armed with Authority of the Word of God, empowered by Holy Ghost to bring forth the surgical blade that cut’s through the hardened out layers and into the marrow of the deception to expose it for the darkness it is.

Is it a judgement against those who are proclaiming it? Some may see it this way yet in truth it is a judgement against the fruit that either that ministry or individual is producing.

The enemy would like nothing more than for the saints to sit back and allow such a perversion of the gospel to have free reign in the Bride!!!! ~ Russ Welch

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DO NOT SPEAK AGAINST ONE ANOTHER, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it (James 4:11).
Do not speak against one another. Do not speak against your brethren. Do not judge your brother. Is that what it says? Look at verse 4 of the same chapter.

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility to-ward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:4).
You adulteresses!
Do not judge your brother!
From the pen of the same apostle, in the distance of a few paragraphs, in almost the same breath that he is saying “do not judge,” James calls worldly churches “adulteresses.”

SPIRITUAL ADULTERY
James is probably the oldest book of the New Testament. We know from its Hebraic background, from the way it draws on synagogue leadership structure and the Scriptures, that it was obviously written to Jewish Christians.
James is using the Hebrew concept of whoredom or harlotry. Whenever Israel went into idolatry, God calls it “adultery.” Idolatry equals spiritual adultery.
Israel was to be God’s woman, in much the same way as the church is the bride of Christ. The church being unfaithful is like Israel being unfaithful. That idolatry is called “adultery.” It is a very strong term in Hebrew, a very strong concept in the Jewish mind.

BY THEIR FRUIT…

Every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:17-20).

Jesus said that you can judge someone by their fruit. In the same chapter, He says, Do not judge lest you be judged (Matthew 7:1).

First it is, “Judge not lest you be judged,” yet He goes on to say, “You will know them by their fruits.” People involved with Toronto and Pensacola say, “You know Toronto/ Pensacola by its fruit and there is good fruit from it.”

Jesus never said that you would know a phenomena by its fruit. He said that you would know a person by their fruit.

More than that, even judging a phenomenon by its fruit, you can see that it is not the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control, not drunkenness and lunacy.

CONTRADICTIONS?

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgement (John 7:24).

First Jesus says, “Judge not lest you be judged,” but then He says, “Judge with right judgement.”

James appeared to contradict himself. Now Jesus seems to contradict himself. Jesus said, “Don’t do it,” then He tells you how to do it. James said, “Don’t do it,” straight after he did it.

Therefore you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgement, for in that you would judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things (Romans 2:1).

Therefore do not go on passing judgement before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things that are hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God (1 Corinthians 4:5).

But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God (Ro-mans 14:10).

For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this [the guy in question here was involved in an incestu-ous relationship with his father’s wife ], as though I were present (1 Corinthians 5:3).

Over and over, Paul says, “Don’t judge.” But then he passes judgment.

Jesus says, “Don’t judge,” but then he says to do it and shows you how.

James says, “Don’t judge,” but then he does it.

Why the contradictions?

GOD IS THE JUDGE

If God says in the Bible that something is wrong, and we see someone or some church do that thing, we are not judging them, it is the Word of God that judges.

The Hebrew name, “Jehoshaphat” means Jehovah has judged. That is not me or you judging. We are simply acknowledging, “This is what God says.”

James was not calling worldly churches “adulteresses.” The Word of God says that, if we are attached to this world, we are an adulteress church.

Paul was not saying that the man involved with his step-mother was immoral. Paul was saying that the Word of God says that person was immoral.

If God says that something is plainly wrong, that is not you or me judging, that is God judging.

That is what it means when it says, “Judge with right judgement.” Judging with right judgement means judging with God’s judgement, not with our own.

There is a big problem here — there are things that I would not do, but which are not necessarily wrong for someone else.

PEOPLE’S OPINIONS

I know of a case where some believers, after their wedding, went to a discotheque. (I would not go to a discotheque unless it was to give out tracts.) I did not feel a peace about going, but I am not going to make a big deal out of it, no matter what my own misgivings or feelings.

I know of another case in Ireland where, at a Christian wedding, people danced. Other people became indignant and began yelling, “You’re backsliders,” and stormed out of the wedding, creating a big scene. It split a church. That is people judging.

The word “Laodicea” has to do in the Greek with “people’s opinions, people’s judgements.” We have no right to make a judgement of another person, but once God says something is right or wrong, that is not us judging.

ANAKRINO — TO DISCERN
The Greek word for “judge” is krino.
If you put the prefix “ana” in front of the word “krino,” you get a variation on the idea of judging, which is “to discern.”

But he who is spiritual judges [anakrino] all things, yet he himself is judged [anakrino] by no man (1 Corinthians 2:15).

God, in His Word, commands us to anakrino. It is not a right; it is not a privilege; it is not something that is advisable. We are commanded to do it. And if you do not discern, you lack wisdom.

There is a reason why false teachers will not stand up publicly.

People who will stand up and say, “That is not Scriptural.” “That is not right.” “I discern that this is not of God,” are practicing wisdom.

Those who practice wisdom, cannot themselves be judged by anyone. Because they anakrino, they cannot be
anakrino-ed. That is why those others are afraid of them.

DIAKRINO — TO DECIDE
I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide [diakrino] between his brethren? (1 Corinthians 6:5).

Another prefix which changes the meaning of krino is “dia.” Diakrino means to “render a decision.”

Is something right or wrong? Is someone’s behavior right or wrong morally? Is it Scriptural or unscriptural? Is it of God, or is it of the flesh, or of the devil?

The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul commands that we are to diakrino.

We are not permitted to diakrino. We are not advised to diakrino. We are not privileged to diakrino. We are commanded to diakrino. It is not that judging is acceptable. Rather, to fail to judge is unacceptable.

NOT ALLOWED TO GO TO THE SECULAR AUTHORITIES?

About two months ago a woman and her husband contacted us, very distressed. They had a four year old girl who was the victim of semi-penetrated sex in a church. She was molested by a fourteen year old boy, who was supposedly a Christian and whose parents had been going to that same church for years.

This little girl was devastated. She drew me a picture, and as soon as I saw the picture, I knew what it was.

Now, I do not have much time for secular psychology. I believe in Biblical psychology, but I do believe in psychology. Biblical psychology is based in the book of Proverbs.

If you want to know why human beings behave and act the way they do, and think the way they do, read Proverbs. That is the best book of sociology and psychology there is.

I can agree with human psychology to the degree that it is based on Biblical psychology. Secular psychology is godless, and sees man as a two dimensional being. It concerns me that so many evangelicals have gotten into secular psychology and pop psychology.

The little girl drew a picture of a house. Inside the house there were four windows and a door. Each face inside the house was female, there were no male faces.

And she drew a picture of herself, outside. There was no pelvis. There was no pubic area.

That, according to pediatric psychiatrists, is a very frequent characteristic of drawings by children who have been sexually abused.

Children of that age will say things with pictures and drawings that they cannot express verbally. No men and she herself had no mid-section.

Her parents told me, “We don’t know what to do. We go to a Baptist church and the pastor can’t advise us because this four-teen year old boy is a Christian, and, based on 1 Corinthians, we are not allowed to go to the secular authorities about another believer.

So, according to his parents, we can’t tell the police or the court what has happened. We are at our wit’s end; we don’t know what to do. Our daughter is traumatized.”

CIVIL LAW / CRIMINAL LAW

1 Corinthians 6 refers to Roman law. (The systems of jurisprudence in Britain, Australia and America are based on the original model in Rome.) 1 Corinthians 6 is talking about civil law, not criminal law; it is talking about suing someone under civil law, about litigation, it is not talking about criminal law.

It is 1 Corinthians 5 that talks about an immoral person.

I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother [any so-called Christian] if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one.

For what have I to do with judging [krino] outsiders? Do you not judge [krino] those who are within the church? (1 Corinthians 5:11-12)

We judge those who are within the church, who are guilty of immorality. Do not even associate with the person. Chapter 6 is not talking about criminal law. It is talking about civil law.

That fourteen-year-old should have been dealt with under the criminal law. His identity would have been
protected by the court because of his age.

If something was not done for that kid at the age of fourteen, by the age of eighteen his life would have been destroyed. He would have been in an institution for pedophiles.

But this fourteen-year-old had a chance. He should have been brought before the authorities for his own good, and also so that the little girl could have seen justice being done.

If this kind of stuff is not dealt with by the church immediately, what is going to happen when these people get older?

The victims are traumatized for their whole lives. It affects their sexuality when they grow up. And that church could not even give a Biblical answer!

(It was probably a good thing it was a Baptist minister. He could not give a biblical answer, but if it had been a Pentecostal minister, he probably would have tried to cast demons out of the little girl!)

I talked to my friend’s wife, who is a Christian pediatric psychiatrist, and I showed the pictures to a Christian pediatric psychologist. They both agreed with the advice I gave the parents. And the parents referred the matter to the criminal authorities.

But what were these other ones saying? “Do not judge.” “You cannot go to the authorities about another Christian and you cannot judge another Christian.”

What were they doing? Giving people a license to sexually abuse little kids?

This is what happens when the church goes away from God’s Word.

We are not allowed to diakrino, we are commanded to diakrino; but it has to do with more than just people.

JUDGING PROPHECY
And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others [diakrino] pass judgement (1 Corinthians 14:29). We are commanded to judge prophecy.

But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.

And you may say in your heart, “How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?”

When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken.

The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him (Deuteronomy 18:20-22).

Jeremiah 14 and Jeremiah 28 says the same thing. Jesus warned that there would be many false prophets in the last days.

We do not stone them to death any more, but the sin is no less serious. They shall die if they do not repent.

We are not under the law, but under grace; but their “ministries” should be stoned. 1 Corinthians 14:29 does not say that we are entitled to diakrino prophets or prophecies, rather we are commanded to judge prophets and prophecies.

Now, that is not my judgement. I cannot krino anybody. The things that God has said will krino. I have to anakrino. I have to discern. Is this of God or is this of man?

No, it is not for me to judge. I have to diakrino, render a decision on whether it is morally right or wrong, by biblical standards.

The founders of the Mormon cult and the Jehovah Witnesses were false prophets; they predicted things that failed to happen. The Roman Catholic nun, Lucia, from Fatima, in Portugal, is a false prophet; she predicted things that failed to happen.

Do I have the right to say that? No, not the right, but the responsibility to say it, the command from my God in heaven to say it. That is not my judgment; it is what God says about these people.

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” If you fail to diakrino, you are failing to keep His commandments. If you fail to diakrino, you will let these same people go on giving people “words” from their own flesh or from Satan. People like that should be brought to account.

JUDGE RIGHTEOUSLY
Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, “Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countrymen, or the alien who is with him” (Deuteronomy 1:16).

That was not advice; that was a command.

Just look at what has happened to our secular society.

Everybody is a “victim.”

It does not matter that he got blind drunk and he was driving at 90 miles an hour through a village and killed a little kid on a bicycle. He came from a broken home: he is a “victim.” It does not matter.

I tried to talk to a prostitute the other day. “I do this because my father hung himself.” That was her argument. “I came from a bad situation.” I said, “You just told me that your sister goes to university and she came from the same background, and she thinks that what you are doing is terrible. Isn’t she a victim, too?” Nobody is responsible for their own actions any more in society. But how can we expect society to live up to God’s standards, when the church will not live up to God’s standards.

I came from a bad situation. My father drank. I was a drug addict by the age of sixteen, and I have no doubt whatsoever that, if Jesus had not intervened in my life, I would be dead by now or a destroyed person of some kind.

It is only because of Him that I went to university and got married and did the things I have been privileged to do.
Left to myself, I would not have amounted to anything. Nonetheless, I am responsible for my own life and my own choices.

SALT AND LIGHT

If the church will not uphold God’s standards of responsibility, how can we expect our society to be any different?

If we are not upholding His standards, how can we be salt and light to a society that has turned it’s back on God?

No wonder there is crime! The main reason for the moral and social decline of our society is not because of the unsaved people; it is because of the lukewarm church.

KRISIS — HEAVEN OR HELL

There is a kind of judging that we are not called to do. The Greek word is krisis.

For not even the father judges anyone, but He has given all judgement [krisis] to the Son (John 5:22).

The ultimate determination of heaven and hell belongs to the Lord alone. We never krisis. We are forbidden to krisis.

KRITES — THE JUDGE OF ALL

But you have come… to the general assembly and church of the first born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge [ krites ] of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect (Hebrews 12:23).
God is the judge of all. Yes, there are people who are called to judge, but God is the ultimate Judge of us all.

HUPO-KRITES — PHARISEES

If we are going to stand up and confront other people in the church about something being wrong, we had better make sure we are not guilty of the same thing, because that is another kind of judging we are forbidden to do.

Here the prefix hupo is added to krites, giving us the English word “hypocrites.”

This is what Jesus meant when he said, Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” and behold, the log is in your own eye?

You hypocrite [hupokrites], first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:1-5).

We do not krites and we especially do not hupo-krites.

KRITIKOS — TO DISCERN

For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge [kritikos] the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Cells called erythrocytes are stored in the red marrow of big bones, like the femur and the tibia. On the outside there is the bone and on the inside there is the marrow. But in between there is an area where, even with a microscope, it is very difficult to tell where the bone ends and where the marrow begins.

The Bible says that the relationship between soul and spirit is like that. Take prophecy: Was that from someone’s imagination, or was it God’s Spirit speaking through their spirit? It is very difficult to tell the difference.

Man is a three-dimensional being. You can separate a body from a soul; but you cannot easily tell where the soul ends and the spirit begins.

When people say, “The Lord showed me this” and “God told me that,” it is difficult to know if it is someone’s imagination or God’s Spirit speaking to their spirit. The mind is a good servant, but a dangerous master. Many people are caught up with things not overtly demonic, but they are prophesying from the futility of their own mind.

We are called to kritikos — to discern between the soulish and the spiritual. The Word of God enables us to separate the bone from the marrow, the spiritual from the purely soulish.

SUMMARY
Judge not? What does the Bible say?

1. We never judge from our opinions.

2. We are commanded to anakrino — we always seek to discern: “Is this of God, or is it of the flesh, or of the devil?”

3. We are commanded to diakrino — to render a decision as to whether something is morally right or wrong.

4. We do not krisis — the Lord alone decides who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.

5. We are sometimes appointed to krites — but we are to remember that the Lord is the Judge of all, and we are to judge righteously.

6. We never, ever, hupo-krites — before we take a speck out of our brother’s eye, we make sure we do not have the same speck in our own eye.

7. We always kritikos — we draw on the Word of God to discern between the things of the soul and the things of the spirit.

BY JACOB PRASCH

MORIEL — GOD IS MY TEACHER
This paper may be freely copied and distributed.
This paper was published by:
Moriel USA P.O. Box 11536 Pittsburgh PA 15238 United States of America
© Copyright Jacob Prasch 1998

The place of watchmen is on the wall……..

Posted: October 21, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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The place of watchmen is on the wall, looking out into the direction that he is pointing. The can be lonely, discouraging work. Jesus is pleading with his watchmen to stay on the walls, where he needs them to be.

Many watchmen are down in the city chatting with friends, because they got lonely. Others are on the conference circuit, where the money is better. Some are busy trolling the internet, but that is not the same as listening to the Lord. Others grew tired and have gone to sleep. Others have given up, because they are weary of their warnings being rejected.

The watchman should not be in the city eating and drinking with the town’s folk. He should be out on the watchtower looking into the night (Ron McKenzie – Kingdom Watcher).

Jesus urgently needs his watchmen to get back up on the watchtower where he has appointed them.

I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest (Is 62:6).

Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain (Is 56:10,11).

I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore hear, O nations; observe, O witnesses, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law (Jer 6:17-19).

God is restoring a watchman anointing to His people. In biblical times, though a city had strong walls and double gates, security was not complete without watchmen in their places, shouting, or heralding, anything they saw that was out of the ordinary. Their job was to warn the people of impending danger. They would pay with their lives if they failed to inform the city of an enemy’s approach. If the watchmen were not alert, cities could fall, territories could be lost and many people could be slaughtered or forced into captivity.

A Christian prophet is a watchman. His task upon the walls of the city of God claims him entirely. God acts in and through all that we are. In everything a Prophet is, the Spirit of God lives and moves and acts. The Christian prophet’s very life and breath is intercession within the church (Sanfords.).

However, if we are called to this watchman ministry, let us be patient in waiting for our placement. If we have a true gift, and manifest the fruit of the Spirit, our gift will make a place for us. Our goal must always be first to gain the endorsement of God, not men. If we want the endorsement of God we must be devoted to truth, integrity, and submission to His Spirit. If it takes others a while to acknowledge our calling, while we are waiting we can grow in grace and discernment (Rick Joyner – The Ministry of a Watchman).

Watchmen and Sheep

A watchman was standing on a watchtower. He saw trouble coming and told the shepherds to get the sheep into the safety of the fold. The shepherd asked the watchman to get the sheep into the fold. However, when the watchman tried to round up the sheep, they just scattered. They did not know the voice of the watchman. Only when the shepherds heeded the watchman’s warning and called the sheep did the sheep come into the fold.

Watchmen stand on the walls of the city of God so that they can see what God is doing and call the people to respond. Watchmen look out into the darkness and the distance to see what evil is coming and what God is doing. Good relationships between pastors and the watchman are essential. The watchman should communicate what they see to the pastors. The pastors can then prepare the sheep for what is going to happen. The sheep know their shepherds and they will respond to them. If they do not know the voice of the watchmen, they will not respond to them.

Leaders must allow the watchmen to function as God intends, and watchmen must learn that it is their job only to transmit information, not to dictate policy (Rick Joyner – The Prophetic Ministry).

The prophet is way ahead of the flock of sheep, perhaps five miles beyond the next hill. He is on the lookout. There he hears God’s voice and sees visions, enters the throne-room of God and glimpses something. It may actually be very good that he is often away from the flock, because few really understand him. He is interested not so much in people and what they think of him, but in God’s voice for the situation (Wolfgang Simson – Houses That Changed the World, p.113).

The watchmen were not the elders in the gates, nor did they have the authority to open or close the gates of a city. Neither did they have the authority to mobilize the militia against the enemy. Their job was to communicate what they saw to those who did have the authority. Presently, many pastors and elders are trying to do this job for their congregations, which only distracts them from their true calling. We must begin to recognize, train, and position those who have this calling, and establish effective lines of communication with them (Rick Joyner – The Ministry of a Watchman).

Being on the walls of the city would place one in a position of elevated perspective to see both a distance outside and inside of the city. These were trained to recognize both the enemy and their brethren from a great distance. However, they had no authority to confront either. They simply gave their information to the elders who sat in the gates. Only the elders had the authority to either command that the gates be opened or to sound the alarm (Rick Joyner – The Ministry of a Watchman).

The seer represents the prophetic dimension by means of his ability to observe, by his inclination towards watchfulness. He is the watchman, the protector. He walks the narrow paths of the border areas of the Kingdom, drawing strength for this isolated work of defense from the vivid visions and experiences of the heartlands of God’s domains. The prophet’s home is a Mizpah, a watchtower, a place for proper judgement and discernment, 1 Sam 7:6 (Lars Widerberg – The Seer)

The Church has often lacked in having watchmen. She has had a type of watchman that has watched almost from a position on the floor of the church and not from the wall. The watchman is a prophet and as such is a seer and needs to be up high to see beyond the heights that even the king would see, since the king is not up the wall (Steve Snow – Eagle Watchman Resources).

Though the prophet is one with the church he yet always stands a little apart. The Old Testament prophet would have gone ahead to do all the speaking, or the healing, or whatever was needed. The New Testament prophet bows his spirit to prayer, unbeknownst to the rest of the body, and others find themselves healing or teaching or speaking (John and Paula Sanford – The Elijah Task p. 18,19,20).

Watchman should speak their warnings to the pastors and elders. The latter provide the warning to their sheep. The sheep know their shepherd and they will respond to them. If they do not know the voice of the prophet, they will not respond to them.

The pattern borne out in Scripture shows that a prophet did not go first to the people, but to the king! For it was the king who held the responsibility from God to address and lead the people. The prophet always went directly to the king – not to the people – and God opened the door of access to that realm (John Paul Jackson – Unmasking the Jezebel Spirit p.68).

Unpleasant Task

Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other (1 Cor 12:22-25).

Christians are often embarrassed by God’s watchmen, as they can be intense, opinionated or scruffy. Watchmen maybe the eyes of the body, but they are also the bowels that get rid of the “crap”. If God’s watchmen are not functioning effectively in a church, it will fill up with garbage and become contaminated. So while the watchmen has an unseemly task, they are important for the functioning of the body and deserve equal concern and respect.
Clear Sound

When a watchman receives a dream or vision about a cataclysmic event, they should be very careful about how they give warning. Before speaking, they should find out the status and meaning of the events they have seen.

Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? (1 Cor 14:8).

A cataclysmic vision or dream may have any of the following possible meanings.

a symbolic message with a spiritual interpretation,
a warning of what Satan is planning, so that we can resist him,
a warning event, that is a type of something worse coming,
an event that may happen soon
an event that is a long way into the future,
an event that will only happen, if God’s people do not repent.
a final judgment on a people that has rejected God.

The appropriate response is different for each of these different types.

Modern Christians have a tendency to assume the worst. We generally interpret a vision or dream of awful events literally. We also assume that the event is coming soon and that its coming is certain. This is often not the case.

Sounding the trumpet is not sufficient. Sharing a vision is not enough. Watchmen are required to sound the trumpet clearly. When sharing a vision or dream, they should also explain its meaning. If this does not happen, God’s people will become confused. Too much confusion could lead to Christians being defeated and God’s name being mocked.

During this current season, too many confusing visions are being shared. Many of these visions have come from the Lord, but because their meaning is misunderstood, God’s people are being confused. We need a clear sounding of the trumpet to prepare God’s people for victory.
Gods Perspective

We must keep God’s perspective in mind when interpreting warning visions. Christians often get so focused on the evil that Satan has planned that they fail to notice God’s response. This gives Satan a place he does not deserve. He is a loser and all his schemes and plans will fail. Getting us absorbed in the negative part of a vision is the enemy’s favorite trick for causing us to miss what God is saying and doing.

This is the worst feature of many “prophecy sites” on the internet. The bloggers and discussion boards get so absorbed in the evil being warned against, that they miss what God is saying and promising. We should fear God, not the devil and his schemes. We should listen very carefully to what God is saying through a vision.

The watchman’s task is not to make Christians afraid, but to show them how they can be victorious, if they get ready. Most visions are not about the people of God being defeated, but are a promise that God’s people can be victorious, if the watchmen do their work. We need watchmen who can tell us how to get ready.

In 1982, a visiting English preacher called David Pawson shared a vision of a Commando Army around New Zealand. The vision promised that if New Zealand Christians formed into commando units, they would experience victory when an economic crisis came. Christians immediately focused on the crash and when it would come. The name of the vision was changed to the Coming Bombshell. The challenge to form commando units was ignored and the promise of victory was lost as Christians became absorbed with the negative aspect of the word.

I believe that the same problem applies to our interpretation of Daniel and Revelation. All the negative passages are applied to the current age. All the promises of victory are pushed to after the second coming. This gives a total distorted view of God’s plan and produces Pessimistic Christianity.When interpreting visions from God, we should take off our dark glasses and listen carefully to God’s promises of victory and hope in the light of his word.

They do not want to build ‘a church’, they want the whole city or nation! They live in the future, for the future, from the future, constantly pregnant with future developments, and they can prevent it from becoming a traditional institution only celebrating the past, or a fossilized monument of history long gone (Wolfgang Simson – Houses That Changed the World, p.119).

Purpose

The watchmen are not there to boost the name of the enemy and paralyze God’s people with fear. Their purpose is to warn the people of danger, while it is still a long way off. This gives the people living outside the city time to get behind the walls where they will be safe. The watchman’s warning also gives the city leaders time to prepare their defenses, so they can repel the enemy when he comes.

The safety of a city depends on the watchmen being on the watchtower. It also depends on the leaders at the gate heeding their warning. If the watchmen and the leaders at the gate of the city each do their task, the enemy’s plans should be defeated and the city kept safe.
Exposing Evil Plans

Satan generally uses stealth and deception. The success of his plans depends on Christians not waking up to what is happening until it is too late to respond. God counters by revealing Satan’s plan’s to the watchmen. They can then expose his plans and blow his cover. God reveals the attacks of the enemy in advance, so that he can be exposed and defeated.

God’s response to one of Daniel’s visions was to send watchers (Dan 4:13-17). The scriptures do not tell us much about them, but they are clearly very powerful angels. They were able to bring down Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most powerful rulers that the world has ever known. Compared to Nebuchadnezzar, Saddam Hussein was a midget, yet the watchers brought Nebuchadnezzar down from his throne. Watchers are capable of foiling the worst plans of the enemy. I think that they might be released by the prayers of the watchmen on the watchtowers.

The role of the watchmen is important. God responds to the attacks of the enemy by exposing his plans, and countering with something even more powerful.

Today’s spiritual watchmen are just as important to the kingdom of God. But the Church has become so familiar and comfortable with the world that our watchmen may not notice when adverse conditions enter our boundaries. In this hour God is saying, “Watch the boundaries I have set for you, so that the enemy does not gain access to your inheritance.” (Chuck Pierce – The Future War of the Church).

These watchmen were especially trained to be able to distinguish the enemy from their brethren. Only those with the best vision and judgement were given these Posts. They could not be overly prone to sound the alarm, or to request that the gates be opened. They had to be accurate in their discernment. If there were too many false alarms the people would begin to disregard them. If they were careless and let an enemy in the gate, they could jeopardize the entire city. This was an extremely crucial position for which accuracy and dependability were required (Rick Joyner – The Ministry of a Watchman).

Prophetic Excellence

The widespread acceptance of the prophetic ministry that emerged out of the Charismatic Renewal during the 1970s was a huge step forward for the church, but there is still a long way to go. An emphasis on quantity, rather than quality, was okay while the gifting was re-emerging, but now that it is well established, we should be focusing more on quality.

Daniel and his mates did not just make a splash on Jewish bulletin boards, their insight and ability were recognized by a tough anti-god king.

The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom (Dan 1:19-20).

Daniel was recognized by worldly leaders as being ten times as good as the other wise men of his times. That is why he was asked to serve three different kings in two world empires.

That is what the Christian prophetic ministry should be aspiring to. Where are the Christian prophets who are recognized by the world as being ten times as discerning as Thomas Friedman and Paul Krugman. Provided we do not become complacent about the quality of prophecy, that level of gifting could emerge.

God has much more to give than we have seen so far. In the future we will see much more tactical and strategic guidance coming from clear prophetic voices.

The Old Testament prophets did not just predict calamities. They gave tactical advise to local and national leaders (1 Chron 20:13-30). They also revealed God’s long–term plans and strategy and what his people should be doing to participate with God in his work. Moses was a great prophet. He announced God’s plan and timing for establishing his people in the promised land. He also explained what Israel must do to enter in the land.

We have the fullness of the Holy Spirit, whereas in Old Testament times, the activity of the Holy Spirit was intermittent. Therefore, Christian prophets should be at least twice as effective as Old Testament prophets.

We have a long way to go. We must not be satisfied with what we have now, but press in to receive all that God has for us through the prophetic ministry.

What Is a False Prophet?

Posted: October 19, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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The book of Revelation foretells that at the time of the end, in the last few years of Satan’s dominion over the earth, a religious personality will arise and deceive the whole world by means of miraculous signs. This individual is referred to as “another beast” (Revelation 13:11), as well as “the false prophet” (Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10). The False Prophet is given supernatural power to do things like calling fire down from heaven (Revelation 13:13), and the signs he performs, combined with the demonic words he speaks (Revelation 16:13-14), will cause people to give their allegiance to—and even worship—the Beast (Revelation 13:14). This man will wield tremendous religious influence, and inspired by the Dragon, he will successfully convince most of the world to commit idolatry (Revelation 13:12).

The Bible does not reveal the False Prophet’s name or even the number of his name, as it does for the Beast. Instead, we will have to recognize him by his fruits—by what he says and does (Matthew 7:15-20). Yet, even this is a tricky proposition. For instance, the False Prophet will be able to call down fire from heaven, and yet Elijah, a true prophet of God, did the same (I Kings 18:36-38). If we see a man calling fire down from heaven, how do we know whether he is true or false?

The end time is prophesied to be full of deceptions (Matthew 24:11), and the elect will not be totally immune to having the wool pulled over their eyes (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22). It will take careful evaluation to see through the façade and to recognize Satan’s servants for what they are, rather than what they appear to be (II Corinthians 11:14-15).

The details given about the False Prophet are few. However, if we understand the patterns and motivations that the Bible reveals about the class of people called “false prophets,” we will be better equipped to recognize the general mold that the end-time False Prophet will fit. Both Testaments describe false prophets, and Peter, John, and Jesus Christ specifically warn of false prophets that affect church members.

Defining Prophet

Because of the way “prophet” is commonly used, there is a misconception that its basic definition is “someone who foretells the future,” but this definition is too narrow. Prophet is better defined as “one who speaks for another.” A true prophet, then, is a person who speaks for God, delivering a message that God has ordained him to give. In Exodus 7:1, God tells Moses that Aaron, his brother, would be his (Moses’) prophet, even as Moses was God’s prophet. Because of Moses’ unbelief in God’s ability to speak through him, God would speak to Moses, who would tell Aaron what to say to others—Pharaoh in particular (verse 2). It is the function of speaking for another, rather than the miracles they performed or their foretelling of what would befall Egypt, which defined Moses and Aaron as prophets.

Frequently, the words a prophet spoke on God’s behalf were, in fact, foretelling what would happen later. However, the prophet’s essential role was to speak for God, regardless of whether he did any predicting of the future. A prophet expresses the will of God in words, and sometimes he uses signs to back up what he says and to demonstrate God’s power behind it.

In a similar way, a false prophet also may not be in the business of foretelling the future. A false prophet is simply someone who speaks for another but falsely. False prophets either speak for the wrong god, or they claim to have heard from the true God but do not accurately represent Him or His words. At the very least, they speak out of their own human hearts, but more likely, the “god” they are speaking for is really a demon.

It is true that, if a prophet foretells something that fails to come to pass, he is a false prophet (Deuteronomy 18:20-22), but foretelling the future correctly is not the determining factor when looking at false prophets. The real issue is whether one who claims to be representing God and speaking for Him, is doing so accurately or falsely. A prophet may accurately predict an event or demonstrate supernatural power, but if he is leading people away from the true worship of the true God, he is a false prophet.

If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “Let us go after other gods”—which you have not known—”and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)

This passage begins with the assumption that the prophet does foretell the future accurately or perform some other, humanly impossible work. Nevertheless, if that prophet’s central message is to follow after a different god or to take a spiritual path that the true God has not said to take, that person is a false prophet. God states unequivocally that misrepresenting Him incurs the death penalty, and Revelation 19:20 says that this is exactly what happens to the False Prophet: He is thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Dodging Moral Teaching

The message of the false prophet is contrasted in Deuteronomy 13:3-4 with loving the true God with all of our heart and soul (life), walking after Him, fearing Him, keeping His commandments, obeying His voice, serving Him, and holding fast to Him. These elements indicate what God wants His people to be focused on, helping to define whether a man claiming to speak for God is truly doing so or not.

Verse 4 mentions obeying God’s voice and keeping His commandments. This is a regular theme with God’s true prophets: They always have God’s law undergirding their messages. When the Old Testament prophets were sent to warn or inform Israel and Judah, they always pointed out the grievous ways in which the people had transgressed God’s law.

False prophets, on the other hand, will not hold the moral line that God requires. Lamentations 2:14 says that the false prophets “have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.” False prophets will not connect the dots between the sinfulness of a nation and national calamity. They instead focus on something other than God’s standard of righteousness.

This same principle appears in Isaiah 8:19-20. Both houses of Israel were guilty of seeking out mediums and wizards for spiritual guidance, and God’s response is very telling:

And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

God gives us a standard by which to measure the words of a prophet: the law and testimony—His Word. If the prophet’s message contradicts what is already established as God’s Word, it is evidence that he lacks spiritual understanding. If his words do not line up with God’s law and testimony, he is not speaking the truth.

In summary, the hallmark of a true prophet is his upholding of the law of God, while false prophets dodge moral teaching and instead preach a message that appeals to the masses. God’s truth is abhorrent to the natural mind (Romans 8:7), and thus it is quite common for God’s prophets to be killed, while the false prophets enjoy widespread popularity and support.

The current trend of outcome-based churches serves as a good example. Their leaders preach a widely popular message, and thousands of people follow them. Yet, Jesus says in Luke 6:26, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” Popularity is not a good measurement of God’s pleasure with a leader!

Jesus Christ, the most perfect Spokesman for God who has ever lived, only had about 120 true followers when His ministry ended (Acts 1:15). This was not due to failure on His part, but because His Father’s message could be wholeheartedly believed only by those whose minds God had already prepared to accept it.

“Purpose-Driven” church leaders will not preach the unadulterated Word of God because they know it is divisive. It would also thwart their goals of a large following and a large income. Thus, their messages do not involve repentance, sound doctrine, or God’s law, except where it may serve to further whatever purpose is driving them. Their messages do not remind people of their moral responsibilities to God and brother, and thus if they claim to speak for God or say that God sent them, we can know from biblical patterns that they are, in fact, false prophets. Their large churches, as amazing as they might seem, are not accurate indicators of God’s involvement or blessing.

Fruits of False Prophets

The apostle Peter, in warning against false prophets, illuminates their characteristics. The entirety of II Peter 2 is about false prophets and false teachers. What sort of message would these men preach? What would be one’s impression of God—whom they allegedly spoke for—after watching and listening to such men?

» “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction” (II Peter 2:1). The King James Version calls their heresies damnable, implying that their words—their messages—are destructive to one’s faith and relationship with God. “Denying the Lord” does not mean they deny that He lived or died or that He is God, but that their words and conduct are opposed to His fundamental nature. Their lives deny any close contact with Him.

» “By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber” (II Peter 2:3). False prophets use human nature’s proclivity toward covetousness to make inroads to a person’s heart.

» “. . . and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord” (II Peter 2:10-11). False prophets “walk according to the flesh”; their minds are primarily on physical things rather than the true things of God. God is not in all their thoughts (Psalm 10:4). They also despise authority—other than their own—and apparently think themselves superior even to God’s angels. They are presumptuous and self-willed, acting out of the dictates of their own hearts (or the influence of a demon) rather than following God with humility and trusting Him to bring His will to pass.

» “. . . having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness . . .” (II Peter 2:14-15). The apostle says false prophets have “eyes full of adultery.” While this may apply literally, it can also more generally describe unfaithfulness—a willingness to abandon an agreement if they feel it is in their interest to do so. They also worry little about resisting sin. Their hearts are especially trained in covetousness, and like Balaam, they are willing to do just about anything for personal gain.

» “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage” (II Peter 2:19). They promise liberty—freedom, perhaps, from keeping God’s law or from persecution or tribulation—but they are themselves enslaved to sin.

Not every false prophet will have each of these characteristics, but as generalities, they describe men who are much more concerned about their own situation, well-being, reputation, autonomy, and position than about accurately representing God. We will know these men to be false by the overall fruits they produce, even as they speak clever words that may even contain a degree of truth. This is seen in Jesus’ warning in Matthew 7:15-20:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (emphasis ours)

Jesus does not spell out what “fruits” to look for, although in the Olivet Prophecy, He does link the deceptions of false prophets with the lawlessness and lack of love that abounds at the end time (Matthew 24:11-13). However, the rest of the Bible elucidates God’s character and nature, so we already have the tools to evaluate whether a message allegedly coming from God fits with what His Word reveals about Him. God is not double-minded; He will not contradict Himself.

“By Their Words . . .”

A false prophet, then, can be anyone who claims to be speaking for God, but whose message is contrary to God. False prophets will not convict people of sin, for they themselves do not feel convicted. While true prophets speak according to God’s law and testimony, false prophets speak soft, easy things to make them more popular. They will tell people what they want to hear.

A true prophet expresses the will of God with words. Sometimes signs, wonders, and foretelling are involved to add additional weight, but the most important part is the message. A true prophet points people to God and shows people their sins. False prophets point people to almost anything else. If they do try to point people to a god, it will be a different god from the God of the Bible. Whoever they point to, they do it for their own benefit.

Many false prophets simply point people to themselves. Their covetousness manifests itself in a desire for power, influence, control, prestige, or importance—the antithesis of being poor in spirit, meek, pure in heart, and mourning over their ungodly weaknesses. The true prophet does not draw attention to himself but to God. If a prophet or teacher spends a great deal of time talking about himself, it is a good indication just who his god is!

John the Baptist, the last Old Testament prophet, serves as a positive contrast. He undoubtedly knew what the angel Gabriel told his father, Zacharias (Luke 1:13-17), but there is no record of John promoting this remarkable story. His focus was not on proclaiming who he was, but on doing the work that God had given him to do. The fruit of his life and teaching reveals that he fulfilled the role of Elijah, which Jesus confirms. A false prophet, though, with his covetousness, presumption, and self-will, is more likely to end up spending a good deal of time talking about himself.

Other false prophets, like Balaam, are essentially in it only for the money, and so they will do what is necessary to ensure that the gold rolls in. The False Prophet in Revelation points the whole world to another man—the Beast. A true prophet would never suggest that a man be worshiped, with the exception of John the Baptist pointing the people to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. John pointed people to a Man who was also God, and thus worthy of worship.

Prophets are false when they fail to express God’s will accurately, and they fail because they are not in contact with the true God. The fruits of their lives and the meaning behind their words will indicate the source of their teaching. To paraphrase Jesus Christ, by their words they will be justified, or by their words they will be condemned (Matthew 12:37). If the words of a prophet are contrary to Scripture, contrary to God’s law, the prophet is false, and worthy of condemnation for leading people astray.

by David C. Grabbe

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT… LYING SIGNS AND WONDERS?

Posted: October 18, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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2 Thessalonians 2:8-11: “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”

We live in an hour when there is an emphasis on things that are supernatural. Many movie, video and T.V. programs are delving into the supernatural. What does the word supernatural mean? It is referring to things that cannot be explained with a scientific or natural explanation. It is beyond the natural, a wonder that seemingly defies logic and is not explainable by the known forces or laws of nature. There are two sources that supernatural phenomenon can come from. Supernatural manifestations are actually things that have their source of power from the spiritual world. The spiritual world has two active powers in existence: God and His angels and Satan and his devils (also known as fallen angels).

Satan uses his supernatural “lying wonders and signs” to trap men into following him, while the Lord uses His miracles to lead men in a righteous path to follow Him. From the above verse we see that men can be deceived into believing a lie if they are deceived into accepting lying signs and wonders. The Church is experiencing a lot of miracles at this time, but along with the true miracles of God there are also false gifts of power, signs and lying wonders, that are not of God. How do we discern the difference so that we do not get caught up in something that is not of God which could lead us into error?

We can see that the devil is able to perform miracles as well as God by reading of a miracle that Satan’s magicians performed and how God did a greater miracle in Exodus 7:9-12: “When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.”

Most Christians want to receive those things that the Lord is doing that are miraculous, however some of the so called miracles of God are not coming from Him at all, but are glorifying men and not God. As Christians we cannot receive nor accept all miracles, signs and wonders just because the word “God or the Bible” is attributed as to being the source of those things. The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”

What should our role as Christians be in regard to acceptance of a sign, miracle or wonder? We are told to prove all things, not to reject them because they might be strange or new to us. However, we should not receive them either, until we first prove them. How do we prove things? All true Christians are in agreement that our standard is the Word of God, the Bible. God left us this Book as a reference, standard, or gauge so we could know whether something is good or evil, truth or error, right or wrong. (II Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”)

Here are some questions we need to ask when proving things. Does the sign, miracle or wonder line up with the Word of God? Is God receiving the glory for this miracle or is a man or woman being exalted? Can you picture Christ performing this miracle? Does the miracle draw attention to Christ or to the man performing the miracle? Does this wonder cause you love and worship God more? What is the purpose for this miracle? The Lord does not perform miracles just to exhibit His power to men. He does them for specific purposes and reasons.

This is demonstrated by the account of Jesus’ temptation of the devil to perform a supernatural feat so people would know He was God’s son. Look at Matthew 4:5-7: “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Here, Jesus refused to do a miracle just to demonstrate He had power. He called this tempting God. God displays His power, signs, wonders and miracles for His purposes. Here are some of the reasons and purposes in the Bible where the Lord demonstrates His signs, miracles or wonders. This is only a very small listing of miracles in the Bible:

(1.) Wonders of Apprehension (There are accounts of many men and women throughout the Bible who experienced supernatural happenings to them individually when the Lord called them for a special purpose.)

Moses at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3) In the presence of God He experienced God’s requirement for holiness.
Saul on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9) In the presence of God, Saul was shown his rebellion.

(2.) Miracles of Provision (When God’s people had a need that could not be met at the moment in the natural.)

Feeding of the Five Thousand (Matthew 14:16-21)
Provision of the Manna to the Israelites (Exodus 16:35)

(3.) Miracles of Protection (God keeps His people with angelic protection when they are in danger.)

Daniel in the Lion’s Den (Daniel 6)
Three Hebrew Children in the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3)

(4.) Miracles of Deliverance from Plotted Destruction (God sends angelic messengers to warn His people of danger and the way of escape.)

Joseph and Mary with Baby Jesus (Matthew 2)
Peter from Prison (Acts 11)

(5.) Miracles of Healing (God heals His people from all manner of disease and suffering through miracles.)

Healing of the Blind, Lame, Diseased and Sick by the Apostles (Book of Acts)
Healing of the Demonized Gaderene (Luke 8:26-39)

(6.) Miracles of Divine Revelation (God gives divine understanding of His Word and His plans.)

Jesus Reveals the Scriptures to His Disciples (Luke 24:45)
Daniel Receives Visions and Revelation from God (Daniel 10)

From these accounts of miracles, signs and wonders we can see that the purposes of God were performed. Some of the supernatural manifestations that are occurring in the present move of God do not come from God at all. They are from another source, the devil. Some Christians do not recognize them as coming from the devil as they quote having feelings of ecstasy in these meetings or feeling what they call the anointing or glory of God. There is a true feeling of the presence and the anointing of God however, some of what is happening is not of God. Many Christians live in a feeling realm with God and just go from meeting to meeting so they can “feel” good. God’s true anointing and glory will cause men to change, not merely feel good. If you are in the presence of God’s true glory you will begin to see your sin and repent and desire to do His will. God’s true glory is a revelation of His nature and attributes.

One of our major faults as Christians is that we tend to listen to men on certain subjects instead of referring to the Book God gave us. We recognize that God gave us men to lead us into the truths of God, but our problem becomes who are the true men of God and who are the false ones that Christ warned us about? Sometimes we tend to evaluate men according to the size of their ministries, their popularity with men, or their endowment of certain gifts, etc. The true test should be to test them by evaluating their fruit according to Galatians 5:22-24: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

Not only are we to test or try the spirits in men, but we are to do the same with any supernatural manifestations that we might experience. Today, when the world is being exposed to so many false things we need to be careful not to expose our spirits to false dreams, visions, revelations, prophecies, voices, signs, miracles, wonders, etc. The Word of God definitely teaches that God can manifest Himself in any, or all, of the above things; yet we are not to accept everything that comes in the name of Jesus. We need to test or prove these also. One of Satan’s greatest devices is to counterfeit the real things of God and come to us disguised as the working of the Holy Spirit.

One reason some people move too quickly to accept the things they believe to be God is that they are fearful of disobeying Him, and thereby angering Him. They do not yet understand the loving and patient nature of our Father. The Lord never minds us testing or trying things to see if He is in them. It is only when we put God on trial that we do wrong. If we come to Him with a humble and sincere heart, wanting to know the answer to an honest question, He is more than willing to reveal to us the truth about the matter. The only time we will not get an answer from God is when we approach Him rebelliously, demanding an answer from Him.

Many Christians are hesitant about proving or testing things as they tend to categorize this right along with “judging,” and they have been taught they are to judge no man. Most of us are familiar with the Scripture in Matthew 7:1 that says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” If we look at only this one verse, and we are trying to judge a situation, we will feel guilty about making an evaluation. However, we should look at all the other Scriptures related to this one, so we know how we are to judge.

Let us continue to read the rest of this Scripture, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:2-5).

Examining all these Scriptures, we see that Jesus is not saying we are not to judge, but rather how we are to judge. We are to judge mercifully and according to the Word of God.We need to humbly submit the thing in question to the Lord and ask Him to show us if it is of Him or if the sign or wonder is from the devil.

We need to go to the Word of God and seek the answer in the Bible. If the sign is from Him it will bear witness to our spirit, we who have the Spirit of Truth within us will be able to witness to and hear that truth. If we are uncomfortable about a sign, miracle or wonder, this could be the Holy Spirit warning us to test this thing.

If a service is reduced to a circus atmosphere with weird things that don’t agree with God’s nature, His gifts and His Word, it simply isn’t our Lord. Some things just don’t pass the test. 1 Corinthians 14:40 says “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

Although things are different in certain services it does not mean it is not God however, you will have a witness in your spirit that this is of God if you are seeking God with your whole heart. Ask Him to show you the truth and be open to receiving all that is from Him. On the other hand, ask Him to show you when something is not of God so that you will not be deceived. I make it a practice to run everything through what I call “the Holy Ghost filter”.

I always ask the Lord to show me the truth about things. I trust the Lord to guide me and show me what is of Him and to change my ideas if they are wrong about something. I also expect Him to confirm to me when I am right about things. John 16:13: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”

by Betty Miller

If you say “angel,” why can’t I say “devil”?

Posted: October 17, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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There is an occult movement among Christians. Some are seeking signs and wonders in spite of what the Word of God says:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. – Matthew 12: 38-40 –

NOTE: It was the the Scribes and Pharisees who asked for a sign. Such are the very same ones today doing the very same thing. The true Pharisees of today have twisted the truth in such a way, that if you dare question or challenge them in an area, then you are the Pharisee in their eyes. Bride of Christ, this is straight from hell and a tactic of the enemy. It is meant to intimidate you, to silence you, to keep you from testing things.

The things being called signs and wonders today are such silly and stupid things; gold teeth, angel feathers, gemstones, gold dust – it makes anyone with half a brain wonder if the church truly has gone mad or have they just not grown up. It appears they are stuck in some infantile state preferring spook stories than the unadulterated word of God. Would not surprise me one bit if someone at some point had a word from God saying that we all must suck our thumbs in order to receive a greater revelation.

One of the biggest claims now is orbs. Round balls of light that people are calling angels. Uh, really, now? Where is the proof? Some people are even taking pictures in hopes of catching an orb or two in their photo. This would be silly IF it were not so serious. What makes it serious is people are opening themselves up to the occult. There is absolutely no proof if these things are superantural events or not. Could be the lighting, could be the camera, could be any number of things. Yet Christians everywhere are claiming these things are angels. Well, if you can say angel, why can’t I say devil?

Shock! I can just hear some of you thinking I have committed the unpardonable sin by daring to question. I will ask you, where is the proof? The fact that you may think you feeeeel God’s presence? The fact that others — your special annointed teachers — say so?

Friend, I tell you now whoever you are, if you do not start testing things NOW, far greater delusions will come upon you and you will be primed to BOW before the first false image that comes your way. You are already bowing and do not know it. You are bowing to vain imaginations of false teachers/prophets/preachers each and every time you take their teaching and not test it.

The following video I put up once before, but in light of the orb thingy, I have put it up again in hopes that some will see and come out from among this deception.

You can go youtube and see all kinds of “orbs.” Some are even in so-called haunted houses. Some are fakes I’m sure. Others? It does not matter. What matters is people seeking out these things. You may as well go to a cemetery late at night and take pictures.

In the video below, whether fake or not, I don’t know.

You say angel, I say devil.

When I saw this, it reminded me of how today’s Christians are so easily taken in by deception. The following is more believable than the angel feathers, fake gold dust and the cheap gemstones falling from heaven — all of which can be bought in any craft store. One of the most stupid miracles out there is the gold teeth miracle. Think about it, people: God creates the real deal. Why would He give anyone a gold tooth when only He can make a real tooth? The people following this garbage are creating a fake and lying god for us to follow.

I was rebuked a couple weeks back by friend for not believing the many lies being brought into the church. I have decided no more will I be on the defensive. I am on the offense now with and for the truth. Those of you who are so big in decreeing every little thing in the name of your phony god — here’s one for you: I decree war on your lies.

THIS is what God has to say about your false teachers and lying prophets:

An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land:

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end? — Jeremiah 5:30 –

Enjoy the video. And remember, it is fake. As fake as the lying signs and wonders being committed in the name of a holy God. Except, this sign and wonder is much more entertaining than feathers falling from air ducts.

Wonder how long it will take before some phony in that whore who pretends to be the Bride of Christ tries to create something like this and call it God?

From: http://redeemedhippiesplace.wordpress.com/category/false-signs-and-wonders/

Get ready Church for the mountains of mans traditions are being bulldozed over by the Power of God’s Holy Spirit

Posted: October 13, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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Get ready Church for the mountains of mans traditions are being bulldozed over by the Power of God’s Holy Spirit….

The landscape of the modern day church is be re-landscaped back to that which was ordered from the commander in Chief, Christ Jesus, it’s King & Master. For His Kingdom in these last days is being re-aligned to the foundation upon which it was laid.

Holy Ghost fire is removing the cracked, polluted mortar and stones that has been applied over the centuries by what some might conclude where the good intentions of men, yet none the less without the authority of the Builder. For the Builder, Jesus Christ has the blue prints, for He is the Chief architect, and like a good architect, upon close inspection, when He sees things that have been constructed and set in place that are not according to His blue prints, He will order the non-authorized work to be removed. And this is exactly what is happening with the Church today.

Many of the doctrines of men that has been laid upon the true foundation of the church over the past centuries is not authentic- though from a distance appear to be correct, yet upon close review and when laid over the original blue prints, the errors are apparent, the weakened sections of the structure are exposed

Many of today’s “Leaders” are kicking against the transforming & moving wave of Holy Ghost – As He, upon the directive of the King is removing from the landscape of the church, the entrenched doctrine of the “One-man Show” that is central to what is called a “Church service” today.

For centuries, men have attempted to steal the lime-light from He who is the only WORTHY One to get the attention, Christ our Lord. The established church as rested the leadership of the Church, not upon He who is the Chief Cornerstone, rather upon individuals who are not called to such a position. there are many false flames in the landscape in today’s church, though they may have started off with the true Fire of God, they having strayed have transcended into strange fires, vacant of the Oils of Heaven.

The center stage “pastoral role” as it has been portrayed is honestly UN-biblical. Oh, now the religious crowd will jump all over this – but you know what, I do not have to answer to them, I need only answer to the one who has called me, Christ Jesus, my Lord & King. Show me in the Word of God, where the system of “church that is displayed today – you will not find within Spiritual truth – You might line up a good argument by twisting the Word, but line upon line you can not find it.

Today we have “Super-Stars” self proclaimed, though often times promoted by the religious establishment as legitimate, for they are crowd attractors which means more coins in the offering plate, who charge large sums of money, often times in the thousands, robbing the local storehouse of that which is intended for the local Brides needs. They are promoted as “Super-star” miracle workers, Prophets, Evangelist and Apostles – Again “One-man” show, Great performers yet in the wake of all the hype – peoples lives are never truly changed – it becomes an addictive spiritual drug to them as they are induced with the belief that there really are those who carry an anointing that is not available to the “regular” folks and they end up running from meeting to meeting, while to whole time their lives contain now true, lasting victory’s, mere quick fixes until the next “Show”.

With all this said, we can now take up the matter of today’s “formal meeting”-life of the church; concerning this kind of meeting- and we speak here particularly of the Sunday morning meeting [the meeting held on the “first day of the week” (Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor. 16:2)] – we turn to 1 Cor. 14:23, 26-33:

“If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad [crazy] ..?

“How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.

“But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

“Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

“If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

“For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

“And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (I Cor. 14:23, 26-33)

This is one of the few instances in the Bible where the “formal meeting” life of the early church is discussed, and while the circumstances which surround Paul’s mentioning of this series of particular meetings were admonitory, much can be gleaned from this passage which sheds a great deal of light on the meetings of the so-called “Apostolic Church.”

One of the first things that comes to mind in examining these meetings is that these meetings are not “one-man performance.” The meetings referenced were not a “one-man show,” but meetings in which everyone was expected to participate – either by calling out a song (that is, after all, what the psalms were all about), by teaching, by testifying to God’s goodness, etc. – and there is nothing to indicate from this passage (either by inference or direct statement) that Paul found anything amiss in any of this. True, he speaks against the confusion of the meeting, but he evidently does not attribute this to the fact that the meeting is not a “one-man performance;” instead he attributes it to the unbridled use of tongues in the meeting. And this is substantiated by the method that he suggests to end the confusion:

“When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.

“But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

“Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

“If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

“For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.” (1 Corinthians 14:26-31)

Where is there here any evidence of a “one-man show?” There is none! The meetings of the early church were characterized by mutuality and cooperation under the authority of the elders acting under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. How different this is from the “one-man shows” of today’s Christianity.

The Lord made it clear through the New Testament writes that “ALL” are to participate!

The meeting of the church should seek to emulate this form of meeting (the kind described in 1 Corinthians 14:26-31); it should be based upon the twin principles of mutual help and mutual edification. But this is impossible when the “success” of the meeting is contingent upon just one “gifted” member (or even a few “gifted” members). Under such circumstances, how can there be any mutuality? – and how can the other members ever gain any experience in ministering the Word of God? We repeat, the meeting of the church should be conducted by the church – the whole church – under the guidance of the church’s elders.

The dependence of the church on one man for the success of its meetings – meetings in which church members are encouraged to become passive and indolent, always expecting to be helped, rather than seeking, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, to be helpful to the other members – should be discouraged.

True, “one-man shows” often have a “better flow” and “polish” to them – but more often than not, it is the same kind of “flow” and “elegance” (refinement, dignity, grace) that one can expect to see in a performance on Broadway or in a Hollywood movie. Stagecraft and “special effects” are what count there; but stagecraft and “special effects” are “pretendings” (i.e., pretenses). They’re not real. They don’t produce life. What they produce are good performances.

But they certainly don’t build up the saints. What they create in the saints is an “audience mentality” – i.e., passivity and listlessness; they don’t (indeed, they can’t) create living, active, vigorous members of the body of Christ anymore than a performance at the theater can be expected to create actors from the audience. The fact is, a “good” audience in the theater or at the movies is one that will remain silent and listen, not one whose members jump up from their seats and join the actors on stage.

Once a church’s meetings are reduced to a “performance” and dependence on stagecraft and “special effects,” it’s only natural that an atmosphere will develop in the church where only the most “gifted” saints will dare to function. Those who are not so “gifted” (i.e., eloquent, articulate, persuasive, charismatic) will be encouraged to remain silent; after all, when such saints minister, they detract from the “show’s” “professionalism” and flow (elegance). Indeed, the meetings of the church become “performances” and “productions” in which only the most “qualified” can hope to participate. The fact is, when such an atmosphere is generated, the “normal” saints become too embarrassed to even open their mouths, let alone “try out” or “audition” for “better parts” in light of the “professionalism” of the more gifted “actors” – kind of like an actor at a local theater in some small mid-western town trying to share the stage with Madonna or Tom Cruise.

“Functioning” for the normal Christian in this kind of a situation means working as a “stage-handler” – i.e., moving the stage sets around, helping the actors with their makeup, taking tickets at the box office, cleaning up after the performance, etc., and this is precisely why so many in today’s evangelical church are weak and passive. They have no opportunity to exercise themselves spiritually in the meeting-life of the church. Each member’s responsibility for the success of the meeting has been lost sight of, and passivity has hindered the spiritual development of the individual members. We must get away from the idea of the Sunday meeting of the church being a “performance.” Such thinking is carnal in the worst sense of that word – everything for the “outward man;” nothing for the “inner man.” God deliver us from this kind of church-life, from this kind of meeting-life.

What about authority in the Meetings?

Ultimately, the authority in all the meetings rests with the Holy Spirit; that authority is administered through the elders of the local assembly or house-church who are, of course – and by definition – best equipped to discern the leading of the Spirit. Concerning the elders, Peter writes:

“Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according unto God; nor yet for filthy lucre (money), but of a ready mind; neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock.” (I Peter 5:2-3)

And Paul writes,

“Let the elders that rule well be counted of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.” (I Tim. 5:17)

Now in this context, it is important to note how the Word of God uses the term “rule” in connection with the elders. It does not mean to “lord over.” Jesus said,

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and [their] great men exercise authority over them.

“It is not [to be] so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,

“and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. ” (Matt. 20:25-28)

Again, we must remember that a scriptural church does not consist of an active and a passive group of brothers and sisters, the former controlling the latter, and the latter simply submitting to their control, or the former bearing all the burden while the latter settles down in ease to enjoy the benefit of the elders’ labors. “That the members … should care for one another” is God’s purpose for His church (I Cor. 12:24).

Now the question might fairly be asked, what exactly is an example? It is a pattern for others to follow. Since elders are to be a pattern to the brethren, then obviously it is neither God’s thought for them to do all the work and the brethren none; nor for the brethren to do all the work while the elders simply stand by and command. For the elders to be a pattern to the brethren implies that the brethren work and the elders work as well; and it implies that the elders work with special diligence and care so that the brethren should have a good example to follow. The elders are overseers of their brethren, but they are not “lords,” standing aloof and commanding. Such is the scriptural conception of the rule of the elders – not only with regard to the church in general, but also with regard to their participation in the meeting-life of the church. Again, we must always bear in mind what ALL authority in the church is aiming at; it aims specifically at –

“… the perfecting of the saints … for the edifying of the body of Christ:

“Till WE ALL come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

“From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Eph. 4:12-16)

The perfecting of the saints! – this is what real authority in the church is aiming at. Could there be any question regarding this matter in light of the above passage? Isn’t this what the themes of this passage clearly indicate? – “the perfecting of the saints” (plural, not singular); “the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ” (that means everyone); “we ALL” (again, everyone); “the whole body fitly joined together” (again, speaking about everyone); “edifying (building up) itself in love.” It is the duty, then, of the elders to encourage (but not necessarily to command) the participation of all the members in the meeting-life of the church.

To this end, the elders should not be aiming at a “good performance,” but full participation. This is not to say that the meetings should not have direction; they should – and it is the duty of the elders to set that direction and “flow;” but as much leeway as possible should be granted to the saints – even to the point of letting them make mistakes; after all, how is it possible to learn without making mistakes? We repeat, the meeting of the church is not a performance; if anything, it should resemble a family coming to the dinner table and conversing with one another while they eat.

As in all families, there are some who are older, and some who are younger. There are grandpas and grandmas, and there are infants. There are children and teenagers. There are mothers and dads. There are aunts and uncles. There is everyone. All are invited to come and eat, and to participate in the conversation.

In such a context is there any mother and/or father so “proper” and “correct” that they do not want to hear from all the members of the family – even the youngest and most immature? Certainly not! Sometimes the happiest moments at a family dinner – the most memorable – are when the children have something to say. How the father and mother rejoice to hear their children; to listen to them share their joys and sorrows. But how can the parents know what those joys and sorrows are unless the children speak out. Remember, dinner time is not a performance where only the grandpas and grandmas, and the mothers and dads speak? That’s not what God wants! To be sure, there should not be chaos at the table. No one wants to sit at a table where there is disorder and confusion. Let everyone speak in turn. Let everyone listen in turn.

We are entering a season when much of the world’s financial institutions are going to collapse – we are going to see a world who is seeking real answers, a real solution and the governments of this world are not going to have (actually they already do not have) the answers. Much of the churches finances are tied up in buildings today and this has caused a weakening of the Word, much of the preaching as transcended into a user friendly version – The Church at large has allow the worldly systems to influence how the operate, how they “market” they service and “their” ministry. Many of these building are going to be deserted and many ministries are going to not only go out of business, they are going to have to file bankruptcy because they have build man-made and man funded empires totally outside of the “blue-prints” of the King. Thus is already happening, such as we have seen that glass cathedrals can come crashing down, especially when the are personality focused, rather than Jesus focused holding onto the Word in all purity.

Am I sounding like a dooms day prophet?

No friends, not only is the writing upon the walls of history as it unfolds before our very eyes – it was already writing about in the Word of God -let those who have Spiritual eyes discern what the Spirit of the Living God has spoken and is speaking.

The Remnant shall survive – those whose faith is in the Lord and not in man shall, through faith over-come – the true Ekklesia shall rise up in this day and even in the face of the worlds financial structures crumbling, they shall not lack – those who are building up and sowing into God’s true and faithful storehouses, shall eat of that fruit. God is not a God of lack, He is a God of Abundance and two of the keys to the store house of His abundance is obedience and faithfulness.

Hunger for His Word, for His unadulterated Pure Word, seek and ask Holy Ghost to open the book to you as you’ve never seen it before, to expose the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven which can only be seen through Spiritual eyes, one must be Born-again of the Spirit to see the Kingdom of God!

We are living in the days when the hearts of men shall faint, when people will be running to the mountains in fear, terrible days for the unbelievers – Yet Praise God for the saved, for we are living in the days when we are seeing the Glory of the Lord rising upon His Bride.

Those who have ears, listen to what the Spirit of the Lord is speaking in these day’s, those who have Spiritual Vision, look and you shall see the Hand of the Almighty, moving the lines of nations around, reordering things that men said could never be moved.

These are days in which, having repented and crying out for His Kingdom, His Will we shall speak and see the Kingdom of God in all its authority transforming the very atmosphere, climate and culture around us. For our God is a God we can boast about, for indeed our God is an Awesome God!!!

Walking in the radical power of the Kingdom……

Posted: October 12, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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(I recently had the opportunity to not only listen to a man with such authority, but had the time to set down and talk with him. I came to see in Dan Mohler, such a person who is not merely speaking about the radical power of the Kingdom of God, but one who lives in it and releases it on a day to day basis).

There is a season of God coming upon the earth in which many will come into the glorious reality of a relationship with God that will allow a release of the miracle working power (dunamis) of God into the world on an unprecedented scale.

Never before has the world seen the awesome release of the mature sons of God walking in His supernatural power on such a large scale. Works of God that exceed the works of Jesus and the disciples in the first century will come forth on the earth as the conditions are met by the sons of God to receive the authority to flow the power of God. God greatly desires to release His power from heaven on earth through many sons. (Rom 8:19) (Heb 2:10)

God’s purpose for releasing His power in mankind is the redemption of the world. The salvation of man for heaven after death is a part of that redemption, but God’s purpose is larger and more comprehensive. God’s purpose in releasing power from heaven is to bring forth the kingdom of heaven on earth as it is in heaven.

The unlimited power of God is potentially available to change the world with and through mankind. The entire planet can be changed from the ways of men and the devil to the holy ways of God. The sin of man can be wiped from the face of the earth and the glory of God established in every area of life on the planet. The power of the Creator is available to work with and through man- kind to create the kingdom of heaven on earth. What will it take for this power to be flowing in your life?

The unlimited power of God is potentially available to change the world with and through mankind. The entire planet can be changed from the ways of men and the devil to the holy ways of God. The sin of man can be wiped from the face of the earth and the glory of God established in every area of life on the planet. The power of the Creator is available to work with and through man- kind to create the kingdom of heaven on earth. What will it take for this power to be flowing in your life?

Man must have specific authority from God to use the force or power of God in the world. Great power must always be accompanied by great authority. To be safe and effective, power must be restrained and focused. Power must be released in the right place at the right time at the correct rate. It must be directed toward the target and restrained from other non target areas.

Another Greek word sometimes translated “power” in the New
Testament is “exousia” and means primarily “authority”. It is defined as follows: G1849. exousia, ex-oo-see’-ah; from G1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subj.) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (obj.) mastery (concr. magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:–authority, jurisdiction, lib- erty, power, right, strength.

Man must receive the authority (exousia) from God to use the miraculous power (dunamis) from God. There are conditions that must be met in the heart and life before these power gifts from God can be received by man. Many Christians seem to think that just because they are of the Christian faith they have power and authority over the devils and things of the world. Yet many continue to be plagued with demonic oppression and disorders in their lives and are unable to be a substantial factor in overcoming evil in the world. Many who seek to minister continue to find their efforts produce little or no real fruit and long for the power to make real change in peoples lives and subsequently the world.
All power and authority is given unto Jesus. (Mat 28:18) Only Jesus can give the miracle working power and authority of God to man.

Luke 9:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

Later Jesus sent out seventy others and gave them power and authority over evil spirits and disease. Jesus often demonstrated power and authority over all the works of the enemy and over all nature. But only on a few occasions did He share that power with a few selected people. (Luke 10:1)

Before Jesus’ crucifixion He promised that many would be given the power and authority to do the works that He did and even greater works.

John 14:12: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

At Jesus’ resurrection and ascension the miracle working power of God, which was on the earth in Jesus, left the earth with Him. It was necessary for the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the return of the power (dunamis) of God in Jesus by the Holy Spirit to in-dwell believers. At Pentecost the awesome power of God re- turned to earth and in-dwelled those believers who were chosen to be filled with miracle working power and given authority to change the world by overcoming the works of the enemy and establishing the ways and works of God.

These began immediately to speak by the Spirit with authority and began to manifest astonishing demonstrations of the Spirit

. Their teaching and preaching became like Jesus with authority and demonstration of miracle working power. The people had been astonished when the power of God was evident in Jesus as he spoke with authority and power and cast out unclean spirits. Now they were seeing that same authority and power in these disciples.

Luke 4:31-36: Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are; the Holy One of God!”

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.

Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

Why did Jesus choose to give this power and authority to only a select few during His life on earth and why did He through the Holy Spirit come first only to those waiting in the upper room?

Why is it today that some are seeing these great miracles in their life and ministry and some are not? In these days of revival, more people are being chosen to receive authority to demonstrate the miracle working power of God. Yet there are others who call themselves believers who are not receiving it? What makes the difference in one who only wishes for the miracle working power of God to flow in and through their lives and those who actually see the miracle working power of God working through their lives?

Perhaps, the real question for you and me is: How can I obtain the authority (exousia) to have the power (dunamis) of God flow through me?

We don’t need more theological discussions or religious formulas about this. We must have what the twelve and the seventy received from Jesus. We must have what people like that of Dan Mohler and many others have in their lives today. What makes them different? How are they different from many others who wish they had the power of God and who seek it and may even try to act as though they have it, but do not have the reality of the power of God flowing through their lives?

How and why did these receive the impartation of the power of God? How can we receive the impartation of the power of God?

There may not be a simple one, two, three answer to these all important questions, but perhaps we can get some help from a brief look at some characteristics of those walking in (dunamis) power.

One thing that sticks out is that the twelve and the seventy had all been with Jesus. They had sold out and given up other things in life to just be with Jesus — to walk with Him and be a part of what He was doing. Jesus is the anointed one and the anointing of power flows through Him. He is the one in authority and is the one who can impart that authority. The word in the Bible translated anointing means to be rubbed on with oil. Those who were close to Jesus were the ones who received. Those who were not close and were busy about other things in life did not receive the transference of authority and power.

The men and women of today who are demonstrating the power of God on a consistent basis and have authority to carry and impart the power of God all have sold out other things in life to focus on the one thing of being with Jesus. Often they have spent time with other men and women in whom the authority and power of God are present. The gifts and anointing are often transferred by the laying of hands by those who are anointed with Christ and filled with His power.

Only those who have been given the authority from Christ to receive the gifts and power will receive from the laying on of hands — those with whom He has been intimate — who have proven them- selves trustworthy and have a pure heart and no other gods in their lives. God will not allow the authority to remain for an extended time on those whom He does not know and trust.

A touch from God is not the same as impartation. A touch can prepare one to give their life to God. But an impartation is for those who have figuratively sold all and can now be trusted with the awesome power of God. They will use what they are given only according to the desire of God. There are no other needs or priorities that drive them. Obedience to the Spirit of God is essential to walking in power. God will not release true spiritual authority to those who are not walking in obedience.

No amount of money or sacrifice can purchase the power of God for a believer with impurities yet existing in the heart. The wounded and yet unhealed heart containing any amount of resentment or bitterness in any form cannot obtain the authority of Christ to flow the power of God.

Acts 8:18-23: And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! “You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.

“Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. “For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

The authority and power of God is only in God. God desires to in-dwell believers and to demonstrate His power and authority through us. Yet, He is a holy God and cannot dwell with iniquity. True inner holiness in our hearts is the only place for God to dwell and to rest His authority and power. Sometimes the road of purification to holiness can take one through much repentance and brokenness. Only our love for God and our sincere desire for Him can bring us through deep purification. Seeking Him with our whole heart will bring us into a relationship with Him that allows His life and power to flow through us.

We must make a radical decision to surrender all at the alter of the Lord, allowing Holy Ghost to come into our lives and perform a radical transformation. We must be radical in our decision to let go of the things of this world, all that ties us to it, all that has become an idol set up between us and our Holy God.

For indeed true disciples of Christ, the matured sons and daughters are they who have made the radical decision to follow none but God, to lay their lives down, and in a lowly position pick up their cross and follow Christ.

For our God is a radically Awesome God!!!!

Highway of Holiness

Posted: October 11, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
Isaiah 35:8

When I first read this scripture, my mind immediately drew a parallel between the highway of holiness and driving down America’s highways. Here we go:

1. To get on the highway of holiness, you must first make the right turn. That is, whatever road you’re going down now, you must catch the on-ramp. The only way onto this highway is through the Blood of Jesus Christ. The destination is heaven, and Jesus said, “I am the Way.”

2. To make progress on this highway, you must keep your foot on the accelerator. That is, you must continually move forward. There is no turning back. You will encounter numerous distracting billboards and demonic off-ramps. My friend, stay on the main highway.

3. To ensure your continual progress, you must stay between the lines. This has to do with holiness, and the Bible clearly marks the proper direction.

4. Be sure, on the highway of holiness, to keep your vehicle (soul) tuned up. Make sure you check the oil. The Master Mechanic (Holy Spirit) will keep your engine running smooth if you’ll submit to His vehicle inspection.

5. You must stay on this highway until you reach your destination. Don’t settle for Satan’s substitutes. The devil’s rest stops can turn into death stops. Take heed to these simple rules, and you’ll be well on your way.

1 Kings 14; Colossians 1;
Ezekiel 44; Psalms 97-98
By: Pastor Steve Hill

Walking in Kingdom Life Now

Posted: October 10, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching
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Fresh kingdom life is flowing from heaven. There is an entering into spiritual life beyond where we have walked before. In this fresh life, things we believed and hoped are now becoming reality. Scriptures we have believed and trusted in by faith have become living reality in the experience of kingdom life. Things of the Spirit we have read about in the Bible and thought we understood have become real living experience as we enter the fresh flow of kingdom life.

Probably most believers, especially those who call themselves Spirit-filled, are familiar with the New Testament words to live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. And many have sought to live and walk in the Spirit.

What most of us have had may have been only an earnest or token of the reality of living in and walking in the Spirit.

Some are now experiencing a greater fresh life of kingdom reality living in and walking in the Spirit.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit, Gal 5:25.

Some believers are awakening into a real experience of becoming dead to natural perceptions and made alive in the Spirit. In the past most of us have viewed being dead to the cares of this natural life and alive in the Spirit as a concept or goal to work toward or as a biblical truth to be sought after in some ethereal way. This has changed. The fading of natural life and living in the Spirit is more real today in this season of open heaven experience.

The natural man in all of us is blind and deaf in the heavenly spiritual realm. He cannot experience the spiritual realm. He is dead to the reality of life experience in the spiritual realm (1 Cor 2:14).

Even as believers, have we continued to see and hear in the natural more than in the spiritual?

Many believers have had far too much respect for the natural and far too little respect for the Spirit. Few in past recent centuries have truly lived and walked in the Spirit.

Even past leaders have been, for the most part, spiritually blind and deaf to the real life in the kingdom of God, living and walking in the Spirit of God (Isa 42: 18-21).

Eyes and ears are opening to the Spirit. Prisons of belief systems that have limited people to natural life experience are opening to life in the Spirit in this season of kingdom reality flowing from heaven. Some are becoming blind and deaf to natural perceptions as they cease walking in the flesh or natural mentality and begin living and walking in much higher and in-depth perception and wisdom in the Spirit.

We are now beginning to experience what it really means to be in Christ and Christ in us. It is a life of being blind and deaf to natural perceptions and earthly wisdom. It is a life in the world but so much not of the world that we take no thought and make no provision for natural needs but instead seek the kingdom of God (Mat 6:25-33) (Rom 13:14).

It is a life lived in the Spirit of Christ with clear sight and hearing in spiritual reality. It is an unlimited life of love and power in which all things are becoming possible – a life in which the Spirit of Christ in us only does what He sees and hears the Father doing and saying. It is a life of being crucified with Christ and yet alive as Christ lives in us (Gal 2:20). We are in the world as Christ is in the world (1 John 4:17). This is now becoming real experience to those who are entering the fresh flow of kingdom life from heaven.

Father God is Spirit. Christ Jesus was Spirit in heaven before coming to earth as a man and now after the cross, resurrection, ascension, and return as a “life-giving Spirit” He dwells in His Body on earth by the Spirit and is seated at the right hand of God at the same time. The kingdom flow is by the Holy Spirit bringing the Father who raised Christ from the dead and Christ who gave himself for us to abide in us. God is now with us in the Spirit that indwells us. Heaven is come to earth by Spirit God.

Everything we have of Father God, Christ Jesus, and His kingdom is in the Holy Spirit reality of the kingdom flowing now. This is no longer just a teaching or a doctrine; it is a real experience in the fresh flow of kingdom life.

Rom 8:9-14: But you are not in the flesh (natural human being) but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Living and walking in the Spirit is a higher life of far greater intelligence than walking in the natural mind.

Connecting into the Spirit accesses the spiritual intelligence and heavenly wisdom of God. It is like connecting into the ultimate computer of all creation and existence. As we put to death (become blind and deaf) to the natural and alive in the Spirit, seeing and hearing from God, mysteries and understandings that our natural minds could not possibly figure out are easily and readily available in the Spirit of God. Through abiding in Christ and He in us by the Spirit, our mortality can put on immortality. We have the quality of eternal life now. This finite can become as one with infinite eternal God.

Putting to death the deeds (workings) of the body (natural man) by the Spirit allows us to LIVE by the Spirit and no longer by the natural. Thus, it is possible to no longer walk as mere man limited with natural human intellect and understanding but to walk as joint heirs of all heavenly attributes with Christ, led entirely by the Spirit as living spiritual beings in earth bodies, sons of God.

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

FAITH is the key to accessing the Holy Spirit and the kingdom realm that is above and greater than the natural.

God has provided and is providing the way out of the prison of thinking the Holy Spirit is a lesser part of the triune God. The Holy Spirit is more than a messenger sent from God. Father and Son are in the Holy Spirit. We have only one God in three manifestations. The kingdom of God is in the Holy Spirit. Angels are spirit beings sent as messengers and ministers from God. Holy Spirit is God. You cannot come to God without believing that He is and diligently seeking Him.

Heb 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Believing in the Holy Spirit is faith in God that empowers and enables us to live and walk in the kingdom of God life now. Dishonoring or blaspheming the Holy Spirit blocks access to God and His kingdom (Mark 3:28-29).

Receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7) (Acts 1:8) – live in the Spirit – walk in the Spirit and Christ Jesus, and the Father will establish the kingdom of God in you.
Faith is dissolved when hope becomes manifest reality.
When we really live and walk in the reality of spiritual kingdom, faith is no longer required; it has matured into reality.

Heb 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Rom 8:24: For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

Yes, multitudes across the whole earth are by faith seeking the kingdom in hope of its coming and redemption. Sadly most all do not yet see that the kingdom comes first in the Spirit by the Spirit. Christ Jesus can live in us by the Spirit to impart the reality of walking in the kingdom of God now in this moment. The kingdom of God will not rule in this world until many sons of God are alive by the Spirit and are walking in the Spirit. Only then will the natural world be renewed by the impact of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is within you if indeed Christ dwells in you by the Spirit.

At this moment, I do not believe I have ever said anything more important than this. The kingdom of God is now alive and is consuming, filling, empowering in rapturous ecstasy those who are entering, and it is available to all who will seek it with all their hearts.

The Lord would have me speak personally for a moment to describe a bit of what this is like for me. It is like heaven has come down and encapsulates me in a heavenly Spirit bubble that moves with me as I move about. Spirit flow seems to rest deep in my chest and flow out to form the bubble of Spirit encompassing my life. In this place everything is seen in Spirit, and instruction is immediately available. There is no delay in reaching God. Communion, and conversation is instant almost all the time. Things in the Spirit are very primary and close, and things in the natural are secondary and a bit distant.

Walking in the Spirit is a very real tangible experience of life in Christ in us. Experiences may vary, and what is happening to me may be different in others. However, I have the distinct feeling that there will be such an awesome reality of the presence of God in the Spirit, that those who are entering will know they are no longer in faith hoping for that which has now become reality.

Is there faith for more? Yes, but now for me it is not my faith but the faith of Christ who is my life. There is great rest in walking in Christ knowing He really lives in me in practical spiritual kingdom reality.

Gal 2:20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

Spiritual Church (Ekklesia)

Posted: October 7, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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We are as explorers moving day by day further into a new land , a land we have never before seen, filled with things we have not yet known. Almost every day of our journey reveals awesome sights about which we may have heard but were unable to understand or even imagine until our eyes feast upon it, and all of our senses are quickened as we examine it with great excitement. Suddenly, what we have only read about and could not fully understand now makes perfect sense as we partake of and experience the reality of that which has previously been only a promise.

The future has come to us now. The glorious reality of God and His kingdom reality is presenting itself more as we reach each new horizon and partake of the previously unseen spiritual reality of God. Truly our eyes are lifted up unto the hills of God far above the darkness of the fallen world unto the heavenly order descending from above. Truly what God has prepared for those that love Him had never entered our natural minds until this blessed day in which the Holy Spirit is revealing it to a new generation of maturing sons of God.

We are more than being revived. We are being made alive in areas where we have never lived before. Our spiritual senses and spiritual lives have been so dulled by centuries of natural living and natural reasoning and understanding that, though we were alive, we were as dead being blind and deaf to supernatural spiritual reality.

The supernatural works of God were foreign and appeared impossible to us. We relegated all current supernatural to only demonic sorcery. The supernatural gifts of the Spirit that should have been part of our daily lives were not functioning. Our natural animal instinctive living led us to look unto our own ways devised by our prideful natural minds to provide for our natural appetites, while the world died spiritually and drifted into a realm of deep darkness far from the light and life of spiritual living in God.

We made church into a human endeavor of natural functions and developed religion in an attempt to reach God with our natural efforts. We took a devious shortcut to life and developed religious forms and ways to eliminate the costly real way of the cross of self denial and acceptance of spiritual reality. In bypassing our personal cross experience, we missed the resurrection life of Jesus that came to move us out of our natural ways and into the supernatural spiritual ways of resurrection life in God.

Praise God we have come to a new horizon, and the brightness of the light of God has appeared. Forerunner scouts have returned to the camp of explorers with glorious reports of real spiritual life of God just ahead, and we are moving out at first daylight to experience the real assembling of God with His people in spiritual gatherings with God.

The Ekklesia church is not a natural thing it is a spiritual reality. The Ekklesia is made up of spiritual beings called out of the natural world and into spiritual reality gathered unto God in the Spirit – a spiritual gathering of living stones � an assembly of Spirit God, Jesus, many angels, and spirits of just men made mature in Jesus. All of our questions about headship, structure, and organization of church are dissolved as the Ekklesia comes together in the Spirit in the heavenly New Jerusalem on earth as it is in heaven.

Heb 12:22-24: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

For many centuries the church has been, for the most part, a gathering of natural beings with only occasional visitations of the Spirit touching the spirit within mankind. For the most part, natural effort went into performing religious rituals and praying mostly faithless prayers to a perceived distant God. It became a lukewarm church primarily concerned with social order and well-being. Skilled orators preached from a level of a higher caste than the ordinary laity who sat quietly at weekly meetings. Some received a sense of guilt and need for repentance of their sins, while others day-dreamed or fought to stay awake.

Probably no one even thought or dreamed of a gathering of spiritual beings on earth together with an innumerable company of angels, God the judge of all, Jesus the firstborn, and spirits of just men made perfect. We are so accustomed to living in the natural earthly side of our natural/spiritual being that the concept of the spiritual heavenly Jerusalem gathering on earth is hard for us to even think.

I believe God is speaking to His people today to step out of our natural side into our spiritual being side and look over the next horizon into the gathering of spiritual beings with Christ Jesus, Father God, holy angels, and spirits of others redeemed by the blood and living in the better things of the spiritual realm. The Holy Spirit brings all this to pass. Our spirits come together with the Holy Spirit and the entire God family and multitudes of angels.

Can we see it? Can we allow the reality of the spiritual Ekklesia to enter into our minds? Can we prepare now to come together in our next gathering as spiritual beings and not as natural people? No longer filled with conversation and considerations of natural things but filled with spiritual things � waiting upon the Spirit, instead of natural planning. This is moving into the next horizon of the reality of walking in the Spirit, abiding in Him and He in us. This is God dwelling with His people. The light of His glory will fill the room, and our hearts will knit together with God and one another.

2 Cor 6:16: �.. For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”

Rev 21:3: And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Rev 21:23: The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

Supernatural will become natural in spiritual gatherings. There will be no need for pumping and hype, no need for natural human intervention and control. The Spirit of God will rule as the headship of Christ Jesus becomes fully evident. It is the family of God from heaven and earth coming together, worshiping the One who sits upon the throne in perfect harmony � multitudes of angels blending their voices with the spirits of justified men in heavenly melody rising to high crescendos and flowing as a mountain stream lightly through the valley and suddenly flowing with great strength and joy into a glorious waterfall to again come into deep pools of fresh sweet clear life in perfect peace – heaven and earth in perfect harmony praising God upon the throne.

Mat 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

John 4:23-24: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Keep on pursuing love.
It never fails.

Ron McGatlin

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