OUR DISPOSITION AT THE ALTAR WILL AFFECT OUR POSITION IN THE KINGDOM

Posted: April 30, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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OUR DISPOSITION AT THE ALTAR WILL AFFECT OUR POSITION IN THE KINGDOM

Don Atkin
http://www.DonAtkin.com

· Present your bodies a living sacrifice.
· Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Forty years ago, I knew EVERYTHING. Thirty years ago, I knew MOST things. Twenty years ago, I knew SOME things. Ten years ago, I knew VERY LITTLE. Today, I’m with Paul:

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

For me, decreasing so that Jesus might increase in me has been a lifelong challenge. Whatever the question, I was the answer (at least in my mind). I am so thankful for those dear, patient saints who put up with me during those early years.

I specifically remember * (almost thirty years ago) being part of a local group of ministers who met together for fellowship and prayer each week. I always had the answers—until, one day, when the Holy Spirit was ready to discipline me about ruling my own spirit.

He who rules his own spirit is better than he who takes a city.
I already had visions of “taking cities.” But was still very carnal—earthbound—in how that was to be accomplished. The school of the Spirit was opening (for me) for a new session. I had my first assignment: “I want you to remain silent for four of these weekly meetings, beginning today.”
Someone asked, “Where does the Bible say _______________________?” I immediately responded with book, chapter and verse. Conviction enveloped me. I was GUILTY to the max! “Oh, Father. Please forgive me! “No problem, My son. Your four weeks can begin next week.” BTW, I was wrong in the Scripture I referenced, adding to my humiliation.

It took me seven painful weeks to learn this lesson. Ruling our spirits is a primary governmental (kingdom) essential. By so doing we are able to rightly steward divine truth, the mysteries of the kingdom.

The high road that leads toward the oneness of the body of Christ is paved with sincere humility and navigated by diligence and discipline. By the grace of God, I am what I am.

Jesus—the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world–has been, is now, and will be forever, the foundation of our gospel and the Head of His body, the church. This has been, is now, and will be forever, the Seed of eternal truth. “I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”—I AM, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

JESUS, THE PRESENT PERFECT LAMB
Let’s look to Jesus in the present perfect tense. His sacrificial death was a reality in the mind of eternal God from the foundation of the world. God was not surprised by Adam’s fall or Israel’s failure.
Provision had already been written into the schematics of God’s master plan for His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

The time/space limitations of our humanity have been swallowed up into the context of God’s eternal personhood. Jesus—current fix for all generations—reaches both backward and forward from Calvary’s cross, to draw those who believe unto eternal life in Him.

The bronze altar in the Outer Court of Moses’ Tabernacle was a type and shadow of the cross/crucifixion. The cross of Calvary was Jesus’ springboard to victory, the appropriate prototype for all mankind.

Our cross is the ante-type, and our springboard to victory!

“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him.”

OUR POSTURE ON THE CROSS DETERMINES OUR POSITION IN CHRIST!

There’s a whole lot of mocking going on! There’s a whole lot of unfinished business in the church! The way to royalty is through the cross. When leaders step away from the cross to judge and criticize brethren or to quibble over paradigms, they leave their crowns on the mercy seat.

The only recourse or remedy is to return to the mercy seat through repentance, and in the hope of having the plank removed from our own eyes. This is the only way that we might be renewed in hope, and graced once again to obey the new commandment—that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

LOVE KEEPS US NEAR THE CROSS!
Above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything.

First priority—above all things—most of all—be proactive in sustaining fervent love for one another. Do so as if your life depends upon it.

The resources are available (in resurrection life) for us to obey in faith and to find our delight in releasing this love among one another. Love has taken up permanent residence in us, and is always available to fill the place we give Him. We are without excuse.

Jesus will meet us at the cross, be with us in dying to self, and bring us forth into newness of life. He is the way, the truth and the life—the access to the Father. If we want to be in Him and have Him in us in resurrection power, then we must meet Him in the cross. Authentic spiritual service precludes any other options.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

TOSSED, BLOWN AND IMMATURE
The bronze altar (typifying humanity) is immediately available to us in the outer court. We leave all of our human judgments and other limitations there on the altar, by faith, and move into the Holy Place, where the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us. It is there in the enlightened realm of the Holy Place that we find our particular identity and placement in Him, ala the golden table of shewbread.

Whenever we step out of that place (backslide) and begin again to judge others, we are no longer in the flow of the Spirit. We’ve once again put off Christ, and clothed ourselves with filthy rags. We have chosen to arm ourselves with the strength of our own flesh.

We have returned to the dung heap, forsaking gold, silver and precious stones, and are building with wood, hay and straw.

Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it (the foundation—Christ) endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

A PLEA TO ELDERS AND EQUIPPERS, FATHERS AND MASTER BUILDERS
There is a huge weight upon us; a stricter judgment awaits us.
It is good (not) to do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Perhaps our highest service to our King, perhaps our greatest devotion to our Father, is our example to the flock of God. People need to see love in our actions and hear love in what we speak.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Where there are brethren, fellowship them.
Where there are issues, deal with them. (Wisdom is ours for the asking.)
Where there are problems, solve them. (God has the solutions we need.)
Where there are differences, embrace them. (God is not finished with us yet.)

We need to back into our brothers’ tents with blankets, and cover their nakedness! Moreover, we should make tunics and linen trousers to cover their (our brothers’) nakedness, so that when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die.

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Walk in the Spirit – Walk with Christ

Posted: April 29, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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Many believers today desire and need more of the powerful, supernatural life of Christ in their lives. In the near future we may have even greater desire and need of increased supernatural guidance of God. The “day of the Lord” is coming against all that lifts itself against God (Isa 13:6-9).

In biblical history there have been many “day of the Lord” interventions of God. The “day of the Lord” is said to come against a people, tribe or nation for purifying God’s people through their repentance and turning to Him. Cleansing of the earth takes place as God’s people and those who will turn to Him are purified. A godly remnant always remains. Also the earth is cleansed by the destruction of the wicked, ungodly people, tribes and nations who will not turn to God. In all of the “day of the Lord” events recorded in scripture cleansing is involved for His people and destruction for the ungodly people and all they have built. (For more on “the day of the Lord” see Chapter 8 of “The Seventh Millennium” free download book. For more on fiery judgments study Chapter 7)

In the coming season of worldwide turbulent conditions caused by corrective and earth-cleansing works of God, it will be important to accurately hear and obey the intimate communication of our Lord by the Spirit. The righteous will want to accurately hear and follow the leading of the Lord by His Spirit in all areas of life and business. It will be important to be in the right place at the right time both spiritually and naturally to fully receive the provisions of the Lord.

Continuous Abiding

At Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit descended like a dove on Him and remained. Never before had the Holy Spirit permanently and continuously abode with anyone. Before Christ, the Spirit came upon people and empowered them for special purposes for a season. God often sent angels as messengers, and with a few such as Moses, He met with them personally apart from the rest of the people. However, not since before Adam fell has God permanently dwelled with anyone until Christ Jesus.

When Christ Jesus walked upon the earth in the Spirit, a number of disciples walked with Him as He went from place to place doing the works of God by the Holy Spirit. As the disciples followed Christ Jesus on His journeys and ministries, they followed the leadership of God in Him and observed the empowerment of God flowing through Christ. They also heard His words of heavenly wisdom and supernatural knowledge and understanding as He spoke and creation obeyed. When He sent them out alone and breathed the Spirit on them, they also were empowered to do the works of God.

Walking With Jesus

Every born-again, Spirit-filled child of God has the potential to walk in the Spirit and thereby walk with Christ Jesus in this life now. Every person reading this has before them the opportunity to be truly re-birthed as a new spiritual creation to walk with Christ Jesus in the Spirit observing Him do the works of God and speak powerful creative words of heavenly wisdom into the world. The potential reality of walking in the Spirit with the abiding Spirit of Christ within us is even more intimate than the disciples walking with Christ in His earthly body. Jesus was with the disciples, but after His spiritual return in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, He was in them just as He had promised them. Yet, He was still bodily seated at the throne of God.

John 14:17-20: “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”

The Spirit of the Lord dwelling in His people is the confident expectation of the glory of God on earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom of God potential is now dwelling within His people on earth. A generation is being formed that will live by the Spirit to walk in the Spirit carrying the reality of Christ in their mortal bodies to do the will and works of God on earth as it is in heaven. A generation is being transformed as we see the glory of the Lord within and manifest before us. The glory of the Lord is seen in one another as the Spirit of the Lord manifests His life among us.

2 Cor 3:18: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

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

Christ Our Leader and King

Our lives are to be completely bowed before Him. Our independent self-life is never to arise again. It is the resurrected life of Christ Jesus that arises within us to stand strong and mighty with all love and assurance of peace and all power, humbly administrated to bring peace and goodwill toward mankind and Planet Earth. The people of God will see the glory of the Lord even as the fire of God dissolves all that lifts itself against God.

The light of God shall shine forth upon and through the mature sons of God and all who completely bow their lives to the King, even while deep darkness of cataclysmic fiery earth-cleansing judgments are upon the earth.

Isa 60:1-2: Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.

No earthly man can lead us through this coming season of both worldwide turmoil and glory of God at the same time. Christ Jesus will lead us by His Spirit within and among us. True apostolic and prophetic people, gifted with a mature abundance of Christ Jesus manifesting in their lives, will help with foundational leadership. Every child of God must build upon the foundation with their lives in complete obedience to the Spirit of Christ within themselves.

Christ in us is not only the hidden mystery of the confident expectation of glory; it is also the light of the world. Follow the light of Christ within and in the God-sent apostolic and prophetic leaders. Do not follow any man or system that is not the light of Christ. We will know the difference only if our self-life is totally bowed before Christ Jesus and His resurrection life has arisen within us.

If we continue to have any amount of trust in systemized religion or secular ungodly men and their teachings, we will be not recognize the God-sent, light-bearing leaders. We will not have the clear light of the risen life of Christ within. We will be deceived and suffer swift chastening and must quickly repent and bow only to the Lord and King Christ Jesus.

God is raising up a new generation of kingdom leaders.

Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.

Ron McGatlin

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

A tribute to a mighty man of God!- Rev. David Wilkerson

Posted: April 28, 2011 in Uncategorized
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“After much prayer, careful study and reliance on the Holy Spirit, I have concluded this about Christ’s intercession for us. Jesus died on the cross to purchase peace with God for me – and He is in heaven now to maintain that peace, for me and in me.” — David Wilkerson

Today is a sad day for me, for the man who led me to the Lord, died in a car crash yesterday, Rev. David Wilkerson. My heart and prayers go out to the Wilkerson family. If I were to say that I had a true Spiritual Father, it would be David Wilkerson, his writing and sermons shook and molded my life. David Wilkerson was like the John the Baptist and the prophet Jeremiah of this generation.

Of all the godly men that the Lord has used to impact my life, Rev. David Wilkerson impacted mine the most.

Rev, David Wilkerson started his ministry off in the streets of New York, reaching out, ministering the gospel message and love to the drug addicts and gang members. He went on to establish Teen Challenge in 1971 and then Times Square church in 1987, which today has over 8000 members.

His book, the Cross & the Switchblade had a very big impact on my life which was also made into a movie where Pat Boone starred as David Wilkerson and is one of my favorite movies.

His love for people and dedication to being a true watchman of the Bride was matched with a life of honor without compromise in regard to the truth about the Lord, His Word and the Kingdom of God. Like that of Jeremiah, Rev. Wilkerson was faithful in releasing the word that the Lord gave him to release. Making such bold comments as:

“Our nation is being led astray by ungodly judges, mayors and governors, who are given to change, defying the Constitution and substituting their own wicked agendas”.

And when asked about the modern day revivals he was quoted as saying:

‘Do I believe any of the “revivals” represent the last-days outpouring — the last great revival before Jesus comes? No! Not at all. We should rejoice in every work of the Spirit that results in true conversions — but any “revival” that purports itself to be “the great revival” and is promoted and “spread” by its leaders must be immediately discounted. When the last great outpouring comes, it is prophesied to come “upon all flesh.” It will not be isolated in just a few areas. No one will be counting numbers. Hungry seekers will not be falling backwards — but frontwards, on their faces, humbled and broken. The preaching of the cross will be central. There will be no fundraising, no introducing of star visitors. The meetings will be times of wooing by the Holy Spirit, because He never drives people to altars — He woos them. No one will have to defend such an outpouring. All manifestations will focus on Christ, not flesh. Weeping, brokenness, a lifting of holy hands in thankfulness for God’s mercy and grace will produce a true spirit of joy’.

He spoke about the state of affairs in much of the modern day church:

“I believe modern Babylon is present-day America, including its corrupt society and its whorish church system. No other nation on earth fits the description in Revelation 18 but America, the world’s biggest fornicator with the merchants of all nations. Ancient Babylon was long destroyed when John received this vision“.

and…

“Tragically, however, few ministers today have the anointing of God’s Spirit. They may be able to tell a good story or inject humor into their sermons. But they have no fresh word from heaven, because they don’t spend time alone with the Lord. The result is a widespread famine of a true word from God in the land”.

David Wilkerson was one of the few respected modern day prophets who had a track record of following the Word and his prophesies were always based in scripture. Even when it cost him much support in the United States as many of the main stream churches turned their backs on him, calling him such names as false prophet and prophet of doom. Yet the prophetic word’s that he spoke have come true and I am sure that history will prove those to be truthful as well for which he prophesied about the coming days.

Yet his love for the truth of God’s Word was always a motivation to speak in truth especially to those seeking the “perfect church” :

“Then you can go to any church, no matter how dead it may seem. Why? You do it so that you can connect with other Zadok seekers there! He has hungry servants everywhere — and he will supernaturally bring you to those who share your hunger to minister to the Lord”.

At the age of 15 my sister Roxanne took me to one of his crusades held in Bangor, Maine some 2 1/2 to 3 hours from our home and I can still to this day, some 30 years later remember most of his sermon. His words were on fire with the passion of the Lord and they found their mark in my hardened heart, breaking up the hardness until it was cracked to the point of the Lords words entering in and leading me to cry out to Jesus to be my Lord.

In the times when I would stumble, the Lord would in some way bring his messages back into my life and every time, this mans words of truth were used to return me to seeking the Lord. Over the past 10 years as I have walked in ministry, Rev Wilkerson’s sermons were a constant reminder of righteousness as well as holiness and have always been an encouragement to me to seek the Lords Kingdom and His righteousness first in my life. His daily devotionals were always spiritual food for me. There was a season last years when I was not attending a “church building” and I would sit and listen to his and Carter Conlon’s messages on Sunday morning’s and they continued to not only build up my faith, they encouraged me to also live a life of no compromise.

He was never afraid to speak on the subject of sin and hell, even in a day when it appears that many choose to appease the people, tickling their ears and entertaining them rather than remaining faithful to the power of God’s Word. Yet he was always sure to thread into every one of his messages, the grace and mercy of a forgiven God such statements as:

“God’s way is this: accept God’s gift, Jesus Christ. You can’t buy this love. He loves you even with all your sins and offers salvation to you — free. You don’t have to reform yourself. He’ll transform you”.

It is my prayer that when my time comes to go be with the Lord, that people will look back on my life and be able to say, like that of David Wilkerson, that I was faithful with the Word of the Lord in my life, and in the pulpit – not merely in my messages but my life’s actions as well.

In one of his messages he penned the following statement that will always be part of my life:

The messages to the seven churches were directed to “the angel” of the churches, meaning the pastors, leaders or messengers. John is saying,

“What I share with you is what every minister of the church ought to know and preach. This is the heart of God revealed against sin and apostasy – see that you hear the words, heed them, then preach them.”

I am honored to have been one of the thousands that God used David Wilkerson to bring into His Kingdom. My life will never be the same because of him. One day, when I walk the streets of heaven I hope to meet him once again, just to say thank you David, for your faithfulness in love & service to the Lord and His Bride!

IHS,
Russ Welch

Peace: Freedom from Fear, Anxiety and Worry: The Rest in Yahweh …

Posted: April 27, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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Do we have peace in our hearts or does fear, worry and anxiety grip our heart relentlessly? Can we have wonderful peace in our hearts even during these troubled times? God in His goodness promises peace so let’s examine in more depth this awesome promise from the Bible. The fourth characteristic of the goodness of God revealed in the covenant redemptive names of Yahweh is set forth in the book of Judges.

Judges 6:11-16 (American Standard Version):

And the angel of Yahweh came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

And the angel of Yahweh appeared unto him, and said unto him, Yahweh is with thee thou mighty man of valor.

And Gideon said unto him, Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt? but now Yahweh hath cast us off and delivered us into the hand of the Midianites.

And Yahweh looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand from the hand of the Midian: have I not sent thee?

And he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Mannaseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

And Yahweh said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

Joshua had successfully led the children of Israel into the promised land of Canaan and instructed them before His death. He advised them to love the Lord God and know in their heart and soul that not one good thing that God had spoken concerning them had failed to come to pass. He told them to cleave unto the Lord and serve Him with sincerity and truth, and warned them of the consequences of serving other gods. Joshua wrote all these words in the book of the law of God and made a covenant with Israel that they chose to serve Yahweh. He sealed this covenant with a great stone that he set under an oak tree as a witness to Israel of their promise to God. After Joshua died, it was not long before Israel forsook the Lord, forgot this convent, and began to serve Baal, Ashtaroth, and other gods of the surrounding nations. This dramatically weakened Israel spiritually as a nation, and they could no longer stand against their enemies. When Israel became greatly distressed and cried out to the Lord, He would send a judge to deliver them from the hand of their oppressors. But once the judge died, they fell back into running after false gods to serve and worship them.

In Judges chapter 6, Israel had forsaken the Lord again and pursued their evil way of life, cleaving unto the powerless gods of their enemies. This new generation of Israelites had forgotten that only the Lord was Yahweh Jireh, who provided for every one of their needs; that only the Lord was Yahweh-Rapha who healed them in every way, and that only the Lord was Yahweh-Nissi, who brought them victory and protection from their enemies. The Midianites rose up and gained a stronghold in their country and oppressed Israel for seven years. Midian and her allies, which included the Amalekites, swarmed like locusts down on Israel with great hordes of men and animals and destroyed their crops and animals, bringing great impoverishment on Israel. The Israelites were hiding in dens and caves in great fear of their lives, without food and supplies to survive. They cried out in desperation to the Lord again and in great mercy and love, He moved greatly to help His people and reveal to them another magnificent aspect of his goodness.

God sent His angel to seek out a very simple man from a poor background to deliver His people from a massive and powerful enemy who was laying waste to the promised land of Israel. At that time, Gideon was hiding in the winepress, threshing some wheat so he could eat and survive. Yet God had other plans for Gideon, as He sent his angel to announce to him the awesome things He was going to do in his life and for his country. God called Gideon “a mighty man of valor” and “a valiant warrior” as God saw Gideon for what He would become when Yahweh worked in his life. God saw Gideon’s potential as a victorious warrior, a fearless leader and a future judge of Israel. God took a man who was behind closed doors in fear and exalted him to the position of valiant warrior, giving him the privilege to lead God’s people into victory and peace.

Judges 6:22-24 (American Standard Version):

And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Yahweh! for as much as I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face.

And Yahweh said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built and altar there unto Yahweh and called it Yahweh-Shalom: unto his day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon finally accepted the call of God on his life and built an altar calling it Yahweh-Shalom, which means “the Lord our peace.” God showed him that he can have peace, even in the midst of life’s most difficult circumstances. The fourth characteristic of the goodness of God revealed in His name is peace. In Hebrew, the word for peace, shalom, means: wholeness, completeness and soundness; it’s a harmony and unity of heart and soul because of a restored relationship with God, our Father; it is an inward and outward tranquility, a quiet assurance and a complete well-being where nothing is lacking or broken.

Peace is the symphony and harmony of life, in which you enjoy all that is good because of your right relationship with God. It’s the freedom from being disturbed, agitated, stressed and troubled. It is the absence of discord, strife, and anxiety. It is to be at ease and calmly unaffected by circumstance. Peace is the highest measure of contentment, joyfulness, happiness, and satisfaction in life. There is absolute security, safety, and victory at the center of peace. It is the absence of inward conflict, condemnation, and torment, but rather a state of rest, calmness, and quiet confidence.

True peace is oneness and complete unity with Yahweh-Shalom, where there is a wonderful mutual sharing of the enjoyment of that bond and relationship. Yahweh-Shalom is the origin and source of all peace and we have and enjoy peace because of our relationship and oneness with Him. His peace is our peace. His wholeness is our wholeness. His soundness is our soundness. His completeness is our completeness. No man or woman can ever have peace without a vibrant, living fellowship and right relationship with Yahweh-Shalom.

You can’t buy peace, you can’t medicate peace, and you cannot manufacture peace. You cannot produce peace from some mental gymnastic exercise or self-help book or seminar. It is impossible to have peace apart from Yahweh-Shalom. There is and never will be true peace for the unbeliever.

Isaiah 57:19-21 (New Living Translation):

I will comfort those that mourn bringing words of praise to their lips. May they have abundant peace, both near and far, says the Lord, who
heals them. But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt.

There is no peace for the wicked, says my God.

Isaiah 59:8 (NIV):

The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them
will know peace.

To the unbeliever who rejects Yahweh-Shalom, his life will be like a troubled, restless sea. There is no calmness, no rest, no quietness, and no tranquility of heart and soul to those hostile toward God Almighty and His goodness. Picture in your mind a rough and raging sea, as the waves crash all around and the sea rises violently up and down, churning up all the muck and mire of its bottom. This is a vivid illustration of the heart of someone who does not know Yahweh-Shalom. His heart is a continual state of unrest and instability, tossed around by the raging waves of circumstances, troubles, and problems, contaminated by the muck and mire of sin. But when a man or woman turns to God and gives their heart and soul to Him, Yahweh-Shalom brings comfort, rest, healing, and abundant peace, as He calms the furious seas of a person’s soul.

The peace of God is where the stillness, calmness, and quietness of God reign unbroken and undisturbed. Picture a beautiful serene lake that is perfectly still with only a gentle breeze and crystal clear water. The lake is calm and tranquil, with the sun glistening off the waters. This is a vivid illustration of the heart and soul of someone who has the peace of Yahweh-Shalom in their life. Yahweh-Shalom is the way of peace, as He provides the direction and road to travel in life, in order to accomplish His purposes and have abundant, cleansing peace.

The wicked follow a crooked path that only leads to frustration, anxiety, and unrest, as it never leads to peace. God wants us to know and experience His awesome peace from the morning sunrise until the evening ends. Nothing is more refreshing, healing, and exhilarating to experience than the peace of God.

Psalm 29:11(Amplified):

The Lord will give unyielding and impenetrable strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.

Isaiah 26:12 (New Revised Standard Version):

O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us.

Jeremiah 29:11 (Amplified):

For I know the thoughts and plans I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace, and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

We, as God’s children, have the blessing of His peace, and He has ordained the path and way of peace for each believer’s life. God wants us to live and abide in His peace in everything we do. His refreshing peace should be a vital, living reality in our daily walk with Him. The peace of God should penetrate our thoughts and actions as we build our lives on the foundation of His peace.

Psalm 72:7 (God’s Word to the Nations):

May righteous people blossom in his day. May there be unlimited peace until the moon no longer shines.

Job 22:21: (New King James Version):

Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace. Thereby good will come to you.

God wants you, as His beloved son or daughter, to blossom and flourish in life like a beautiful flower, and be filled to overflowing with His unlimited peace. There is no boundary or limit to the peace of Yahweh-Shalom. God does not want a speck or a brief flurry of peace for you, but desires His boundless peace to permeate every fiber of your being. The peace of God should be our lifestyle and our way of living. We must acquaint ourselves with our Heavenly Father and build our intimate relationship with Him, in order to live and abide in His peace.

The word “acquaint” in the Hebrew means: to know intimately, to show harmony with, to cohabit with, to come home and to be familiar with. The essence of the word is to know and experience such a close and personal relationship with someone, that we cherish and treasure everything about it. God wants us to come to Him and know Him in an intimate, close, and harmonious relationship, where we feel completely at home in His presence. God wants us to cherish and love Him deeply, and as our relationship grows with Him, then our lives will be at peace and all the goodness of God will flourish in us. God’s goodness flows out of our union with Him. When we learn how to live and abide in His peace, then the goodness of God will be manifest in our thoughts and actions.

The goodness of God and the peace of God are intertwined companions and cannot be separated by any earthly circumstance or power. The peace of God rests on the foundation of His goodness.

Isaiah 26:3 (Amplified):

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

Gibbs :

God keeps him in perfect peace whose mind is union with Him through loving trust.

When our mind is in union with God and we lean on Him, commit our way to Him, and believe confidently in Him, our lives will be in constant and perfect peace. The word “stayed” in the Hebrew means: to lay, support, lean and rest upon; to sustain and uphold.

What supports your thought life? What do you lean your mind on when times get tough? What do you rest your mind upon in your daily living? Our minds as Christians should be sustained, upheld, and supported by being intently focused on God and His Word.

The word “mind” in the Hebrew expresses the whole direction and attitude of one’s life. It is everything we fashion and form in our mind, which includes thoughts, purposes, desires, goals, ideas, considerations, and reflections. Everything we devise in our mind should rest and lean upon God. Our mind should be stayed, focused, and immersed in our loving Heavenly Father. The whole direction of our thoughts, actions, and desires should be firmly supported and established in God.

Then God will keep us in the center of His perfect peace. God guards and protects your peace when you are focused on Him, and nothing the world throws at you can rattle or disturb your peace. The words “perfect peace” are shalom, shalom and the doubling of the word emphasizes that it is an absolute truth that God has established; it is even more certain than any natural law like gravity. The word is doubled to show the abundance and completeness of his peace available to the believer who trusts and centers his mind on Him.

Romans 8:6(b) (KJV):

But to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Psalm 119:165 (Amplified):

Great peace have they who love your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.

Psalm 4:8 (Amplified):

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust.

Life and peace abound in the life of a man or woman who has their thoughts focused on God and His Word. When we love God’s Word, meditate upon it, and hide it in our hearts, great abundant peace will flow through every part of us. Absolutely nothing in the world will cause us to stumble, for we are rooted and grounded in His peace. We have confident trust in the Lord and the complete safety and protection He provides, so every night we enjoy the sweet sleep of peace. Nothing disturbs us; nothing rattles us, and nothing agitates us, for we have His peace.

Psalm 55:18 (Amplified):

He has redeemed my life in peace from the battle that was against me [so that none came near me], for they were many who strove with me.

We can have the peace of Yahweh-Shalom overflowing in our heart in the midst of any battle we will ever face in life. No matter how difficult the circumstance or how hard the problem, we can train our mind and heart so that we live and abide in His peace. We have a quiet assurance and an inward tranquility for we rest in the loving arms of our Heavenly Father who protects, sustains, and shields from every harm, every attack, and every enemy.

Romans 5:1 (Amplified):

Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us grasp the fact
that we have (the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy) peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

No one can have the true peace of God in their life until they are reconciled to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Reconciliation produces the restoration of a relationship of peace that had been disturbed and broken in the Garden of Eden by the high treason of Adam. Reconciliation is to change a relationship of hostility, enmity, and separation to a relationship of love, acceptance, admiration, and friendship. It is a relationship of peace and favor, as we are no longer at war with God or hostile to Him. There is no rejection, no condemnation, no guilt, and no unworthiness in this close, loving relationship. This relationship of peace is more than the mere absence of enmity or hostility, but the invitation from God to come into his presence and enjoy the closeness and loving bond of a relationship with Him.

The peace of God is the legal right and possession of every born again believer. We HAVE peace with God. All the barriers have been abolished between you and God. There is no friction, no uneasiness, no conflict, and no obstruction in this new relationship of peace. It is a complete harmony and unity with Yahweh-Shalom. The word “peace” in the Greek means: to bind or join together what is broken or divided, setting the broken parts as one again. When the broken parts come together, there is nothing between them that would stop the cohesion that has taken place. Once they are joined together they are one, never to be separated again. It holds better than super glue, because they will never come apart. True peace is complete oneness and unity with God where there is a mutual enjoyment of the wonderful relationship of a Father with His children.

The Greek word also carries with it the meaning of the absence or end of strife and denotes a state of untroubled, undisturbed well-being. The word “with” in the Greek means: toward and is an indication of closeness or nearness and could be translated ‘facing’. We stand in God’s presence justified and freed from the penalty of sin, completely made righteous and redeemed with unlimited access to our Heavenly Father, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. We have made lovely and acceptable in Christ Jesus and gaze face to face into the loving presence of our God, having complete peace and oneness with Him.

We are in Him, and He is in us, and in this oneness we have His peace as a permanent possession, because of who we are in Christ. His peace is a part of us, just as much as an arm or leg is part of our physical body. We don’t have to ask God for peace because we already have it. He has given to us all the peace of God to hold and enjoy every moment of our lives. We renew our minds by faith and confess this great sonship right of peace to bring it into manifestation in our lives. We do not want the peace of God to remain dormant in us, but we want to activate it by believing, so it is a living reality in every circumstance of life

What a wonderful truth and message about the peace of God, as it is so magnificent that God calls it the “gospel of peace” in Romans 10:15. The good news of peace that Jesus Christ brings should be declared from every mountain top to every valley, to every city, and to every town. We should just stand in awe of how breathtaking the goodness of God is as He has given us His peace that can never be disturbed, agitated, or broken.

Jesus Christ is the way, truth, and the life to the peace of God. It cannot be found or discovered anywhere else. It does not originate in the mind of man or in some philosophy, religion, or way of thinking. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, according to Isaiah 9:6, and the word “prince” in the Hebrew means: ruler, prince, chief, captain and leader. Jesus Christ is the captain, the chieftain, the ruler, and prince of the peace of God. If you want the peace of God to rule and reign in your life, you must come to its only Prince, the Lord Jesus Christ. The peace of God is only available in, through, and by Him.

Luke 1:78,79 (New Living Translation):

Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven (Jesus Christ) is about to break upon us. To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.

Ephesians 2:14(a) (Wuest):

For He (Jesus Christ) himself is our peace…

When you examine this verse in Ephesians in the Greek, the emphasis is on the intensive pronoun autos which means, “He and no other.” In his Word Studies of the Greek New Testament, Wuest states that there is even a deeper meaning from the Greek and that this verse suggests:

Not only “He alone” but “He in His own Person” made peace. It was not only that peace was made by Christ and ranks as His achievement, but that it is so identified with Him that were He away, it would also fail-so dependent on Him that apart from Him we cannot have it.

Without Jesus Christ, there is no peace of God available to any man, woman or child upon the earth. Jesus Christ is the light of the world that delivers us from the power of darkness and guides us to the path of peace. The peace of Yahweh-Shalom is absolutely dependent upon what Jesus Christ did at Calvary, for it required His sacrifice on the cross and God raising Him from the dead to restore the peace of God lost by Adam in the Garden of Eden. We cannot enjoy and experience this peace unless we are a new creation in Christ; otherwise peace is a fleeting illusion. The blood of Jesus Christ was shed for our peace.

Colossians 1:20 (NIV):

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Isaiah 53:5 (English Standard Version):

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

The punishment that Jesus endured on the cross was for our peace. He paid the penalty of our sin, and as our Savior, brought us into harmony and oneness with God, where we can rest in and enjoy the wholeness of His peace. Our peace was bought and paid for by the blood of Christ and sealed with an eternal covenant that guarantees peace as part of our eternal inheritance. You are identified and share in everything He accomplished at Calvary, for Christ is in you and you are in Christ. He is a part of you and lives and abides with you always. We can experience as a living reality the same peace Jesus had when he walked on the earth.

John 14:27 (Amplified):

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be
agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

John 16:33 (Amplified):

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Jesus Christ gave us His perfect peace, and this is the same peace Jesus had in quality, richness, and measure. It is the peace Jesus had in the midst of a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee, in the midst of the angry crowd at the synagogue in Nazareth, in His quiet prayer times on the mountainside, and in the middle of the hurling accusations of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The heart of Jesus was absolute perfect calmness, even in the midst of the most raging circumstance or challenge. It was a place where no trouble or agitation could penetrate or disturb, and where the stillness and quietness of God reigned unbroken. It was a peace that came from the bond of unity He has with His Heavenly Father, and the harmony and intimacy of that relationship.

The word “give” in verse 27 in the Greek means: to give freely and unforced; to deliver, supply, and commit. Jesus freely and without hesitation supplied, committed, and delivered to us in love His wonderful, awesome peace. It is not a counterfeit outward peace that the world offers, which is unstable, fleeting, and temporary. It was His peace that He lived, breathed, and walked in every moment of His earthly ministry.

The world “troubled” in verse 27 in the Greek means: to stir up, to agitate as water in a pool, to disturb with various emotions, to disquiet and make restless, to cause inward commotion and to take away one’s calmness of mind. The word “be afraid” in the Greek means: to be timid, to be cowardly, and to shrink back in fear.” Both of these verbs are in the passive voice in the Greek, which means the heart is being acted upon by an outside force or power and is the receiver of the verbal action. We are to stop allowing outside influences to disturb, agitate, and trouble our heart, for we have the same peace of God that reigned in the life of Jesus. Jesus Christ never became agitated, restless, or disturbed inwardly, no matter what was happening around him. Even as he hung on the cross for hours in pain and agony, his heart was at complete peace. He did not allow circumstances, people, or relationships to steal His peace.

There will be tribulations, trials, and frustrations thrown at you while you live in the world, but it never need disturb or agitate your inner calmness and peace. In Christ we have perfect peace and confidence, for our Savior overcame every circumstance and power in the world and deprived it of its power to harm us. His complete victory at Calvary gave us his peace so that we can be more than conquerors both inwardly and outwardly in every situation. We never have to shrink back in fear from any person, influence, problem, or circumstance, for we are His and He is ours and we have the peace of God living in our hearts. It is like a ship’s chronometer, which remains perfectly motionless in the midst of the most tumultuous rocking and raging of the sea, and maintains its perfect level when the ship is plunging and careening in every direction. The peace of God in our heart is our chronometer that allows us to be perfectly calm and tranquil, even in the midst of a tempest sea of circumstance and the raging waves of the negativity and fears of this age.

Philippians 4:6,7: (Wuest):

Stop perpetually worrying about even one thing, but in everything by prayer whose essence is that of worship and devotion and by supplication which is a cry for your personal needs, with thanksgiving let your requests for the things asked for be made known in the presence of God. And the peace of God which surpasses all power of comprehension shall mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Phillips Translation:

Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer. And the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.

We need never worry or be anxious about any circumstance or problem we face, for we have a Heavenly Father to whom we can take every need and difficulty to in prayer. In the Greek, the word “worry” describes the state of the mind of being pulled apart and divided by anxious cares and worries. It is characterized by an extreme uneasiness of the mind and a brooding fear about something, and emphasizes a fear of misfortune, failure, disappointment, and disaster. Worry denotes a lack of focus and trust in God and an endless running of the mind in all directions. God says instead of worrying or being anxious, bring the problem to Him in earnest and thankful prayer. We should worry about nothing and pray about everything. That is the lifestyle of the believer.

The word “prayer” in the Greek means: a prayer to God of worship, adoration, and devotion remembering His character, His attributes, His names, His goodness, and who He is. It is a prayer where our heart is focused on His greatness and majesty. It is a prayer where our heart remembers all the great qualities of the goodness of God and overflows with thankfulness. It is from this heart of love that we make specific detailed requests for our personal needs and the needs of others. Then God promises that His awesome, wonderful peace will mount and keep constant guard over our hearts and minds as we rest in our union in Christ Jesus. No fear, no worry, and no anxiety can penetrate and disturb our heart or mind, for the peace of God is guarding our heart.

The word “guard” in the Greek was a military term for the guarding of a city by a military garrison that kept constant watch to protect and secure the city from the hostile invasion of any enemy. This peace of God protects and guards our heart like a military garrison, keeping it calm, tranquil, and without agitation from any outside influence. When we love God with all our heart, seek Him in prayer in all of life’s situations, and walk in our sonship rights and privileges in Christ Jesus, the peace of God will overflow in our heart and act as a strong barrier against every fiery dart of the wicked one. The peace of God is the impenetrable barrier, the unbreakable wall, and the protective watchtower against every device of the devil designed to distract and divide our mind from serving the one true God. The peace of God enables us to live above the fear and anxiety of the world and enjoy our reconciliation with our Heavenly Father, even when the terror of this age rages around us.

Romans 16:20 (English Standard Version):

And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. .

Wuest:

And the God of the peace will trample Satan under your feet soon.

Yahweh-Shalom is the God of THE PEACE, and He will crush and trample Satan and all his influences under our feet, because His peace lives and reigns in our heart. The word “crush” in the Greek means: to break in pieces, to shiver, to tread down, to be perplexed and in anguish, to tear one’s body and shatter one’s strength, and to trample on as a conqueror.” When we are in harmony and fellowship with the God of peace and allowing Him to direct our lives in the center of peace, every satanic power, every satanic bondage, every satanic anxiety and every satanic fear, is utterly broken in pieces and shattered by the God of peace. There is nothing that perplexes and causes anguish to the devil more than seeing a born again believer walk and live in the peace of God. Satan cannot rattle, disturb, agitate and control a child of God, who enjoys and claims their sonship right of peace. The peace of God allows us to live with Satan utterly trampled and tread down under our feet. If you want to crush the negative influence of Satan, then you must live, move, and breathe in the peace of God.

Colossians 3:15 (Wuest):

And the peace of Christ, let it be acting as umpire in your hearts, into which also you were called into one body. And be constantly thankful persons.

The peace of Christ should be the foundation of every decision we make in life. This peace should be the umpire in our heart determining the direction in which we choose to walk. I love the game of baseball, and umpires are an important part of the game. The umpire determines whether a pitch is a ball or strike, whether a player is safe or out, and whether a ball is fair or foul. They enforce the rules and make the calls, unruffled by managers or players. The umpire settles differences when there is a conflict in thought and opinion. The outcome of the game is often determined by the call of the umpire.

When we are in harmony and fellowship with God and walking by the spirit, the wonderful peace of Christ will settle every difficulty, resolve every conflict, and enlighten every decision. The peace of Christ will show us what the will of God is in every choice we have in life. The peace of God not only guards our heart, but it guides our heart into the paths that God has chosen for us. The peace of God allows us to move into every situation with total poise and calmness, not upset or perturbed, because we know the God of peace. Every born again believer in the body of Christ has been called to peace, and the peace of Yahweh-Shalom should be a vibrant, living reality in our lives.

II Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV):

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

Amplified:

Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace (the peace of His kingdom) at all times and in all ways [under all circumstances and conditions, whatever comes]. The Lord [be] with you all.

What a wonderful relationship of peace and wholeness we can enjoy with our Lord, where nothing is broken or lacking. We have the great benefit and blessing of peace, where we are in complete unity with Him and have an inner tranquility and calmness that is unaffected by circumstance. At all times and in all ways, no matter the problem, condition, or circumstance, the Lord has given us His peace to guard and guide our hearts. No trouble, no fear, and no worry can disturb the heart of peace. What an awesome characteristic of the goodness of God-His peace which He has given to every person who has been reconciled to Him through Christ. The Lord of peace lives in our heart, and nothing is more refreshing, more exciting, and more exhilarating than to experience His peace every moment of our lives.

Posted by: goodnessofgod2010

Excerpt from “The Magnificent Goodness of God and How it Will Transform Your Life” by Tim Rowe

Arise And Possess the Kingdom

Posted: April 27, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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If you are reading this, you are privileged to live in one of the most dynamic times of change upon this planet. The core of reality as has been practiced in the church is changing. In 1990 God spoke clearly to me, one of His nobodies, and said, “Church is over.” I replied, “What does this mean”. I quickly heard, “Church as you have known it is over”. Fifteen years ago that was an astonishing word to me and did get me into a heap of trouble when I dared to share it with a few others. I do remember being preached at from at least a few pulpits.

This word was preceded several years earlier by a life changing response to another question that I had asked God in 1985. I had simply asked, after beginning again to read the gospels, “God what does this word kingdom really mean? Why did Jesus speak of it so much?” I was quickly within an open heaven as God poured revelation of His Word into my astonished soul. Many of my religious views and formulas began to dissolve as truth became reality.

My grave concern of being the only person I knew who was hearing this (though there were others unknown to me) was soothed by an assurance that He was also giving this revelation of kingdom truth to others around the world and eventually it would “come up like grass in a field”. The resulting rejection by all religious organizations, friends, and family was most painful but there was no possible turning back from the revelation and call of God.

Today we are alive in a day when the gospel of the kingdom is being preached widely and the great transition of the church from the church emphasis age to the church of the kingdom emphasis age has begun. Many have seen and are moving into the experience of the reality of the manifest presence of God changing the people of God (the church) to change the world. Religious pomp and ceremony are, over time, being replaced by the reality of the joy, power and love of intimate relationship with God and with one another. The focus on “me” and “my needs” is becoming a focus on God and His desires. Our will is fading into His will. Our ways are beginning to transcend into His way.

We must fully awaken from the soul sleep of religion to the purposes of God to establish the kingdom of God as a practical reality; eventually ruling and reigning over all the earth. God has not sent angels or any other beings other than mankind to possess the kingdom of God. Only man is made in the image of God and today can be filled with the life of the Spirit of the resurrected Christ. Only man has the God-given place to rule and reign with Christ on earth.

Sons must arise from the limitations of fallacious doctrines of demons and traditions of men to the reality of Almighty God and His truth. All things are possible to him who believes. Believe false limitations and it is possible to limit the life of God in and through you. Believe the truth and it is possible to become as Christ in the world. The question is not whether you will believe or not. The question is “Whose report will you believe?”

The world is in great darkness. And sadly many people of God who are called by His name are in much darkness as well. Many leaders are stumbling in darkness even in the noon day of the light of God coming forth. Spiritual blindness will be broken as the people sitting in darkness see and begin to move toward the great light of the gospel of the kingdom manifesting in the holy humble servants of God filled with the power and love of the resurrected Christ. Christ living within them is beginning to possess that which was created for God and redeemed by Christ at the cross and now must be possessed by the life and power of the resurrected Christ living through mature sons of God.

It is not going to happen some other way. There is no plan B. Sons and daughters of the most High God fall on your face before Him. Let His manifest presence of ultimate fire burn everything from your life and refill you with only His life, His love, His ways, His power, and His wisdom – pass through the dark night of the soul of death and then ARISE IN HIS GLORY! ARISE IN HIS LIFE AS CHRIST IN THE WORLD. Speak carefully, speak only His words from His Spirit within. Speak with the authority of Christ. Destroy the works of the enemy. Instruct and bless your brothers and sisters.

Light come! Will of God be done! In the name of Jesus.

Pursue Love, It Never Fails,

Lots of Love,

Ron McGatlin

The ensnaring trap of chasing man’s approval

Posted: April 26, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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It is no mystery that many of us have suffered hurt or rejection in some way during our lives. For some, the hurt has come from those who should have loved us the most and best. Thus, their rejection cuts even deeper, leaving wounds that need to be healed by the unconditional acceptance and love of Christ. Until a person finds his identity and worth solely in who he is in Christ because of His love for him, he will continue to seek his worth elsewhere, typically chasing the approval of others.

It indeed is the natural way of man to constantly seek the approval of others. Teenagers, for example, look to their peers in particular as a means of gauging their own worth. The high school experience is notorious for ranking individuals based upon clique, dress, extracurricular involvement, and smarts.

In fact, much of life is based upon performance and rank. Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, said, remarking on life in general, “I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 4:4). Like the futility of chasing the supposed pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, trying to find our worth based upon human rank, performance, or others’ acceptance is never going to satisfy or fulfill the void that rejection and hurt has left in our hearts. It is a striving after wind.

Every labor, activity, and work of man is, in his natural state, based upon competition with others. Women, for example, tend to compete based upon their looks, beauty, and figure. They compete based upon whom they have married and how well or poorly their spouse treats them. They compete based upon how successful their children are in school, sports, or other activities. More recently, they compete by trying to outperform men in what has traditionally been areas only open to men’s competition.

There is nothing wrong with a woman playing sports or trying to make a career in business, for example, but it is a striving after the wind if she is trying to do so to make a statement or prove something to the world as a means of validating her own worth. Men, on the other hand, are prone to find their worth in who they are dating, in their status at work, in their bank account, in their athleticism, in their ability to fix things, and in their house, yard, and other possessions.

A man is tempted to think that he has made it if he can just outdo some other man in terms of achievement, wealth, or any other kind of competition. Much of this is so ingrained in our ways as men and women that we don’t even have to consciously decide to compete and compare. We do it unceasingly and without even noticing it. We subconsciously chase after the wind, and we have become enslaved to a temptation of the devil.

We are trying to find our worth and identity not based in how God values us but in what others think of us. This is why we glorify and even deify sports stars, Hollywood icons, pop artists, and media elites. We constantly live under the illusion of if only I did this, had this, made this, knew so-and-so, became like so-and-so, and got this, then I would get so-and-so’s approval and then I would be happy. Such is like the ridiculous notion of trying to catch the wind. It can never be done, for it is impossible. In fact, it was ordained and designed to fail. Such is supposed to draw us to the only true source of satisfaction, wholeness, healing, and fulfillment which is Jesus Christ. It is all by God’s design.

Hopefully, we have come to the point where we get sick and tired of trying to people-please, worrying about peer pressure, and trying to outdo our neighbor. Hopefully we can see that it is a treadmill that keeps us from ever gaining any ground no matter how hard we work and try. Yet the temptation remains. John 12:42-43 says, “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

The Pharisees held an elite position of power, authority, and respect. They could make the rules, carry out sentencing, and show everyone how spiritual they were based upon their outward apparel and rituals.

To be a Pharisee among the Jews was to be at the top of the pecking order. Yet Jesus constantly rebuked the Pharisees for being hypocrites and missing the essence of the call of a follower of God- love for God and love for their neighbor. Some of them did see their error and come to faith in Christ, yet because of appearances and the love of man’s approval, they did not give up their positions. They knew that if they confessed their belief in Jesus publicly that they would be relieved of their positions in a public display of shame and ridicule. They would lose everything, be oppressed, struggle to find work, bring shame to the family name, and potentially endanger their own well-being as well as that of their own families. Some were not willing to give up all of the comfort, show, and “security” of the things of the world for the sake of Christ.

They loved the approval of man rather than the approval of God. In other words, it is either one or the other. If we follow God and love Him with all of our hearts, then we must recant our allegiances and compromises with trying to impress others, trying to boost our own self-esteem through making earthly comparisons, and trying to achieve what only God can give. It might be as simple as not wanting to be seen praying because of the ridicule other students or co-workers would bring. Loving man’s approval might also lead us to never avoid risking rejection that might accompany sharing the gospel with a stranger or a loved one.

But if we love God we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him, even if it means that we are rejected by family and friends. Paul lost all and counted it joy for the sake of knowing Christ. He would rather enjoy the fellowship of Christ, even if it was fellowship through suffering, than continue to live as an elitist Pharisee of the Pharisees. Paul had it all, being trained by the best of the best when it came to the teachers of the Law, Gamaliel. Paul, in terms of the rivalry of human nature, had won. He had arrived. Yet upon encountering Christ, he left all the rank, status, and competition behind and became one of the least. Identifying with Christ was not an impressive societal mark; being a Pharisee was.

Yet Paul chose Christ even though it meant certain persecution, ridicule, and likely death. Paul valued the eternal over the temporal, understanding that in the life to come the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Thus, he rightly understood that seeking God’s approval is always worth it in the long run.

Sometimes following Christ won’t require that we “lose out” on things of this world. Sometimes we can stand for truth and even be rewarded for it. Many times, however, it will cost us something. Regardless of the outcome, the issue is the attitude and posture of our hearts. Is the kingdom first in our hearts, or is something else in first place? Do we want to please God more or man? Such is the question that we must answer.

The bottom line is this. What is more important, the pleasures of sin in this life, or the riches of eternal life in Christ forever? If we live for Christ in this life, ignoring what man might think, say, or do to us, we will be well-off in heaven. But if we choose to compromise and compete with man here on worldly terms for worldly things, we will lose out in eternal rewards. Weighing these two options side by side should come out to be a no-brainer. The eternal is quite a bit longer than life on earth, and God’s rewards are quite a bit nicer than a pay raise, being accepted by the “in” crowd, and chasing fame in this life. Clearly, from a purely rational standpoint, the eternal weight of glory is far greater than anything this world has to offer.

The perspective that we need to have is found in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 which says, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Suffering is one of the best things to remind us that we don’t want to put all of our investments into the here and now.

Death is the great equalizer, bringing even those who lived the “happiest” of lives to their ultimate destination. We need to fix our eyes on the eternal, viewing this life as a journey into the eternal. If we want to have a great heavenly “retirement,” we should work hard for our seventy or eighty years, if we are so blessed. This life is temporary, a mere vapor that is here and then gone. Oh, that we would see the weight of the glory of the eternal and the transience of the temporary.

Why chase the approval of man? Why look to earthly things to fill a void that only Jesus can fill? Why constantly compete to look better than someone else? Someone will always be better at something, more beautiful, or more successful than we are. Rather, we ought to enjoy what God has given us to do and do it to the best of our ability and to God’s glory. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.”

When we come to the point where we view everything as an act of worship to God, we will finally ignore the approval of man. When what God says is the only verdict that matters, man’s opinions won’t matter any longer. May God bring us each to the place where we are cognizant of doing all things for Him no matter what it may cost us. May He enable us to stop worrying about what others might think if we do what is right.

Besides the fact that man’s approval doesn’t satisfy, why else should we live for God’s glory rather than for our own glory by chasing after the approval of man? Colossians 3:24 continues, “Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” The great equalizer is the justice of God in that all men will have to stand before His throne.

Our neighbor with the bigger house, yard, and boat is not going to judge us. Our supervisor who has the authority to promote, demote, or fire us is not going to judge us. Our spouse or family member who we want so dearly to approve of us is not going to judge us. Yet the temptation to seek their approval over God’s is great. Yet only God will be the judge, and only He has the power and authority to give out rewards. It is He alone Whom we are to serve.

We can’t serve both God and man or money or anything else that this world seeks. At the end of the day and the end of life, it makes no sense to live in enslavement to people-pleasing. Since God is the only One Whose opinion ultimately matters and Who has the power to give out rewards that last forever, we ought only to concern ourselves with pleasing Him. We can handle some rejections by men for the sake of God if we know that God will honor us for doing so in eternity. We must appreciate the glory of eternal honor over temporary earthly honor.

May God work in our hearts to give us hearts wholly devoted to Him, hearts that find their worth and identity in Christ, and hearts that are filled to the max with His joy and satisfaction. Why chase after something that we can never get enough of and that will never satisfy? Let us passionately pursue God Who is eager to let us embrace and enjoy Him. With Him is full satisfaction and rest rather than a constant striving after vanity.

Wrestling with insecurity? Harboring rejection? Choose by faith to break the chains of seeking man’s approval. Anchor your faith today in the unconditional love and acceptance of Christ Who adores all of His children equally and perfectly. Find your worth today in the only One Who is worthy. Don’t wait for somebody to come and boost your self-esteem. Let Christ be your esteem.

NATURAL SUPERNATURAL GROWTH

Posted: April 25, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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In the kingdom we cannot build a life, a business or a ministry. We cannot build the kingdom of God. Everything of the kingdom of God must grow from a seed from God through a supernatural natural growth process. We must receive good seed in good soil and let the earth grow it. Indeed, this is a great mystery.

We will become what we hear and believe in our hearts. “As you believe, so be it unto you.” “Your faith has made you well.” “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” “With God all things are possible.” “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Again, natural things are often pictures that can be used to show us spiritual things. Consider the natural growth process of a stalk of wheat that begins with a dormant seed. The seed placed in good soil sprouts and soon grows roots below ground and a small green blade breaks through above ground. The green blade grows and becomes a stalk. Then, a head begins to form on top. Next, the grain begins to grow in the head. The mature seeds in the head are seeds like the one that was planted. The seeds left alone will dry and eventually fall upon the ground and begin the process over again except there are a multiplied number of seeds.

A seed (word, thought, vision) planted in our heart-soil becomes a belief as it sprouts. The belief becomes a conviction as it grows a blade. A conviction becomes our attitude as it grows a head. Our attitudes become our actions as the full grain in the head becomes seeds (words & actions) sown into the world to sprout and grow into the natural world.

This is the supernatural natural process of bringing the desires and plans of God from heaven into the natural world. By this process, spiritual seed/word/vision from heaven becomes natural reality in the world. Through this growth process the world can be changed to become as it is in heaven.

Mark 4:26-32: And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

And He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”

1 Corinthians 3:6: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

Psalm 127:1-2: Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

The heart of man is God’s spiritual/natural interface. Spirit God and physical earth meet in the heart of man. Two realms meet heaven and earth connect in the heart of man.

The pure heart of man is like a fruitful garden. It receives spiritual seed from God and grows it into the natural world. (The earth yields crops by itself.)

The soil must be moistened and protected by the life giving brooding of the Holy Spirit.

The pure heart of man is God’s production center on earth that fills the world with God’s plan and rule. Only the pure heart of man is the wife of God capable of intimately relating to Him, receiving seed from Him and giving birth to God’s plan and rule into the earth. If we love God and intimately relate to Him, we will receive His seed and become pregnant with God’s plan. If, however, we love another god, its seeds will be planted in us.

Things in the world are changed through the process of the seed and natural growth. We cannot change our character and actions by trying hard. Trying to stop doing something we want to do, or trying to start doing something we do not want to do will not make permanent changes. We must change what we hear, what we think and what we believe. We must receive new seed that will grow and change who we are and what we want to do.

Luke 8:15: But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience (endurance).

Patience is required to reap a harvest. There is a space of time between the planting and the production. Our part is to patiently wait for the harvest and to care for the soil and the growing seedling or plant. There is nothing we can do to make the seed have life. God puts the life into the seed, and He causes it to sprout and grow. We can and must, however, provide the proper atmosphere, nutrients and care for the seed to grow to fruition.

This means holding on to the idea or vision even when we cannot see anything with our natural eye that indicates the idea is growing. The larger the idea or vision the longer the gestation period. A large work like a large animal or plant takes a much longer time. A chicken is birthed in only three weeks and is fully-grown in about twelve weeks. A human baby is birthed in nine months and takes about twenty years to be reach maturity. You can grow a radish in the garden in a few weeks; an oak tree will take many years. The vision may be lost if we abandon it. Many worthy works planted by God in the hearts of men have failed to come to fruition because they were prematurely abandoned. If a brood hen sitting on eggs leaves the nest even one day too soon, all the chicks in the eggs will be lost.

The seed planted in the soil dies and is reborn a living plant. This eliminates any potential of human effort adulterating the pure supernatural natural growth process. The temptation is to abandon God’s plan during the time of the death and rebirth transformation.

John 12:24: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

Just as a natural gardener works to care for the soil keeping it loosened so that it does not become too hard for the seed to grow, we must keep our heart-soil tender by forgiving and receiving healing for all offenses that can press down and harden our heart. The soil must be kept moist and the temperature in the proper range by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We must keep the weeds of useless words (bad seeds) out of our soil. Useless, negative words or thoughts will grow weeds that rob nutrients from the good seed and prevent them from growing properly.

We must not only allow time for growth, we must also allow space. Seeds that are going to produce a large plant will require more space in the soil of our heart. Planting too many seeds in too small a space will cause them to grow improperly and bear little or no fruit. After the plants are up and growing, it may be necessary to remove some of them in order that there will be adequate space for growth. With some plants, it will be necessary to prune or trim the limbs to provide space on the plant for good fruit to grow.

Keeping the weeds out means taking every thought captive. We must remove the thoughts that would hinder the growth of the growing vision. Negative thoughts of doubt, worry, and fear will choke the vision. The enemy of the vision will always attempt to plant the seed that “you cannot do it”, or “you are just not capable enough to do whatever God has said.” He is exactly right. We cannot do it. We are not supposed to be able to do it. God does it! We must hear, believe, and obey what God tells us to do next. The earth brings forth the crop by itself.

Thinning the plants means that we may need to lay down some really good ideas in order to concentrate on the more important vision. Our heart-soil just is not big enough and enriched enough to bring forth all the good ideas in the world at one time. If there are too many ideas or visions in one heart, none of them will grow well.

Trimming and pruning branches means cutting off excessive or wild growth of the vision. Too many branches on a fruit tree may cause the fruit to be small and may cause disease because sunlight cannot enter. Branches that are too long or improperly shaped may break when the fruit nears maturity. We may need to limit parts of the idea or vision as it grows.

We are the manager of our garden. What we choose to hear and believe, what and how we think, are the seeds that will produce our life and affect change in the world. Bad thinking always produces bad life. Quality thinking always produces quality life. The difference between the man who tries hard but always accomplishes little in the kingdom and the man who is of much valuable service is what each hears and believes. In other words, how they manage their gardens.

All the seemingly unrelated negative events that consistently happen to the unproductive man are the product of bad seeds growing to fruition. All the seemingly unrelated doors of opportunity and blessings that consistently come to the productive man are the results of good seeds. Nothing happens until somebody believes something.

Remember “the earth yields crops by itself.” We cannot make growth, but we must care for the soil, thin and trim the plants, protect the seedling from a hostile environment and predators, pull the weeds, shoo off the birds, and above all, keep the soil moist with the presence of the Holy Spirit through prayer. Communing with God in prayer and meditating the word (thought, vision, seed) in the Holy Spirit is the process by which the natural growth and eventual harvest will come.

Prayer and meditation is speaking to and hearing God. Speaking to and hearing God does not only involve audible words. Communing with God also involves speaking and hearing by pictures and feelings. It is seeing and feeling what God is saying as well as praying visions and feelings to Him.

Prayer and meditation is experiencing in the spiritual realm what God desires to bring into the natural realm.

To intimately commune with God, one must come to a place of inner quiet where the thoughts and distractions of the world can be silenced. Close your eyes, quiet your soul, and seek to enter into the presence of the Father. Ask God what He wants to do with your life and wait quietly before Him. When you have a clear word, a vision from God, meditate it in your spiritual mind. Look at it. Understand it. Get to know it. See it happening. Feel how it feels. Then pray the vision back to God. With the vision in your spirit, go to Him and ask Him to give you the vision He has shown you. Daily continue praying this way. You will find that the vision will change some. It will become more detailed with a little more of this and a little less of that as God continues to clarify the vision in you.

You are now pregnant with the word from God. The vision is now alive within you. Allow yourself to become excited as you feel the first movements of the living vision within you. Original creation is beginning to be reshaped as the vision in the spiritual realm begins to impact the physical realm. All over the world things may begin to move or adjust in order to set the stage to bring about the vision that God has placed in your heart as a seed.

Next, begin to speak the vision out loud into the earth. Share it with those who can hear. Let your passion for the vision come forth as you speak it to others as God directs. You may need to begin writing it down or sketching it out on paper. Don’t be alarmed if the vision is a thousand times greater than you think possible. Remember it is God’s baby; He will bring it to birth.

Be faithful to pray the vision and be ready to take whatever next step the Lord shows you. Wait and watch for the opportunities and circumstances that in time will appear before you to birth the vision.

GOD’S PRODUCTION

Man is made in the image of God to have dominion in the earth. God blessed man to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it and to have dominion. It is God’s desire that the earth be ruled according to His heavenly plan and pattern. Man has the potential to grow the seed of God, or the seed of the enemy. Only man has the God-given position to rule in the earth. Only man has the potent heart-soil that is the interface between the spiritual realm and the natural realm.

Genesis 1:27-28: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

After our hearts are seeded with the plan of God, we then become seeds sown into the world to bear fruit–to bring forth the plan of God on earth.

We are at the end of this age. The good news of the kingdom is being preached; the rule of God is coming forth on earth; and pure hearted sons of God are bringing forth the plan of God on our planet now. The sons of the wicked are being removed from the kingdom of God and cast into fire. They will repent and be purified or continue in the fiery judgment of God. Then, the pure hearted sons of God, bearing His plan, will shine forth on Planet Earth.

Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43: Another parable He put forth to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

He (Jesus) answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

“Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The first soil is the heart of man in which the seed of God’s plan is sown. The second soil is the field of the world into which we are sown to produce God’s plan, which was sown into our heart. The field of the world is also sown with those who have had their hearts sown with a different, conflicting unfruitful seed.

We are to keep the tares (weeds) from growing in our heart-soil. However, the scene has changed in this parable. We are no longer looking at the soil of our heart but at the soil of the world. God, by his angels, will remove the tares from the world. They are allowed to grow together for a season. The tare is a plant in the kingdom that does not produce good fruit.

Thank God for the purifying fire we are coming through. Our hearts are being cleansed and healed to become good soil that will receive good seed and become fruitful producers in the kingdom of God.

We cannot change our lives by changing our actions. We must clear the land of our heart and plant the word (plan) of God. We must change what we hear and what we think. This will change our attitudes and actions, which will change our lives and destiny.

In the kingdom, we are not controlled by our circumstances. Christ living within us by the Holy Spirit is in control.

Jesus experienced the fullness of creative power from heaven flowing through Him. Few people if any since then, have fully experienced the creative power of the kingdom of heaven flowing through their lives into the world. Those who have come close have produced significant accomplishments with God.

Someone once said, “The man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.” My own experience parallels that of every other man who has heard and employed this mystery. It is not possible to share with you the miraculous, overcoming experiences of my 75+ years of which over 55 years were spent seeking to serve the Lord. They would become other books of many pages. In this work, I have sought to provide the reader with the foundational core of truth and wisdom resulting from my experiencing God and His word. For illustration’s sake, let us take a brief peek at a small window of experience. By no means will we set the stage or give the background or complete story. We will only take a window peek for illustration.

In the late 1960s, after beginning to hear the mystery of “as you believe, so be it unto you,” I began to prosper and to be used in giving. Through a series of changes, I had left my first miraculously prosperous job experience to manage a very small, industrial instrument sales company. Everything about the small company was minimal and poor. There were two employees. One was a middle-aged, Native American lady who wore the same pillow-tick, sack dress most everyday, ate a whole onion for lunch each day, and had a teenage son who slept in a coffin. The other employee was a young, alcoholic man who had the top of his left ear bitten off in a bar fight. The previous owner/manager smoked cigars and spit on the floor. Total sales for the first month were about $11,000 at about 20% gross profit. That is about $2,200 before wages and overhead, which left nothing for me.

There was no doubt, however, that God had put me there for a purpose. At this season, my life was to be dedicated to giving money for the work of God in the world. God made it clear to me that this was what He desired to do with this business endeavor. As I prayed, God began to give me visions of how the place and the business could be cleaned up and rearranged. I would see the changes in my heart by the spirit. Later, I could see that what I had seen in the spirit, had come to pass and was functioning in the business.

I would ask God, “What do You want to do in sales this year?” I was usually shocked as He revealed to me an amount that seemed, to my mind, far too great for the business to accomplish. Yet, I had come to believe that God could do what He said. Therefore, I would take a piece of paper and draw a graph representing the increase God had said. At this point, I had no idea how this tremendous increase could occur. As I prayed, I would take that line on the graph to God and ask Him to give me that. I would meditate before Him the vision of that increase coming to pass. I let myself feel what it was like to actually experience the increase happening.

After only a few months, the Lord gave me the little company. I purchased it on time payments without any money. Suddenly, for the first time, I found myself totally responsible for a business and God began to reveal the vast unlimited potential of the situation. The whole world was a potential marketplace. All the products of the world were potential goods to be marketed. There was no one over me to say it could not be done. The only limitation was what God said, and what I believed.

I am convinced that most men have never really touched the potential of their lives. Most of us experience only the smallest fraction of what God would like to do with us. We have been so planted and trained with the limitations of natural thinking and dependency upon our natural selves that we have rarely touched the vast, unlimited, spiritual realm of ruling and reigning with God. God will do anything in and with our lives that He says and we believe.

As I continued to pray and meditate the vision before Him, God would give me creative ideas and specific instructions for the next step. One example of these ideas was the printing of a catalog. No distributor of industrial temperature and pressure instruments had ever printed their own catalog. All the distributors used the manufacturers’ printed material. We printed our own stock catalog, listing and describing all of the particular items that we carried in local inventory. We did all the photography, typesetting, and layout ourselves in our small office. It was a new experience; none of us had any experience in such procedures. There were some, who worked on the little, blue catalog, that were so proud of it that they did not want to give them away to customers! The idea worked and grew. The next catalog was the size of a telephone book and brought together a product mix that could not be had anywhere else.

Soon the Lord directed other divisions of the corporation and expansion into branch operations over the southwest United States market area that we served. We were among the first in our field to use toll-free, long distance (800) telephone service for incoming sales calls across the nation. In only three years, God’s little company had become a multi-million dollar corporation. We sought to employ only maturing Christians. Some actually got saved in the employment interview and went on to spend much of their working life serving the Lord in the company. Not only were significant amounts of money flowing through me personally into the work of God; but also, many of the employees regularly gave to churches and other ministries. Many were very thankful to have a place to work where Christian values and morals were the norm.

I was never qualified to do this work. I had only a high school and some Bible college education. My work experience had been mostly in route sales, selling milk or bread on a commission basis. I had worked exceptionally hard to earn commissions to provide for my five children. There was nothing in my background that said I could do this thing. But God said it and I believed it.

It takes courage to hear God and obey what He says. I can recall occasions when God would tell me something to do. Sometimes it did not seem to make much sense according to the facts, as we knew them at the time. It was even more difficult for some of my business associates to accept some of the actions. Later, some of them came to me and said something like, “How did you know these things were going to happen?” The seemingly unreasonable actions we had taken earlier all made perfect sense as new developments occurred; and, we were sitting in exactly the right place at the right time to benefit. I would simply reply, “I didn’t know. I was just obeying God.”

Everything God does in the kingdom begins as a seed planted in the heart of man and grows into the world through the natural supernatural growth process. The work of the kingdom of God on earth can be hindered by unbelief and doubt. The work of the kingdom cannot be stopped if the seed of God is planted in an obedient heart of faith and trust in God.

Intimately relating to God and faithfully serving Him in the world allows us to see and hear His plan in heaven by the Spirit and plants it in our hearts. The God-given enthusiasm for the plan causes us to begin to speak it forth into the world; and, eventually to see it come forth into the natural world by supernatural natural growth. This is the creative process of God that will bring forth the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Keep on Pursuing Love

It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com

basileia@earthlink.net

UNCOVERING the “COVERING DOCTRINE”

Posted: April 24, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching
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UNCOVERING the “COVERING DOCTRINE”
by Cheryl McGrath.

In a number of the denominations I’ve been involved in, including at
leadership level, a “doctrine of covering” was taught and accepted.
And for many, many years, I never questioned this teaching. After
all, everyone believed it; the leadership upheld it, so it must be
right, right? It is only as the Holy Spirit has impressed me to study
the scriptures more deeply on this teaching that I’ve had to come
to terms with the fact that He NEVER originated it! In His infinite
grace, He chose to wait patiently for a time when the Spirit of Truth
would become dearer to me than the traditions of men.

The teaching on “covering” goes like this. Everyone needs to be
accountable to someone who is spiritually his or her superior. This
someone may be your cell group leader, the head of a church
department or your senior pastor etc. In turn, these leaders receive
covering from someone further up the line, for instance a
denominational leader or a “recognized” apostle. The necessity for
this covering is based on the belief that believers need to be
safeguarded from falling into error and/or sin. So covering is
provided by those who are more spiritual than we to protect us
from such error. At the top of this pyramid of covering there is quite
often a well-known and recognized “name” but the chances of
meeting or having any kind of relationship with that person if you
are at the bottom of the pyramid are fairly slim. Currently, there are
several networks offering this kind of covering to those in some
form of church leadership or ministry, more often than not for an
Annual fee. The annual fee usually provides for the running of the
network, and conferences where you can fellowship with others
under your particular brand of covering. You may also be denied
entrance from one of these networks because you don’t have the
appropriate credentials.

One of the strange things about this “covering” teaching is that
rarely is anyone asked about their spiritual covering, until they step
outside their particular church, denomination or network. However,
the minute a believer shows signs of having something important to
share with the wider Body of Christ, suddenly all and sundry are
interested primarily in that one important question: “Who are you
covered by?” It all sounds pretty reasonable except for one problem –
it’s NOT FOUND in scripture. In fact, the early church was taught
to rely on the inner anointing to discern the spiritual source of

potential ministers. (1 John 2:20; 1 John 4:1)

So, where did this idea originate that believers need to be “covered”
in order to serve God and minister within Christ’s Body? Are you,
like many others, living your Christian life under the shadow of this
fear that without “covering” you dare not minister, preach, pray or
do a myriad of other things you’re called to do by the Spirit of God,
because you will somehow be ministering without protection?

The purpose of this article is to shed some light on this issue
based on scriptural truth. To begin with, though, we need to
understand that this need to be covered by a perceived spiritual
authority, and the scriptural instruction to submit ourselves to
God’s delegated authorities, are NOT necessarily one and the
same thing. Furthermore, New Testament authority as
demonstrated by Jesus and the first apostles, is servanthood-
authority, upholding, strengthening, reinforcing and overseeing the
Body from BENEATH, not DOMINEERING, CONTROLLING and
RULING from ABOVE. Therefore, it is vital in examining this issue
that we begin from a correct understanding of Biblical submission
and Biblical authority.

‘LET THIS MIND be IN YOU’

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who,
being in the form of God, thought in not robbery to be equal with
God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8)

The current mindset we carry in much of the church concerning
submission is quite unrelated to the submission taught and
demonstrated by Jesus and the early apostles. There is a
desperate need to return to the same mind that was in Christ Jesus.
The scripture tells us that though He was equal with the Father,
Jesus CHOSE to submit Himself, He CHOSE to humble Himself,
He CHOSE to obey. This is the key to Biblical submission, and the
model laid down for us by both the Father and the Son.

Submission is firstly a choice; a choice that can only ever be made
by the giver. Biblical submission can never be demanded or forced.
That kind of relationship is subservience, not submission. Jesus
chose to subject Himself to the Father, but the Father “so loved
the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son.” Sacrificial giving
and sacrificial submission are married to each other. In the Spirit,

you cannot have one without the other. If you try, you will invariably
end up with control, dependence and abuse rather than humility,
interdependence and grace.

The New Testament concept of submission, or subjection, is one
of a totally voluntary attitude of giving, of yielding one’s preference
and deferring to another. In this way, Jesus as a child was subject
to His parents, yet the scriptures record that He did not even
consult them when He was “about His Father’s business.” (Luke 2:49,51)

“IT SHALL NOT be SO AMONG YOU”

“Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to
watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God.
Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That
would certainly not be for your benefit.” (Hebrews 13:17, NLT)

“But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know
that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over
them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it
shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great
among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to
be first shall be slave of all.” (Mark 10:42-44)

“Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed
how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when
people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads.”
(Mark 10:42 The Message)

There is no question that the scriptures instruct each one of us to
submit to God’s delegated authority. It is the understanding and
the application of that authority we often stumble over. The Bible
records that Jesus taught the twelve this Kingdom authority as
they walked along the road to Jerusalem. His face had been set
toward the Cross, and it is certain He was keenly aware of the
short time He had left with them. Perhaps He was conversing with
His Father about what were the most important lessons He could
impart to them during the time that was left. We know that He
heard them disputing over who among them was the best
“leadership material”. Perhaps Peter, having not long before
witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration, thought that gave him special
status. Perhaps James and John felt they were more likely
candidates for rulership than impetuous Peter. Shortly before,
they had asked Jesus to give them special places of honor in
His Kingdom. Whatever had started their dispute, Jesus certainly
knew how to end it!

“Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave…..”
(Matt. 20:27).

The Lord was speaking to a group of people who had grown up
under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Romans exercised their
authority through forced subjection and harsh cruelty. In fact, the
literal translation of the words Jesus used in reference to Roman
rule mean “to be under the power of” and “to be subdued.” Despite
having witnessed Jesus using a very different kind of authority and
power, the disciples had not yet understood exactly what He
would require of them. The Romans were, in the political sense,
their masters. Yet here was Jesus stating that to exercise the
authority He was going to invest in them they would need to
become slaves to one another, and not masters. One might safely
assume these weren’t words any of them particularly wanted to
hear that day!

Kingdom authority has nothing to do with titles, positions,
educational qualifications or reputation. Kingdom authority is
granted by the Lord according to the measure with which He can
trust us to wield it with humility. The greatest authority in the
kingdom is reserved for His bondslaves.

WHAT about ACCOUNTABILITY?

In today’s church system we have confused the word “covering”
with the need for accountability. Consequently many are holding
themselves accountable to people with title and position,
regardless of whether or not they are developing an ongoing
transparent relationship with that person. In the Kingdom, it is not
possible to be truly accountable to those with whom we are not
actively growing in relationship. How can I be trusted to call you to
account righteously if I don’t love you in Christ? How can you love
me with Christ-like love and not call me to account?

Paul was able to correct the Corinthians because he had true
relationship with them. He had travailed over them, nurtured them,
wept for them and rejoiced with them. Therefore he was able to
reprove them, for their edification and not for their destruction.
(2 Corinthians 13:10)

When we turn to the scriptures for guidance on this issue of
accountability, a startling fact confronts us. The News Testament
mentions accountability ONLY in terms of the believer towards
God. The scripture teaches that we will give accountability TO
GOD ALONE in the following areas:

*stewardship (Luke 16:2)
*ourselves (Rom. 14:12)
*fruit (Phil 4:17)
*what we do in the flesh (1 Pet. 4:5)
*leaders shall give account for the souls they watch over (Heb. 13:17)

What then, DO the scriptures teach about how believers, as
members of the corporate Body of Christ, are to relate to one another?

“… all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with
humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
(1 Peter 5:5)

In Galatians Chapter Two we read of a journey Paul took to
Jerusalem. He states that he went up “by revelation”, that is, at
the instigation of the Holy Spirit, in order to confirm that the gospel
he had been preaching was approved by the eldership of the
Jerusalem church. He goes on to state that “those who seemed to
be something, whatever they were, it makes no difference to me,”
had nothing to add to his teachings. He further adds that when
James, Cephas (Peter) and John perceived the grace God had
shown him, he was given the “right hand of fellowship.”

At the instigation of the Holy Spirit, Paul had subjected himself to
the Jerusalem eldership, including Peter, for the purpose of
accountability. One may safely assume that Peter, having spent
around three years day and night with Jesus, and highly regarded
by the early believers, held very great authority in the church. Paul,
however did not ask Peter to cover him. Instead, he did not
hesitate in calling Peter to account when Peter was later swayed
to go back on his word by the fear of men (Gal. 2:11-14). Bear in
mind this is the same Peter who stated “We ought to obey God
rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

These men understood the nature of relationship through the Holy
Spirit; ALL of you be submissive to one another, ALL of you be
clothed with humility. Each of us is accountable to one another,
whatever our function in the Body, whether apostles, teachers,
deacons or helpers. This is the church Christ is building.

To say that we are demonstrating accountability to a person or
group of people we may briefly rub shoulders with at a meeting
once or twice a week, or perhaps once or twice a year, is ludicrous.
True accountability is about how we express Christ in us – our
lifestyle, our character and our integrity in families, jobs and
church community. This cannot be measured outside Godly
relationships, and without a humble willingness to be in subjection
one to another. Each one of us needs to seek out and submit
ourselves to those in the Body the Lord has placed close to us to
provide that accountability, regardless of their position, title or
function. Each one of us needs to be willing, in humility and
service, to provide that same accountability base for others in the
Body. This applies to leadership equally as it does to the newest,
most inexperienced member of the Christian community.

Sadly, what we see today in so much of the church, is a frenzied
jockeying for position under the supposedly protective umbrella of
some ministry name or reputation, in order to prove ourselves
“covered”. “WHO COVERS YOU?” has become one of the most
frequently asked questions among Christians, and too often it is
the deciding factor in assessing a ministry’s integrity or otherwise.
Consequently, an unsatisfactory answer to that question in some
church circles can label you “outside the camp” and almost
certainly not to be trusted. Christians are judging each other’s
worth and relationship with God on this issue of covering, and
using it to justify self-righteousness and spiritual elitism.

In Part Two of this study we will talk about what is at the root of
this distorted doctrine, and the clear choices that lie before us in
order to be free from it.

Part TWO

“…..then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount
Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and
the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will
be a covering.” Isaiah 4:5
“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt
thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” Ps. 91:4

IT’S ABOUT HIS NAME

“Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people
in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and
the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to
Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these
things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?” (Luke 20:1-2)

As we see from this portion of scripture, the question “who covers
you?” is not new. The chief priests, scribes and elders were not
simply asking Jesus where His supernatural power came from.
More than that, they wanted a NAME. “Who is he?’ Come on, tell
us Jesus, who is the scribe, who is the rabbi, who is the prophet
who covers you? And no more of that over-spiritualised talk about
your Father. We want the name of the person who said you could
do these things!”

The apostle Paul confronted a similar problem in the Corinthian church.

“For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by
those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.
Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of
Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of
Paul?” (1 Cor. 1:10-13)

The Lord is jealous over us concerning His Name. We were bought
and paid for by His Blood, and His Name is the only Name by
which we are to identify ourselves. When believers choose to find
their identity in another name other than His, the Spirit is grieved
and His Name is dishonored.

IT’S ABOUT the FLESH

“Don’t ever let anyone call you `Rabbi,’ for you have only one
teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and
sisters. And don’t address any one here on earth as `Father,’ for
only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don’t let anyone
call you `Master,’ for there is only one master, the Messiah. The
greatest among you must be a servant.” (Matthew 23:8-11, NLT)

The Corinthians were apparently separating into factions according
to whom they considered was the most authoritative teacher. They
were following after men, and for that reason Paul took issue with
them. Further in his letter he goes on to challenge them by
describing this kind of mindset as carnal and fleshly rather than
spiritual:

“For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you
not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am
of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not CARNAL?”
(1 Cor. 3:1-4)

Finally, he instructs them:
“Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:
whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or
things present or things to come-all are yours. And you are
Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Cor. 3:21-23)

The Corinthians had become so obsessed with the attributes of
certain teachers they were idolizing them. They wanted to regard
particular individuals as their “master”, “father”, or “teacher”, but
Paul wanted them to understand that in doing so they were falling
short of their full inheritance in Christ. He wanted them to see that
all of these teachers, belonged to them as servant-ministers, and
not the other way around.

IT’S ABOUT a SUBSTITUTE KING

At the heart of the Corinthians’ idolatry was the age-old desire for a
ruler, a king. The flesh would much rather fear man than fear God.
The flesh would much rather submit to the control of law than
submit to the freedom of the Spirit. This principle is seen
throughout scripture.

Afraid they would die, the Israelites begged Moses to be God’s
messenger to them, rather than hear His Voice for themselves.

“Now all the people witnessed the thundering s, the lightning
flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and
when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then
they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let
not God speak with us, lest we die.” ( Exodus 20:18-19)

God desired for the people to hear Him for themselves, but they
refused. Effectively, the Israelites were elevating Moses as their
mediator. The entire nation had been called as a kingdom of
priests, but their preference was to be ruled by one man. (Exodus 19:1-9)

Many years later, when the prophet Samuel officiated as Israel’s
judge, Israel’s carnal desire for a man-king surfaced again.

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to
Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your
sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us
like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they
said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord.
And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all
that they say to you , for they have not rejected you,

they have rejected Me,that I should not reign over them… However, you
shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the
king who will reign over them.” So Samuel told all the words of the
Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This
will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will
take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots… And
he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest
young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will
take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you
will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have
chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and
they said, “No, but we will have a king over us…” (1 Samuel 8:4-22)
The key to Israel’s demand for a human king, rather than the direct
reign of Yahweh over them, was “that we also may be like all the
nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and
fight our battles.” They wanted a name and a face that could “go
out before” them. They wanted someone visible they could show
the other nations. They wanted a symbol, a token leader who
could take responsibility for how they would live and conduct their
lives. They wanted someone with a reputation they could identify
with. They wanted to be like the world. They wanted human “covering.”

You see, friends, there is a place for governmental leadership,
there is a place for accountability within the Body, there is a place
for submission to legitimate God-delegated authority. All these are
valid and in order, but only insofar as they are not permitted to
substitute for the direct rule of God in our lives. And only insofar
as they are not sought out as a counterfeit for the sovereignty and
rulership of the Holy Spirit within each believer.

IT’S OF a DIFFERENT SPIRIT

“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you
were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in
the midst of fiery stones.” (Ezekiel 28:14)

Many Bible scholars agree that God’s rebuke to the “king of Tyre”
recorded in Ezekiel 28:1-19 is prophetically addressed to Satan.
In it, we find that originally this fallen angel was called the
“anointed cherub who covers”. Some scholars believe he was
especially anointed to cover the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies.
In the Presence of God, he walked back and forth in the midst of
the fiery stones. The passage states that when iniquity was found
in him he was cast out of God’s holy mountain, and removed from
the midst of the fiery stones.

This Hebrew word “to cover” means “to hedge, fence about, shut in,
block, overshadow, screen, stop the approach, shut off, cover” (H.
“cakak” Strongs 05526 ). It is a word than can be used either in
relation to defense or oppression.

Beloved, Satan still desires to walk back and forth in the midst of
God’s living, fiery stones. He still desires to be the covering cherub
on God’s holy mountain, but the covering he offers is oppressive,
designed purely to hinder believers and rob them of the freedom
and full potential that is ours through Christ.

The doctrine of covering is an old lie with a new name. It is
fundamental to the maintenance of a false hierarchical religious
system controlling many Christians in this day. Without the power
of this erroneous mindset, it is even doubtful that some sections
of the “church” could survive.

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond
of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were
called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one
baptism; one God and Father of all, who is OVER ALL and
THROUGH ALL and IN ALL. (Ephesians 4:3-6) The scriptures
plainly state that it is God alone who is OVER all. Only God can
cover His people, and only the Holy Spirit can unite them. The
most disturbing aspect about the covering teaching is that it subtly
encourages believers to look to men and women rather than
develop their own deep relationship with God through the Holy
Spirit. It upholds a man-made church built on hierarchy rather than
a spiritual temple built through the unity of the Spirit. It promotes a
class system of rulership by title, human appointment and
personality, and DEVALUES the PRIESTHOOD of every believer.
It negates leadership by the Holy Spirit and discourages believers
from hearing the direction of the Spirit for themselves. It is a
DOCTRINE OF DEMONS being used to deceive and bind
countless believers.
Now, about that freedom we were talking about at the beginning of
this article! Don’t, repeat DON’T, use your new found liberty as a
license for rebellion against authority. If you have been trapped in
this covering doctrine be wise in how you appropriate your freedom.
There are many, many humble and faithful men and women
overseeing and serving the Body of Christ with humility and
devotion, and it may well be that whoever has been “covering” you
is one of them. If you are blessed enough to be aligned with a
servant-leader who demonstrates true Biblical authority, honor
them, support them, and submit to them. But don’t expect them
to cover you – that’s not theirs to give.

False doctrines are mindsets and beliefs that can only be cast
down by the Spirit and the Word together. And ultimately, our walk
in the Spirit is not the responsibility of leadership; it is our own
responsibility. It is time for each one of us to choose – do we want
the rulership of kings, or do we want the rulership of THE King?

Finally, let me leave you with these thoughts:

1) Who covered Philip when He went down to Samaria and started
a revival? (The apostles heard about it and sent Peter and John
down to check it out!) (Acts 8:4-8)

2) Who covered Philip when the angel of the Lord directed him to
the Gaza desert? (Acts 8:26-40) (There’s no record of the
Ethiopian eunuch asking him for his “covering” credentials!)

3)Who covered Ananias when he was sent to pray for Saul? (He
went to pray for a known enemy of the church and didn’t event get
permission!) (Acts 9:10-18)

4)Who covered Apollos when he taught boldly in the synagogue,
even though he had not yet received the full gospel? (Acts 18:24-25)

5)And who covered Aquilla and Priscilla when they took Apollos
under their wing to instruct him further? (Acts 18:26)

6)Who covered Agabus when he traveled down from Judea to
deliver a prophetic word to Paul? (Acts 21:10)

The answer is the same in each instance: The Holy Spirit covered,
protected, led, and enabled. He is the only covering we need. The
real question is this: is He the only covering we want?

-Source-

http://www.greatsouthland.org/

A Matter of Life or Death – By Ron McGatlin

Posted: April 24, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
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From where we stand today on the brink of great changes of eternal proportion, life or death is before us. The Fire of God has come near the earth and the heavens are opening. Spiritual blindness is being removed. Captives are being set free from the bondage’s of carnality. The power of God is changing death to life. Those who were deceived by the cunning of religion are coming to truth. The power of true worship is being felt across the world.

The light of God is penetrating the darkness of hearts. Love is replacing bitterness in broken lives as pride is dissolved by the deep love of the Father flowing through Christ in a new people – a people who love God above all else and openly seek Him with their whole hearts. The Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is raising up a generation of “Christ in you” people who walk in holiness and love that overcomes the work of the enemy.

The world is in position to receive the greatest blessings every poured out – the very life and presence of God within and among His people on earth. This is a great gift to the world. But to whom much is given much is required. Because God is coming forth on earth excuses are disappearing. There will be no place to hide and the earth shall be purified through unrelenting loving judgment.

Multitudes are entering the valley – “the valley of decision”. As the “Christ in you” people manifest the reality of God in man everyone will be able to view true holiness, purity, and love without hypocrisy. They will know that God is real and must decide to give their lives to Him or face the judgment of self condemnation – the terrible judgment of love. Death will become very common and a daily reality for multitudes who reject the love of the Father. The standard of Christ will be lifted up through the Holy Spirit forming Christ in His people.

The new called out ones will not gather under the banner of religion nor any other manmade or demonic authority but only the real authority of Christ and under His banner of love. Gatherings of the “Christ in you” people will meet in homes, business places, parks, churches or wherever. These will be highly committed and submitted people who will follow the voice of their true shepherd and will not follow another. Christ from the throne will come in glory by the Holy Spirit to meet with His people and His glory shall fill the earth. The government of gifted elders (mature ones) will follow only the Spirit and will bring forth the feeding of the immature ones as they grow.

It is a very deadly mistake to hold on to the past when God is severely changing things.

Ron McGatlin

Living life radically for Christ..

Posted: April 23, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: , , , , , , ,
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There is an awesome revolutionary shift going on in today’s church. It seems there is a wave of God’s people who are being shaped and molded to be something radically different than that of the typical known church. These radical followers of Jesus are no longer settling with large buildings, extravagant stage performances, theological arguments, fancy ministry shows, lofty programs and plush chairs. They are not interested in staying comfortable but looking for a change that will promote the heart and message of Jesus. They are a people seeking something greater than themselves. These people have been refined and are still being refined to better understand the things that matter most to God.

Now, when I stop and read I have just wrote above, I feel like it might somehow express my feelings that there is a “select” group of God’s people. An “elect” group. This is not at all what I am suggesting! I know God has plans for all of His people and His plans are for good (Jeremiah 29:11). I am only making a point that there seems to be many that are speaking, acting and responding more boldly to the call of Jesus. It could be you – I just think it’s a neat thing that there are people out there that will attempt to follow Jesus at all cost.

After studying the bible, actively participating in serving others, growing in love for others and then reading several chapters in David Platt’s book, “Radical”, I am even more curious what God is up to. In my mind, He is developing His Radical Church, which I define as those who are wholeheartedly after Jesus’s heart. Having a heart like Jesus requires one to receive and accept His love, “Let Him Love You!” It is hard for many to receive the real, unconditional, no-strings-attached king of love. Upon receiving this love for Jesus to overflowing, it allows a person the ability to go out into the world and spill love onto other people. I don’t believe anyone that has not felt and accepted this kind of love can truly love the way Jesus loved back.

We need to be honest here in the fact that a truly radical “Christian” (meaning, “follower of Jesus”) would be one who would be willing to lay down his/her life for someone else’s in order that they would be saved. It may be one that would sell all of their possessions to the poor then travel to the remote places in the world to share the message of Christ through exemplifying love and kindness to those in need. The radical Christian might be one that would leave his/her family to proclaim the gospel. It’s a person that is completely sold out to Jesus.

Sound impossible? Sound scary? Sound radical? To some more than likely. Sadly via a watered down, super sensational hyped up gospel message others came to the alter driven out out selfishness not wanting to go to hell. Yet praise God thru the gospel message delivered in truth we find that others came to the alter out of a deep admittance that they whole heartedly need God. I must admit that I was part of the first group for years. Lived any ole way I pleased believing I had a get out hell free card.

Praise God for faithful servants who deliver the true message of freedom. For today I have come to that place of surrender, abandoned in in His Love and with some others, here lately, I don’t see any other way of living. It’s more scary to me if I don’t follow Jesus. I seem to always mess things up! There is an urgency in my soul that doesn’t rest that beckons me to reach people for the sake of the kingdom. I know it’s not about me. God doesn’t need me. But, He wants me. He wants me to have the blessing of being a part of His work. So how far do I go?

I need to stop for a moment before I go on any further, I must admit that I am not without fault. I am a “sinner” -(meaning I have done many wrong, careless and hurtful things). My life has in no way exemplified the word perfect. I have failed God on many occasions. I have disappointed my family and I have disappointed my friends. In my thirties, however, God got hold of me. Without going in to all the details, He changed me. I made a decision to do something different that I had been doing since nothing that I was doing was working – at all. I took baby steps at first. With each step closer to Jesus, I only wanted more of Him. I was hungry for more and more. And today, I still hunger and thirst for more of Jesus. I am trying to be today what one might call a ”radical” follower of Jesus.

It is by the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ through faith I was saved. It was because He chose me, not because of something that I did. I cannot offer good works and work myself into a saving place with Jesus. ”For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The Radical Christian: believer’s who are serious about following Jesus. It is a group of common people, who come from a wide variety of back grounds, many have nothing in common except their love for Jesus, a group of believers who are more concerned about accomplishing the things that matter most to God and not feasting on their own selfish desires. It’s not radical in a sense of weird, but radical in the sense of putting forth one’s ALL in order to express the love of Christ to save the lost and to glorify God. I love radically because He first loved me.

I challenge you today to begin living a radical life of love for your family, friends and neighbors. I can almost guarantee you that as you take this step forward, all hell is about to break loose in your life, but be of good cheer for you are not alone. You will see Jesus come into your life in such a powerful way, His Love will weight you down under its glorious power. You will face many trials, yet rejoice for the Master is walking with you – showing you the steps that He too took to pour out His love and show the world the Fathers love.

When you make this step you will find a refreshing breath of grace flowing into your life like you’ve never experienced before, and a peace that words can not describe. Jesus said we must weight the cost – I have friends and there is nothing that even begins to compare to a life radically sold out to Jesus, of being radically in love with my Lord – Holy Spirit has been drawing me into a deeper understanding of a life of radical servant-hood that I might be crushed and pressed until all that is left in my life is the radical image of the Son of God!

For indeed we serve a radically awesome God!

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