radical christianity | Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution

Posts Tagged ‘radical christianity’

A Matter of Life or Death – By Ron McGatlin

Posted: April 24, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Bride of Christ, Christian life, discipleship, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, radical christianity, righteousness, salvation, Spirit led life

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: Christian life, discipleship, God's love, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, radical christianity, radical love, Spirit led life

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!

Called to be radical

Posted: April 22, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Bride of Christ, discipleship, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, radical christianity, radical disciples, Spirit led life

Being “radical” brings up images of an argumentative protester or even a violent terrorist, but a truly “radical” Christian should be someone who typifies the very “root” of who Jesus is, practicing what He taught.

Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24

Simple statements like “love one another” were never intended to be feel good statements but direct “world changing” commands from Jesus to his followers. Words like “love your enemies”, and “do good to those that spitefully use you”, would be considered “radical” if actually practiced, even though they are believed by all Christians.

It would seem that like a professional athlete needs a “public relations” agent after a blunder that ruins his “public image”, in the same way the Christian church in America needs the ultimate agent, Jesus himself to change not only our image, but our practice as well. He is not someone who will “spin” things to our advantage, but someone who cares enough to change our very lives, our hearts and our behavior to become like Him.

Radical means “of or pertaining to the root of origin; reaching to the center, to the foundation, to the ultimate sources, to the principles.”

Radical Christianity calls us to examine the foundation of everything we call “Christian” in order to discern what is, and what is not, acceptable to Christ. Jesus is building His Church upon the foundation of Himself. We have the privilege of co-laboring together with Him, but we must follow His blueprint, not ours.

Everything in His Church is weighed, measured, and tested according to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”. If it falls short or goes beyond THIS measure, the Lord will tear down what they have built.

Therefore let us all walk as humbled radical disciples of Yeshua, seeking to be and expression of the Fathers heart and not out of our owns hearts imagination of what we believe God the Father should be. In this manner let our minds, souls and spirit’s always be aligned to the Lord Jesus Christ, rooted in His teaching – His Word, infused with His Spirit and walking in His power and authority.

At times we may be called to walk in the wilderness for His honor, wade thru the valley of suffering for His praise and march up to the mountain tops of revelation for His glory. We are called by His name, therefore let us represent Him in truth according to all that He has taught us in His Word and continues to teach us with revelation brought forth by His Holy Spirit, that His Name may be lifted high above everything and anything found in this world, that we may be His glory manifested in this present world!

For Indeed we do serve an awesome God!!!

THE SECOND GREATEST MYSTERY

Posted: April 22, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Christian life, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, Kingdom teaching, radical christianity

Can I really be transformed into a pure and holy kingdom builder? Can I really be a part of bringing forth the kingdom of God to actually change the world? Do I really have a part in this or is God going to do it all without any human involvement while I continue to battle personal needs?

The second greatest mystery of the kingdom is only overshadowed by the first greatest mystery, which is LOVE. The first greatest mystery is the source of the power that causes the kingdom to exist, to be ordered, and to be held together. The second greatest mystery is the means by which the kingdom from heaven is implemented to function and grow into the earth.

If we receive the revelation of this second greatest mystery, we will have the ability to bring forth the fruit (production) of the kingdom of God in our lives and into the world. All things will be possible. We are about to uncover the practical, spiritual kingdom principle that is the spiritual mechanism to bring forth the will and plan of God into our lives and into the world. This principle is man’s part in establishing the kingdom of God from heaven on earth.

For a number of years, I lived a “back to nature” type of lifestyle. I lived in a log cabin, grew vegetables and fruits, and raised chickens, cattle, and hogs for food. I would go out to the garden and gather sweet corn, onions, tomatoes, green beans and dig some potatoes and gather other tasty vegetables. Earlier in the spring I had planted the seeds for these vegetables in the soil of my garden. Before planting the seed, I spread manure on the soil and tilled it. I planted the different kinds of seeds where I wanted them to grow. I chose the seeds and planted them, but I did not grow them. The soil grew them. (Here is the mystery.) I cannot explain how the seed became a growing, producing plant; nor can I explain how the soil grew them. But, I could go into the garden at harvest time and gather the fruit.

Jesus said the kingdom of God is like my garden. He said the heart of man is the soil that can “grow” the kingdom of God seed. Previously, from the parable of the sower, we have seen the heart-soils that could not grow the kingdom seed to fruition–the hard-pressed wayside soil of the wounded and hardened heart, the stony soil of our fixed preconceived convictions, and the thorny soil of caring for the things of this life. Hopefully, we have each dealt with these conditions in our own lives. Now, we must receive the greater hidden light–the revelation of the production of the kingdom of God now on earth through the good heart-soil. This is a very important principle and is the intended focus of this key parable. Understanding this parable is fundamental to understanding all kingdom parables.

Mark 4:13: And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”

Matthew 13: 8-13, 16-18, 23: “But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear let him hear!”

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Therefore hear the parable of the sower: (When anyone hears the word of the kingdom…) But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word (of the kingdom) and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Mark 4:20: “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold some sixty, and some a hundred.”

The above verses that you just read contain one of the greatest hidden mysteries of all life. This great secret is meant to come to light. All hidden mysteries in the Word are to be revealed. Please give great heed to your hearing at this point. Please do not regard these scriptures lightly. Pray for revelation and meditate these verses. Wait upon God, and do not let the powerful truths get by you.

You must have an ear to hear. Not everyone will hear the great mystery hidden in these parables. Only the good soil, the emptied, healed, purified, humble heart will clearly hear it.

Many great men of God from the past have sought to know and hear these mysteries and could not. The time is now for those who are pure in heart to hear. If there are yet needs and impurities remaining in your heart, the great impact of this revelation will not appear to you. If, however, your once-hardened heart-soil is healed, freed from rocks and thorn bushes, you may hear and continue to hold onto the powerful understanding of the production of the kingdom of heaven on earth. Nothing will be impossible to you.

Mark 4:21-25: And He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

The mystery is revealed only to those who are entering the kingdom.

Luke 8:16-18: “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

Prophets and angels desired to hear the great mystery of the kingdom in this parable. If you are purifying your heart by the revelation (manifestation) of Jesus Christ within you, through the Holy Spirit, to the sincere love of the brethren and are receiving the incorruptible seed, the Word (rhema) of God, you may hear and understand this great mystery.

Peter 1:10,12,13b,20b: Of this salvation (deliverance) the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,…To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things which angels desired to look into.

“…rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation (or manifestation) of Jesus Christ… manifest (or revealed) in these last times for you. (“Christ IN YOU the hope of glory.” Col. 1:27) (“…when He comes (or appears), in that day, to be glorified IN His saints…” 2 Thessalonians. 1-10a).

Jesus is the Word of God and the Truth. He is the Seed of God, sown in our heart-soil, producing the life of Christ Jesus in us, ruling and reigning with us now.

1 Peter 1:22-23: Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in the sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.

Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the express image of the Father sent out from God. He was the original mind of creation. It was through Jesus that all creation was made and by Him all creation continues to exist. Jesus, Who is in His saints, has authority over all creation.

John 1:1-4,10: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

Colossians 1:16-17: For by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Jesus became the seed, the Word from God, sown into the hearts of men and is reproducing His life in the lives of His people through the Holy Spirit. Jesus, living in us now, will produce the plan and rule of God on earth. Jesus in us has all authority over creation. Jesus, planted in the soil of the heart of man, can grow into the abundant, fulfilling, powerful, and peaceful kingdom of God life. Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, can enrich our heart-soil with the supernatural, spiritual nutrition of the powers of creation.

The heart soil of man under Jesus’ control is the creation center for God on Earth. God can bring forth anything He desires on Planet Earth through the Jesus-filled child of God. He need only plant the seed of His desire into the yielded, cleansed, and prepared heart of a man or woman, and the natural growth processes will of themselves grow His plan into the earth.

A seed is a living pattern that grows. Only in recent decades have scientists begun to learn about genetics. It is known that every living organism has something called DNA or genetic coding, an extremely complex series of chemical coding that completely describes and determines the organism. Millions of different genes in different arrangements determine what the organism is, what it will look like, the coloring, potential size, intelligence-level potential, and every characteristic for each individual. A complete living pecan tree is within each pecan. Somehow in the meat of the pecan, which we may choose to crack and eat, is the whole living pecan tree with all its characteristics coded genetically within the seed.

As it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual. A word from God is a spiritually, genetically coded seed. It is living and completely defined within the seed or word. As the life within a natural seed is dormant until the seed is planted in the soil, so also a word from God to us is dormant until planted in the soil of our heart. A word from God is a seed (a living pattern that grows). God furnishes the seed; that’s His part. Man’s part is to plant the seed in good soil. The seed is a word. A word is a vision, picture, thought or an idea for changing creation to conform to God’s desire. A seed is a living design from God for changing the earth and things on the earth.

God speaks (sows) His word into the heart of man through the receiver in man’s heart (the ear to hear). Thus, a word (seed) from the spiritual realm is received into the physical realm. If believed (received and planted) into the heart-soil of man, it can sprout and grow into the physical realm.

THE EARTH EGG

In addition to growing a garden, I also raised chickens. I would gather eggs and select some to put in the incubator. The others were taken to the house and put in the refrigerator to be eaten. When I cracked the eggs to put them in a cake or perhaps to scramble some for breakfast, a shapeless glob of clear matter with a round yellow part in the center would fall out. The glob had no form and, apparently, no life in it. If, however, that same egg had received a seed from a male chicken and had been placed in my incubator or brooded over by the female chicken, it would have taken on form and identity and become a living, breathing, baby chick, with all kinds of intricate systems for life. It would have eyes to see, a little beak to peck with, dainty feet to walk with, tiny toe nails to scratch with, and even a built in peep-peep.

The chick will grow to be like his father who supplied the seed and his mother who supplied the egg. (Male and female he created them). The egg is a mass of raw material waiting for a seed to define it. If the seed came from a large, black rooster, the genetic coding would probably cause the egg to turn into a little, black chick, which would grow into a large black chicken. If the rooster had been a small, red one, the chick would probably become a small, red chicken. The earth and all it contains are like the egg. Without a defining word from God, it is a formless glob. When God speaks a word, a multitude of spiritual, genetic coding is released to bring form and order to the glob of creation. The male part of creation is God’s part (the genetically-coded, spiritual seed); the female (wife) part is our part (the good soil).

The earth was without form and void. It was like an egg. The raw material was there; but it had no specific shape or form and no identification. An egg is just a mass of runny, white stuff and a glob of yellow matter. You may have had one this morning for breakfast splattered out and then fried or scrambled. The earth, like an egg, was brooded over by the Holy Spirit then GOD SAID. The word of God (the seed) came, and the earth took on form and intricate systems of life. Multitudes of spiritual, genetic coding came forth as God spoke forth creation.

Genesis 1:2-3,6,9,11,14,20,24: The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering (or brooding) over the face of the waters. Then GOD SAID, “Let there be light”, and there was light. Then GOD SAID, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Then GOD SAID, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear.” …Then GOD SAID, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.” … Then GOD SAID, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night.’” … Then GOD SAID, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind.”

Are you hearing the mystery?

What is planted in the hearts of people is what will come forth in their lives and the world. This is what determines what our lives become in our lifetime. This is why one person may be able to overcome extreme obstacles and achieve great and noble accomplishments. While another man with equal or greater potential cannot seem to accomplish anything of significance in the kingdom. Regardless of how hard he tries, he is unable to overcome and unable to be powerfully used in the kingdom of God.

The answer is not more intelligence, better education, better breaks, noble birth, mere chance, harder work, devious scheming, fate, or any other natural circumstance. Who we are by birth, where we came from, and what breaks we get are not the primary factors that will determine our production in the kingdom. The answer will be found in the revelation of the mystery of the natural growth of a thought (idea, word) in the heart. It is what we hear. What we really listen to and believe will shape our life and affect the world around us. The thoughts (words) that we receive and allow to remain in our hearts will create who we are and what we do, which will determine our ability to overcome and fulfill our God-given destiny in life.

We do not have to know how it works. We do not have to know how it will be done. But, we must listen to, hear and believe what God is saying. Then the goal He has for our life will grow into being. “…for it is God Who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Who can know how a glob of clear matter in an egg can become a living, breathing being with instincts, intelligence, and personality that can hear, feel, smell, taste, and see? Consider all the tiny organs, nerves, blood vessels, etc., that must be perfectly formed to sustain life. By some miraculous process, the DNA of the seed defines all these things and in only 21 days of brooding, the transformation is complete. How does the tiny heart begin pumping? What turns it on or starts it up? If you will tell me exactly how all of this happens, I will tell you how a word planted in the heart of man can transform the things of earth.

When we speak of a word, obviously we are not just talking about letters arranged together on a page. A word is a thought, an idea, a vision, or picture. A vision or dream may contain a series of pictures with many thoughts and feelings. When God spoke all growing and living things into being, He had to express an immeasurable amount of minute details. Everything was defined in what He said–the spiritual DNA or genetic coding emanating from Him. A word, thought, idea, or vision is a seed. It has the power to define life and grow into the natural world. A word is alive and potentially very powerful if received into the heart. The seed must be planted in the soil or in the egg. The Bible calls this process of receiving and planting “faith”.

After God completed the work of creation and placed all the universal laws that govern it in place, He created man in His image and gave man dominion on earth. Man has the supernatural creative potential to grow whatever seed is planted in his heart-soil into being in the world.

Every work or accomplishment of man begins with a thought, an idea. Every great building in our vast cities of today began with a thought. Every great church, ministry, business, or any other work of man was, at one time, a seed or word. Without a doubt, every invention, scientific discovery, or work of art began as a thought, an idea – a word. When the seed (vision/word/thought) that is planted is from God, the result will be God’s plan growing into the world and the kingdom of God being established in the world. If the seed is from another source, another kingdom will grow into the world.

Jesus, the greatest miracle worker, once said, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do.” Where and how did He see the Father doing things? The Father is Spirit. Jesus was in a natural body. He saw by the Spirit within Him. He heard and saw words, visions, and ideas from the Father by the Spirit.

The second greatest mystery/principle is receiving the seed from God and growing it into our lives and then into the world through the creative power of our heart-soil.

The second greatest mystery/principle is FAITH.

Keep on Pursuing Love

It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

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

By this all will know that you are My disciples……

Posted: April 19, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Bride of Christ, Christian life, God's love, Kingdom living, radical christianity

“By this it is made clear who take their nature from God and are His children and who take their nature from the devil and are his children: no one who does not practice righteousness [who does not conform to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action] is of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother (his fellow [i]believer in Christ).For this is the message (the announcement) which you have heard from the first, that we should love one another,”. ( 1 John 3:10-11)

I spend the past several days recuperating from surgery yet it has been several days of basking in the love of the Father. He took me a journey back thru the past 10 years of the life I have lived and showed me where love was lacking – not in a condemning way but in a loving way as He said “See how love could have brought My light into the darkened times.

Back to when I first got ordained when I allowed the spirit of religion to come in an sit me on the horse of un-righteous judgment, up to the very spot where His Love broke thru in my heart causing me to for once start seeing people thru the eyes of mercy and grace even as He who is above all see’s. This was such a powerful moment as I felt the weight of His Love flow upon me and totally captured my surroundings.

He also pointed out the wrath of His love, as during this time hell had risen up in an attempt to derail His destiny for my life. Some may say, how can someone put wrath in the same line with love. Take for example the Love of God towards His creation – it was in a moment of wrath that He went to the cross, birthed out of love. Righteous wrath towards the works of Hell that had so un-prejudicially distorted His creation from the image of Himself, that imagine of holiness and beauty. You see the wrath of God is that which is a Holy Righteous kindled fire against sin and all that is unholy, bound and woven in darkness.

This was such a revelation to me that it began to crush me, the fleshly side of me that had incorrectly judged God’s wrath as something awful birthed in the throngs’ of punishment, when in reality it is something that destroys evil and restores life. It is this nature of wrath that the Father desires for His children to take hold of – that we would become so enraged with the injustice of sin and its hold in our own lives and that of the children of God as well as those that are lost that we, would march forth with the power and authority of Heaven and enter into a battle spiritual warfare to loose Hell’s grip on these individuals. Not allowing our anger to be miss guided toward the lost and blind, towards the individual that it has imprisoned, rather against the root, the very nature of Hell itself.

As the Lord took me thru these years I saw moments of His wrath against Hell, where His Word in all it’s majesty flew out of His throne room intercepted and destroyed the works of Hell that had come against my life – it was like a mighty river that rushed toward false words, words of deception as it totally washed away Hells power and influence. Yet in its wake it remained upon me – Here He said, “What you are seeing is My Grace upon your life, that I sent forth to rescue and empower you to stand firm”.

He even took me back through some religious establishments which I had been thru and as I went back to these times I saw what appeared to be a person, who kept covering and uncovering my ears. And it was as though I heard “This was My mercy overshadowing you – for in these places you heard both truth and deception – My mercy blocked your spiritual ears from receiving what was false and they we allowed to remain open to receive that which was truth”. I was so taking back by this and then a looked at what appeared to be a Bible yet on its cover was written the word “Mercy”. Then I understood, that by keeping myself in His Word, His Word became a shield of mercy which weighed out the darkness from the light”.

In my mind I was thinking “I thought these places were houses of the Lord and then I saw them as they were in the Spirit, like that of half lighted house, the Light of His Word did light them at times, but then the darkness of the world would come in and snuff out the light.

I honestly didn’t fully understand the battle between the two, as I believed that the Light over powers the darkness, thus the Light should prevail in these places, then I heard, “because of My love for My Bride, in Mercy I continue to send forth My Grace, the hearts of men grasp it for a moment, yet like that of stony ground the wiles of the carnal heart take control and distort My truth. Yet in My Mercy I shall continue to send forth My Grace for a season, that they who earnestly search for truth might grasp hold of her and not let go”.

Then I spent a time reflecting on the faces of those whom I had known over the past 10 years, most of these people I had forgotten about. Yet as I saw each one of them I noticed many of them were holding a cup and each cup was empty. When I asked what the cup was I heard, this represents their spirit, and each one was empty, each one needing to be filled up with My life, My presence, My love in truth.

These spiritual cups represented those who inwardly thirsted for My love, even though they may not have known what the thirst they felt was and you passed by each one, having been focused on your own needs you failed to see theirs. This caused my heart to sink for I had fooled myself during many of these years believing I desired to help people, yet now I saw what it was, a self righteous spirit had taking root in my life and blinded me to my own selfish agenda.

After this time, though only a few moments, it felt like hours, I went from seeing those faces to many faces sitting in a large crowd of people and I heard “My people flock to see their spiritual thirst filled each week, running into buildings, yet they leave empty and unsatisfied – Now look closely that you may see.

As I looked closely, I noticed that in the opposite hand from the empty cup, was a cup that was also empty in almost every hand, yet not in everyone for a number of them were filled and over-flowing. Then I heard “ My Spirit has poured into these peoples lives an overflowing supply –yet they are blinded to this truth and they themselves remain athirst for one can never sip from this cup unless they are filling another. Yet there are some who upon filling the cups of others with what I have poured into them find that My River flows forth and their own cups are filled, it is in this place of selfless love that they shall experience no lack, when they begin to walk in the same direction of My River’s current..

Then I was beginning to understand, people had flocked to what they thought was their supply, those things made by human hands and in the process of searching out what man had made, they missed the reservoir of God’s supply which He has purposely hidden in His Church – a Spiritual Body made up and fit together perfectly according to His design. A design, which when man and hell has attempted to re-create it is found void of Life, a spiritual desert. Yet when this Spiritual Body, this family of God walks in its truth, seeking and receiving its very breath from the Creator – it is vibrant, alive and fully able to reproduce.

And thru this whole process I continually saw the word LOVE. That it is His love which created everything, His love which was poured out to redeem everything and it is His Love which is the life food of His Bride, without it its members will shrivel up and die.

Yet when operating in, and completely and radically deposed of all self desire, it is alive, producing life and it expansion can not be prevented for it is like a Mighty River, flowing forth, Cities can not stop it, Nations can not stop. Not even the mountains reaching up to the skies can slow down its flow. For the dam of His River of Love was opened upon the cross and though the generations since that time have thought it had slowed down, it is a Spiritual River which has gone under, deep to where it is not seen by the natural eye.

There have been those in each one of these generations who have seen it, swam in it, lived and drank from it. For when a child of God sees this River with their Spiritual eye they are opened to the revelation of its power, they see the direction of its current. One need but look at the witnesses through past generations to see that even though it appeared and still appears in a sense to be running under ground, it is an awesome splendor weakening the polluted religious soil of this world and continues to be eroding away everything that has attempted to prevent its flow.

I feel like a light has come into my life that will never allow me to remain the same and it is my prayer that the Father will give me the words to open the eyes of those who have yet to see this River of Love that flows from the Throne of His Heaven. It is this River of life, this sustaining love that is written about in every book of the Bible.

When one but receives just one drop from it their lives begin to melt under its power – the wounds of the heart and spirit are healed. It is in this River of love that one sees the true reflection of who they are in Christ and though one is immediately aware that their thirst is being filled, they then at the same time develop a hunger to share it with others. They see the lost and thirsty about them and an urgency to fill their cup overwhelms them.

For even looking about, those who have drank from this River of love sees the reflection of others as they are seen through the eyes of He who has created them and longs to become intimate with them as their Father and they as to Him as His children. I believe this is the light of which John is speaking of here, for one who stands in the light of His love, he who stand having drank from the River of His love becomes infected, as though they are possessed with an overwhelming desire to love even as He has loved, they come into the full knowledge that we are to be His love here on earth.

For once you drink from this River of love, the pure love of God, you like John will be able to proclaim “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” And with this I pray that you do now drink from His cup of love my brothers and sister for His Word declares:

We know that we have passed over out of death into Life by the fact that we love the brethren (our fellow Christians). He who does not love abides (remains, is [j]held and kept continually) in [spiritual] death.. ( 1 John 3:14)

Let us walk in the obedience of our Lords doctrine:

“A new commandment I give to you, 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.” John 13:34-35

I highest rank is that of servant,
Russ Welch

FORGIVENESS & BEYOND

Posted: April 17, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Parents, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: broken hearted, discipleship, emotionally wounded, God's love, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, Kingdom teaching, radical christianity

Our source of forgiveness is Jesus. If He had not forgiven us, we would not have the potential to forgive. We have the potential to forgive any and all wrongs no matter how severe or how terrible. We must, for our own good, choose from the heart to forgive. It is a choice, an act of the will, which we can choose over our feelings. Forgiving is a decision. We make the decision to forgive or not to forgive. Making no decision is actually a decision to remain in unforgiveness.

Not only must we forgive every person, but we must also forgive ourselves for anything that we have done to hurt others or ourselves. We must also forgive God for anytime that we feel that He let us down. We also may need to forgive organizations or institutions, as we would a person. The tormentors do not care who or what the unforgiveness is against because any unforgiveness gives them the license to do their deadly, painful work.

Matthew 18: 21-35: Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’

“Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Matthew 6: 9-15: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Mark 11:22-26: So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

We may not feel like forgiving. On the contrary, our flesh may be screaming for vengeance. In the heat of the situation, everything in us may desire to do great harm to the offender. Our natural, fleshly drive to destroy the offending person is there for our protection in the natural world. If an offender is attempting to rape or murder my child, I will stop at nothing to prevent that from happening. The fatherly rage that would cause me to do great harm to the offender to stop or prevent the attack is natural. The problem develops after the offense is committed and my rage can do nothing to stop or prevent it. That natural desire now becomes a desire to become like God and do His work by taking vengeance on the offender.

Hebrews 10: 30-31: For we know Him Who said, “Vengeance is Mine: I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

God wants to convert the pain of the offense into love–that wonderful, peaceful “love-flow” of God Himself moving upon our heart. The more painful the offense, the sweeter the love will be that results from the act of forgiveness. Personally, I am not sure we can ever really know the overwhelming, pure, sweet love of God apart from experiencing deep pain and the beautiful love that forgiving produces.

The choice is ours. Because Jesus forgave us while we were yet sinners, we have the potential, by His power, to forgive. Are you ready to be set free from the torment of unforgiveness and forgive no matter what? Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him”. When you are ready to make the decision to forgive, pray something like the following prayer from your heart.

I repent of all unforgiveness in my life. In the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, as an act of my will, I choose to forgive from my heart anyone and everyone who has ever hurt me or harmed me in any way, in my entire life. I specifically choose to forgive _____________, __________, and _________.

I release them in Jesus’ name. I say it is all right if they never make it right. I hold nothing against them, and, in the name of Jesus, I ask You, Father, to bless them, to meet their needs in all areas of their lives.

Father, I forgive myself for all I have done to hurt or harm myself and others; and, Father, I forgive You for any time I felt that You let me down. I say that You are good, God, and I trust You with my life. Father, I thank You that I am forgiven and that I have forgiven.

In the name of Jesus, I command all powers of darkness, you may never again use any of this unforgiveness to bring torment or stress of any form into my life.

Father, I thank You that I have forgiven and that I am forgiven. Thank You Father, in the name of Jesus.

HEALING THE HEART BEYOND FORGIVING

Painful experiences of our lives are locked into the permanent memory section of our minds. Painful memories, whether conscious or subconscious, have affected our spirit and may have wounded it. These painful memories may also have crushed our will and shattered our emotions. These negative, painful experiences stored in our heart cause us to see and understand life according to our experiences. They serve to control us by affecting our behavior. We are bound into negative patterns by the stored pains of the past. These detrimental patterns must be changed for us to walk in kingdom freedom.

The ministry of Christ Jesus includes healing the brokenhearted. God has provided all that we need in Jesus to heal our wounded spirit and soul. We need only to appropriate the ministry of Jesus to heal our broken heart and to be set free from the bondage of our wounds. When negative experiences stored in our memory are healed, they will no longer cause bitterness to return.

Psalm 25: 17-19: The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Oh, bring me out of my distresses! Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins. Consider my enemies, for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

Psalm 147: 9-3: The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Isaiah 6l: 1-4: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.”

Luke 4:18-1 9a: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (bruised), to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Next, the heavy hammer smashes the windshield and windows. The car windows are like our emotions; the blows of stressful experiences shatter them. Finally, the big hammer begins to repeatedly smash into the motor, until that which makes the car go is destroyed; just like the repeated blows of negative wounding experiences crush our will. Our inner man becomes a battered and shattered wreck with no power or motivation to drive down the road of life.

cover our dents and broken parts. We must also defend ourselves against any more painful blows; therefore, we often defend ourselves by attacking others.

Not only can our past wounds cause us to have a poor self-image, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, and lack of motivation, they can also cause unreasonable fear that cripples us. This irrational fear causes us to avoid relationships and life situations that God desires for us. Fear can cause us to act and react in such a way that we may miss entering into some of the good things God desires for us.

We may often think we are reacting to circumstances, but we may actually be reacting from an attitude created by our past hurting memories.

The man screamed out in pain and fear. He began running limping and screaming toward his house. In his haste, he tripped and fell headlong onto the rough driveway, injuring his knees and hands. The mail was scattered and left as the man scrambled to his feet again and continued his hysterical run to his house limping and bleeding.

Well, after many months of not going to the mailbox, there came a time when he really needed to go. He was quite sure the check that he was waiting for was in the box, and he needed to get it in the bank. He had gained confidence as he had observed others safely getting their mail; so, he decided to try it. He carried a gun, a big stick and a mace protection device. And, just in case all else might fail, he wore heavy, tall leather boots and two pairs of heavy pants. (Do some of us ever walk around emotionally “armed and ready” to defend ourselves like this man?)

One day, several months later, as the man was getting his mail, a very friendly, little black puppy came toward the man. The puppy was happily bouncing along, wagging his tail, hoping to make a new friend and maybe get a few loving pats.

This man was not reacting to the reality of the situation, but was reacting from past wounds stored in his memory. Hurting memories caused him to be unable to receive affection from the puppy or to be able to give affection. He hurt the little puppy, and may have planted seeds in the puppy that someday could cause it to bite him, just as he feared.

THE PROCESS OF HEALING

The ministry of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, flowing through other people, can bring

unconditional love, acceptance, mercy, grace, and forgiveness are supplied. However, if something other than these attitudes exist within the people involved, more wounding can occur as we begin to let down our defenses and open ourselves to others.

Only healed people can help heal people. Hurting people always hurt people.

For some of us with severe experiences in our past it may be helpful to pray specifically for healing of our wounded hearts. It may also be very helpful to pray with another godly person.

James 5:16: Confess your trespasses (faults) to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed …

release the memories to God for healing. Holding on to a negative past can hinder a godly future. Attaining the resurrection life of Christ involves forgetting those things, which are behind and reaching forward to those things, which are ahead (Philippians 3:11-14). By an act of our will, we must choose to stop relating to stress from past memories. Although it is our decision, it is Christ who does the work.

James 4:2 KJV, says, “Ye have not because ye ask not”. Asking specifically is an important principle of prayer. If we ask God to heal our hurting memories now, and believe in our heart that we have what we ask, it is done. We must confess with our mouth it is done and thank Him for healing the memory now (Mark 11:23). We must not continue to meditate the memory and pray for God to heal us someday. We are not asking for Jesus to provide healing for us. It is already fully provided. We are coming into agreement with what Jesus has provided and appropriating it into our lives.

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I release to You for healing all the wounded, hurting, or negative memories of my entire life, whether conscious or subconscious, from my conception through my birth, the first few years of my life, my childhood, all my adult life, and to this present moment. I specifically release to You for healing the memory of______________, _____________, _____________, and______________—-

I release all these memories to You. Heal me now. Give me release of all the stress. I choose by an act of my will never again to receive stress from these memories. Thank You for healing me. I say that I am healed of all these memories, in Jesus’ name. Thank You, Father, for healing me.

I command all powers of darkness, in the name of Jesus, you may never again use any of these memories to bring stress into my life or affect my life in any negative way, in Jesus’ name.

We must daily walk in the process of repentance, forgiveness, and healing–repentance for every adulterated motive, as we recognize them, forgiveness for every offense as they occur, and healing for every painful experience. If we are wounded during the course of the day, we can be completely healed before bedtime.

peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

(Ephesians 1:17-19).

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

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

BEYOND REPENTANCE

Posted: April 16, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Parents
Tags: Bride of Christ, Christian life, kingdom growth, Kingdom teaching, radical christianity, Spirit first

Beauty for ashes. One thing is certain; if you have ashes, you have had a fire. We cannot build anything back from ashes. If the structure had been blown down by a storm, we might have been able to have gathered up some fragments and rebuilt something of the ruins. But when a fire has totally destroyed the building, man cannot rebuild from the pieces. If your life seems to be ablaze and is being destroyed, take hope. God will truly give you beauty for the ashes, if you continue to move toward the kingdom of God life.

Before we turned and started moving, we were not meeting the enemy head on. We unknowingly were going the same way. Now that the turn around is made, we will meet the enemy head on and overcome him in the strength of our Lord, the Victorious One.

Now, he can be successful in preventing them from standing up and fighting. If he can keep Christians focusing all their hopes in heaven someday, he will keep them from fighting now.

God gives the victory, but we must fight the war.

The kingdom of heaven does suffer violence and the violent do take it by force.

Spiritual warfare is fought with faith in God and His Word, hearing and believing the Word of God by the Spirit of God, praying the fulfillment of the Word of God, speaking the Word of God by the Spirit of God, proclaiming what God has said by the power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ Jesus, walking in the Spirit and not in the lust of the flesh, believing what God says above any other word, standing in the Spirit and Word of God, speaking the truth of the Word in love at all times, using the authority of Christ flowing through love by the Holy Spirit within us to rule and reign with Christ, and doing the will of God by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God.

Ephesians 6:12: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:17b-18a: …and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…

APPROPRIATING GOD’S PROVISION
(THE MINISTRY OF JESUS)
Our battle is for faith–knowing and believing the words of God. The ministry of Jesus, the Anointed One, provides complete salvation including redemption of our spirit, soul and body. The ministry of Jesus is for the healing of our broken spirit, mind, will, and emotions; deliverance from spiritual captivity; recovery of spiritual sight to the spiritually blind; liberty from downtrodden bondage of wounding oppression; and the favor or spiritual prosperity of God, if we have faith. The provisions of God are activated in our own life when we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth.

Luke 4:18-19: (And Jesus said), The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (bruised), to preach the acceptable (favorable) year of the Lord.”

Romans 10:8-10: But what does it say? “The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” believe in their heart and confess with their mouth are saved. He has provided kingdom of God freedom for all believers to walk in now.

However, not all believers are walking in kingdom freedom now. The provision of Christ must be appropriated into the individual’s life by believing in the heart and speaking with the mouth.

Jesus is the “life-changer”. The ministry of Jesus, the Anointed One, by the Holy Spirit can make deep, permanent, inner changes in the person’s life-structure. Jesus will, without discrimination, change anyone who will meet the necessary conditions of believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth the resurrected Christ.
James 5:16: Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

“Pray for one another”

Intercessory prayer may be required to release the anointing of Christ to break through the canopy of spiritual blindness, deception, and delusion of the enemy before the light of God can enter to expose sin. Once the enemy is pushed back and the light enters by the hearing of the Word by the Spirit, the person can and must decide to repent of exposed sin and not continue to justify or defend it. He must agree with God that sin is sin and be willing to turn from it toward Jesus as Lord.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” appropriated by faith and executed by prayer, can tear down the old life-structure and create a new heart. The work of enemy spirits and negative character qualities can be eliminated and the true victory of overcoming can be established in the life. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The story in Mark chapter two, of a man carried by others to Jesus can help to kindle or renew hope in the person who feels hopeless because he does not yet have faith to make it to Jesus for his freedom on his own. Jesus did not just look at the faith of the man on the cot. He was perhaps too weak, too far gone to have much faith. But Jesus saw the faith of those letting him down through the roof, as well as the lame man’s faith.

Mark 2:5-12: When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, arise, take up your bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”— He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go your way to your house.” And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Say in faith, in accordance with the Word of God, particularly with two in agreement, has great impact in the spiritual realm to bring forth the will of God into the natural realm. Principalities and powers of darkness in the spiritual realm must respond to what we believe and say when we speak in the name of Jesus. The conditions and character qualities of our own heart will also respond to the Word of God as we speak to ourselves in the name of Jesus, the Anointed One.

Mark 11:23-24: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Matthew 17:20: So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 18:16b: “… by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”

Proverbs 18:21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Matthew 8:8: The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.”

Matthew 8:16: When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.

Matthew 18:18-20: “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

How do we bind or loose according to the word of God? Binding and loosing might be compared respectively to either tying up a subject with ropes or cutting the ropes and letting that subject go free. We bind or loose with our words. As we ask (speak) in agreement on earth, the power of God in the spiritual realm is activated to restrain or to set free. What we say and pray has a restraining or a releasing effect in the spiritual realm. It is as if our words are the ropes that go out from our mouth and wrap around something to bind it and stop its activity. Conversely, our words are the power that cuts the ropes off the subject and allows it to become active.

When we pray for a person in severe need, we may need to bind the powers of darkness that are keeping the light out. Until their power and work is stopped, the person’s spiritual sight is impaired. Binding is the releasing of spiritual power by prayer that can temporarily stop the enemy’s activity. We may also need to loose spiritual enlightenment, so the Word can flow into the person’s heart leading to repentance, cleansing, and strengthening. When the works of the spirits are bound, the Word of God can and must then be built into the life. Then, Jesus can and must truly become Lord of the life. It is always important to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in effective prayer ministry. The

Holy Spirit can lead an individual or a group in this prayer ministry.

Once the works of the spirits of spiritual blindness, darkness, deception, and delusion are temporarily bound, the person will be able to hear the truth without hindrance. Then the individual must make a decision to receive the word of truth or to reject it. Until the spirits of darkness have been stopped the person may not be able to hear the word of kingdom truth in his heart; and, therefore is not free to make a decision.

(Matthew 6:10-15), He showed us how to pray and taught us to forgive others. According to these Scriptures, forgiving is an important factor in seeking the kingdom of God.

Unforgiveness can be a serious hindrance to the kingdom of God coming on earth in our lives. One of the most important aspects of being restored by Christ to the kingdom of God lifestyle is forgiving.

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,
Ron McGatlin
http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

THE DIVIDED-HEART TREE

Posted: April 15, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Kingdom living, kingdom of darkness, Kingdom teaching, radical christianity

The enemy first must capture the hearts and minds of people; then, he can attack and pervert the heavenly family pattern of governance at all levels and replace it with Babylonian patterns.

Through the methods described in the Bad-Heart Tree, the ability to function in the heavenly family pattern is stolen from natural families. Social order and all levels of governance in much of the world have become patterned after Babylon. The need and greed of the self-centered individual perverts the love of the husband for the wife and creates an abusive relationship. The respect for the husband from the wife is turned into competition and disrespect. The honor and obedience of the children becomes rebellious dishonor and disobedience. Babylonian chaos replaces kingdom of God order.

Jesus came to restore the hearts and minds of man to the heavenly family pattern. In Christ, man becomes a new creation and old things pass away. In Christ, the potential is there for husbands to love their wives, wives to respect their husbands, and children to honor and obey their parents. Remember, this pattern is for the family, business, and all forms of governance in the kingdom of God. When God’s people seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first and above all else, the heavenly family pattern rules all areas of their lives.

The Divided-Heart Tree

There is another heart tree that is different from those we have previously considered. It is not the Good-Heart Tree, the purified-bride heart tree. Nor is it the Bad-Heart Tree, the impure-harlot heart tree. It is not the double-minded heart tree, which operates all the way, one way or the other at any given time.

The Divided-Heart Tree is a hybrid, impure-wife heart tree. It is the adulteress heart-tree. This person is married to Jesus. One side of his heart is producing good fruit to Jesus. But, because he is not completely healed, one side of his heart is still affected by the harlotry of Babylon. It is like two streams coming together, one muddy and one pure. It is like a wife riding in the front seat of the car with her husband while reaching back in the back seat to hold hands with her old lover.

Spiritual adultery is both GOD-SEEKING and SELF-SEEKING at the same time. It is a mixture of both GOD-SERVING and SELF-SERVING at the same time.

Psalm 12:2: They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double (divided) heart they speak.

Hosea 10:2: Their heart is divided; now they are held guilty. He will break down their altars; He will ruin their sacred pillars.

2 Chronicles 25:2: And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart.

James 3:10-14: Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring can yield both salt water and fresh.

Adultery, both spiritual and natural, is one of the most hideous sins of man. Perhaps no other sin brings as much loss and destruction in life. Adultery in the natural realm can cost a person the intimacy of a pure marriage relationship. Adultery in the spiritual realm will cost the intimacy of a pure relationship with God. Adultery in the natural can cost all a man possesses–all his wealth, every good thing he has accomplished in his life, and perhaps even his very life. Spiritual adultery can wreck a person’s spiritual life in the same way.

Spiritual adultery in God’s called out people is a horrible thing and never goes unnoticed by God. The adulteress, unlike the harlot, sincerely loves, respects, and honors her husband (Jesus) with part of her heart. She really knows Him and obeys Him with part of her heart. But, she only pretends obedience with the rest of her heart. She is still in bondage to some Babylonian harlot ways. While genuinely seeking to serve God, at the same time she is seeking to serve herself and get the position, money, security, fame, or whatever she needs or wants.

The man of God with an adulterated heart will often be among the most highly esteemed within the church. He has double motivation – both a sincere desire to serve God and a desire to accomplish something for himself at the same time. Consequently, he will be among the most zealous, the first to arrive, the last to leave, eager to volunteer, the best at keeping the rules, always willing to help, and is generally very busy. This makes him the most likely to be promoted or ordained in the institutional church or business. Whatever he does will usually grow rapidly; and, suddenly, at some point, it comes crashing down. Spiritual wisdom and discernment are necessary to distinguish between the truly dedicated, totally sold out, dynamic servant of God filled with vision and compassion of the Spirit, from the double motivated, divided heart adulteress.

Some Christians may become very confused when they see only one side of the divided heart person. They observe the godly side and are rightly convinced that this is a man that sincerely desires to serve God. He truly loves God with one side of his heart and life and some good fruit is evident. However, if and when they are exposed to the other side of this person, they may be quite shocked, disappointed, and confused. Much failure may result, and much damage may occur to the Christians. Adulterated men of God bring a curse on the people.

Jeremiah 23:14: “Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah.”

Jeremiah 23:10: For the land is full of adulterers; for because of a curse, the land mourns. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, and their might is not right.

We all have been greatly affected by and trained in Babylonian ways. Studying old Babylon and old Jerusalem in the Old Testament provides clear insight into Mystery Babylon and New Jerusalem of today. Most of the world, the church, and each of us individually have been or are now ruled by the patterns of Babylon. In a very real sense, the church and world have been taken captive to Babylon. We’ve all been held captive in Babylon for a long season. We have had to be trained in the ways of Babylon in order to survive while there. We had to learn to live and prosper in Babylon while we were captive there. Now, God is saying, “Your captivity is over; come out of Babylon, my people; come into New Jerusalem.” It is time now for God’s people to fully lay aside the ways of life in Babylon and walk in God’s kingdom ways only.

Jeremiah 29: 4-l5, 28: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters – that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace, you will have peace.”

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,” says the Lord.

For thus says the Lord: “After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the Lord, “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” says the Lord, “and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,” says the Lord, “and I will bring you to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive.”

“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon. For He has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit”’.”

Jeremiah 51:44-45, 49-5: “I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed; and the nations shall not stream to him anymore. Yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall. My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord. As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon the slain of all the earth shall fall. You who have escaped the sword, get away! Do not stand still! Remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come to your mind.”

It is time for us to be set free from Babylonian ways that have become ingrained in our lives. Much of the Babylonian thinking has become so much a part of us that it may be difficult to realize we need to be changed. In Babylon, it was commendable to strive to get fame and fortune. Striving to get more and be better than others was normal, good behavior. Getting the most you could get for the least you could get by with giving, was considered good business. If the other guy got the short end of the deal, so what? That was “good horse trading”. After all, if you did not outsmart him and “get him first,” he would get you. We have been infiltrated with this kind of thinking.

But in New Jerusalem, competition has no place in the church or in business. In New Jerusalem, we serve God by serving mankind. A job or business is something we do to serve, not something we do to get. A ministry is no different. It is something we do to serve. Not what we do to get something we need, such as money or position or a sense of well being.

If we stop to really consider why we do what we do, we might find that our motives are mixed with self-seeking, along with our desires to be God-serving. If we examine our methods of relating within our family, business, or church, we may find some practices of Babylon.

God said we would find Him and be delivered from our captivity of Babylonian ways when we seek Him with our whole hearts. We have paid a very great price for our adulterated ways. Our divided hearts have caused us broken lives and broken families. They have split up churches, wrecked relationships, and turned many against the church. Babylonian ways are destroying our nations. The sick and needy are left to suffer and die for lack of power to effectively minister to their needs. The lost wander on in darkness because we are too busy seeking to meet our own needs to effectively minister to their needs.

Proverbs 5:14: I was on the verge of total ruin, in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

Proverbs 6:26, 32-33: For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so, destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away.

Proverbs 7:23, l7-l8: I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love. Till an arrow struck his liver, as a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would take his life.

We must give up seeking our own profit (self-seeking).

Only as the Bride is completely faithful to her Husband can the kingdom of God lifestyle rule our lives, our local churches, our businesses, our nation, and eventually the planet. Our mixture of self-serving and God-serving will never bring forth the kingdom in our lives. We will continue to strive and fail after a season of apparent success. People will continue to needlessly suffer for lack of purified, powerful ministry. Only a pure hearted motivation to serve God, no matter what happens to us will do. Whether we are personally blessed, accepted to a place of leadership, or rejected and stoned by those we serve, we must give our whole heart, our whole life to our Husband Jesus. We must stop trying to defend and profit ourselves while at the same time endeavoring to serve God. First, above all else, we must seek the kingdom of God with our whole heart.

It is time for all of us to come out of Babylon. It is time for us to be released from the spirit of harlotry and all that works with it that has caused us to be spiritual adulterers (self-seeking and God-seeking). The price we are paying for of our adultery is too great.

1 Corinthians 10:33: …just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Luke 12:29-33: “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.”

Hebrews 13:4-5: Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Let your conduct be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

We must serve only God–no longer serving God mostly and ourselves a little, no longer living according to the old ways. God is our source. He will provide all we need as we seek to serve Him only and follow His guidance.

Matthew 4:10: Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

We are an adulterous generation. We are trying to serve Almighty God with our self-seeking, Babylonian, harlot ways mingled with the purity and power of Holy God. And then we wonder why so little is accomplished. Why so many are wounded and destroyed within their church and family, the very places where they should be built up and protected. The God-seeking side of our heart begins a good work and draws people to trust us; then, our self-seeking side causes painful devastation and mistrust. Eventually, failure will occur and whatever has been gained will be lost.

Then, we seek miracles from God to bail us out of the corruption we have created with our adultery. We pray for miracles to get us out of debt. God did not get us into debt and He probably isn’t going to bail us out if we do not change our self-serving ways. We do not clearly hear the voice of God because we do not want to change. So we search for a miraculous sign to help us.

Matthew 12:39a Amp: “… An evil and adulterous generation [that is, a generation morally unfaithful to God] seeks or demands a sign…”

Matthew 16:3-4,6: “… Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

We become like the Pharisee who makes a great show of “being a Christian.” Yet our own hearts are mixed with uncleanness. This always causes us, like the Pharisee, to become legally minded as we attempt to justify our self-seeking sin with legal loopholes and focus on the lawbreaking of others. Or, since we are not now experiencing the abundant, spiritual resurrection life of Christ ourselves, we deny that others are experiencing it. Thus, we are like the Sadducees denying resurrection life now as we deny spiritual gifts and experiences. Because we are not experiencing them, we believe others are not as well.

We tend to look at those experiencing the resurrection life of God and judge them from our own heart. They are outspoken and dynamic as they boldly bring forth the Word of God, and we assume they have the same mixed motivations we have and that they are intent on making a name or place for themselves. Consequently, we resist and come against God’s purified people thinking they are extreme self-seekers. Our rejecting those that are experiencing God leads to our dismissing the Word coming through them, which robs us of God’s provision.

We must stop looking at others and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal what is really in our own hearts. Friends, it is not them we must be concerned about. It is us. Am I a minister in part because I need and like the attention and applause of others? Is a position of authority something I need to make me feel better? Am I a Christian to some degree because it is acceptable in the circles I move in? Am I a Christian businessman in part because I desire to meet the wants and needs of my family and those in my own heart? Am I doing what I do for a paycheck? Am I concerned about the amount of the paycheck? Or am I concerned about what the work I am doing does to serve God by serving mankind?

Am I more drawn to minister to the pretty girls, (or handsome guys for the ladies) than to those unattractive needy folks? Is it easier for me to hear the call to minister in Hawaii than Africa? Am I willing to go out of my way to see that the wealthy man is taken care of and minister to him ahead of the poor man? Do I get up and go to work in the morning to get a paycheck to take care of my family and myself? Or do I go to work to serve God with what I do and trust Him to provide for me and my family? Will I leave a field because there is little acceptance but great need, to go to one where they believe like I do and like me better?

Hypocrites! Do we think the preacher should not serve for money but think that we should serve (work) for money? The truth is, when we serve or work for money, we are in harlotry. When we truly serve God with a pure heart, no matter what the pay, we will be abundantly supplied. But, if we serve (do what we do) for money or anything else, we have another god and are serving it. God is not just concerned with what we do, but why we do it. Two men might work side-by-side one working to get money and the other working to serve God by what the job does for mankind. One has pure motivation. The other is a harlot selling him or her self for money. The one serving God will continue to serve as long as he can, even if the paychecks stop. The harlot will usually stop the moment the paychecks stop.

2 Chronicles 25:2: And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart.

As we each begin to search our own heart as to why I really do what I do, we all need to recognize that we usually have two reasons for doing anything–one that sounds good to us and to others and one that is true. We must look deeper into our hearts beyond our reasons that sound good and get to the real truth of our heart motivations.

Jesus will forgive our adultery. We are not stuck in bondage to Babylonian ways. Repentance is the key. It is agreeing with God about our sin and turning from it. Jesus has also provided for our deliverance from the spirit of harlotry, which attacks our life. We must repent and allow Jesus to set us free. Then, we must work toward renewing our mind to the New-Jerusalem ways of life.

John 8; 3-4, 10-12: Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 1:12-17,29b: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ …

Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!

Matthew 18:9: “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire (Gehenna).” Luke 13:3: …but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Luke 12:31: But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

We must not continue to deceive ourselves about the reality of our mixed inner motives. The cost for our mixed inner motives is the lack of the kingdom of God lifestyle and its attributes. The benefits and blessings we desire will only be added to us when we no longer desire anything above the kingdom of God. When we turn from our mixed inner motives and seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, the other things, which we will no longer need to be satisfied, will be added to us.

Often people are astonished at the peace and joy they find in the presence of God as they give up their lives to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness with their whole heart. Whatever loss they feel, as a result of laying down their life is dissolved in the beautiful presence of God. Things they had striven so hard for in the past are of little significance. Only intimately experiencing God’s presence really matters.

Understanding the Good-Heart Tree and the New Jerusalem Family Pattern begins to enable us to see normal kingdom of God living. As we contrast kingdom of God living with our current lifestyle, we can recognize that the life we have been living is, at best, a mixture. Knowing we are missing the mark of the kingdom of God lifestyle leads us first to true repentance, which is a decision to stop going the way we have been going and to turn around to pursue another way.

It may be disturbing, even traumatic to realize that much of our life has been far off the mark. In my own experience, it was like a death to realize that most of my life, even as a Christian, was far from the kingdom-of-God life. My motives, though acceptable in the church, were mixed with Babylonian desires. Turning from much of what I believed and stood for was like dying. The thing that made it worthwhile is knowing there really is a wonderful, totally fulfilling, kingdom of God life now that is worth dying for. There is resurrection life now after the pain of death.

We may have until now been convinced that our motives were pure when, in reality, they may yet be mingled with self-seeking desires. We may be like the young man who really thought his reason for choosing a certain Bible college was to prepare for a certain ministry in order to serve God. The fact that the young lady of his dreams had previously chosen the same school and type of ministry was only a bonus and perhaps a confirmation from God.

However, when the young lady fell in love with and married someone else, the young man no longer wanted to go to school, nor to serve God. His secret, self-seeking desire was painfully revealed to him.

If we will now ask God to reveal our secret, self-seeking desires that may be hidden from us, and give them up now, we will avoid the future disappointments and heartaches they will eventually cause.

It is now time to step off the treadmill of our busy life, quiet our self, and be still before God. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the mixture of our motives. We will not know or experience the wonderful, at hand kingdom of God lifestyle until after we identify the self-seeking desires mixed with our God-seeking motives, repent of them, and put them to death.

Before reading on, please stop and search your heart. Ask God to reveal all self-seeking desires mixed with your God-seeking desires and repent.

“REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.”

Keep on Pursuing Love

It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com

basileia@earthlink.net

HARLOTRY OF BABYLON

Posted: April 14, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Christian life, Kingdom life, Kingdom living, kingdom of darkness, radical christianity, worldly kingdom

There are two great, ruling cities from which mankind can receive patterns for life. We have previously written regarding the great ruling city of God, New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ City. The other great ruling city is Babylon, the Harlot of the devil, which has planted its harlot patterns throughout the current world system. Babylon’s patterns have produced great riches for some. She is extremely enticing and beautifully clothed in wealth. Yet, inside, she is full of filth and abominations, a habitation of demons.

Babylon must fall. This great religious and political system with all its patterns of life is judged of God and is coming down. Before the patterns of New Jerusalem can rule, the patterns of Babylon must be dissolved. The people seeking to enter the city-of-God lifestyle must have the Babylonian patterns and ways broken, removed from their lives, and replaced with New Jerusalem patterns. The Babylonian system has been deadly to the saints of God. Many have fallen and many are in captivity to Babylonian ways. God’s people are warned to come out of Babylon lest they share in her sin and receive of her plagues.

Revelation 17:1-6: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: “MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

Revelation 17:15,18: And he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” And the woman whom you saw is the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 18:2-4: And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”

What a great contrast between the harlot city of Babylon described in the book of Revelation (chapters seventeen to nineteen) and the beautiful Bride-City of God, New Jerusalem, described in Revelation (chapters twenty-one and twenty-two). The beautiful Bride of Christ lifestyle is filled with the glory of God abiding with man and man living in God’s very presence partaking of a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and the Lamb. Tears are wiped away and curses broken. Men and women are thankfully serving God and joyfully praising Him.

Just as there is a natural Jerusalem and now a spiritual New Jerusalem coming forth, there was a natural Babylon that was destroyed and now a Mystery Babylon that is being destroyed. Many patterns that began thousands of years ago in old Babylon are traceable throughout ancient history and up to the present time. Ancient Babylon was the first great-walled city after the flood. Noah’s great grandson, Nimrod, built it. Noah begot Ham; Ham begot Cush; and Cush begot Nimrod.

Babylon became the birthplace of idolatry that spread throughout the ancient world and was passed to empires and civilizations throughout history. Nimrod and his wife, Semiramis, were the first people to be worshipped as gods. Although different names were used in various cultures, they were similarly worshipped in much of the world, and can still be easily recognized in many religions today. These patterns were subversively planted into the Christian religion. Churches today are still affected by them. This nation (the good old U.S.A.) and much of the world are primarily ruled by the patterns of ancient Babylon. The patterns found in Nimrod and Semiramis of ancient Babylon are very similar to the dynamics of worldly families, businesses, churches, and political governments of today.

Genesis 10:8-12a: Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen.

The word “before” in the statement “He was a mighty hunter before the Lord” could be translated “against”. Nimrod was a mighty man “against” the Lord. By some means, he and Semiramis tapped into the darkness of mystical and occult powers. A departure from the patriarchal faith had occurred. It is represented by some profane history that Cush had become a ringleader of apostasy. Nimrod added mystical, demonic powers and knowledge to his natural strength and became a powerful force on the earth, conquering all those around him.

Nimrod was the first to wage war upon his neighbors, the first to train troops with exercise and hardship, and the first to build towers and walled cities for battle. Nimrod exercised strong control over men. They were enticed with unbridled self-gratification. Everywhere Nimrod went there were extravagant parties with orgies, dancing girls, music, games, and anything that brought self-gratification. Nimrod also controlled others by locking up the mysteries of science and sorcery that he had discovered and releasing them to men only when they were under his control. He used confession of sins and faults to control. When he had enough information on others and they were awestruck by his great display of magic, he could easily control them.

Nimrod was suddenly cut off in the midst of his glorious career. Mystery surrounds his disappearance, but it is believed he met with a violent death while on one of his expeditions. Semiramis, whose feminine beauty hid her immoral, manipulative, deceitful self, had usurped her husband’s attributes before his death. At his death, she fully took over her husband’s place.

Semiramis, in her licentious ways, gave birth to a son after Nimrod was gone. She told people that Nimrod had reappeared in the person of a posthumous son. She held the son up as God and the people worshipped him. They worshipped her as the mother of God. Eventually, she became the predominant goddess overshadowing the son. Thus, through deception and manipulation she took over the assets and attributes of Nimrod and continued her lavish lifestyle.

Semiramis was seen as both the mother and wife of her husband. Nimrod was seen as the husband and the son of his wife. She was revered as the “Mother of God”. The image of the “Mother of God” with the child in her arms spread throughout the idolatrous world. Semiramis is said to have finished the wall of Babylon and thus became the goddess of fortresses and towers. The “Diana of the Ephesians” mentioned in the New Testament with her crown of towers is identified with Semiramis.

Babylon became known as a great center of extravagant wealth and revelry, a monument of glamour to the accomplishments of man, a place of harlotry and sorcery, a place of great wizardry, great human knowledge and discovery, and a place of competition and contention. However, its primary characteristic was spiritual harlotry.

Spiritual harlotry is seeking to fulfill our own needs and desires apart from God. God is our provider and desires to meet our needs in every area of life. If we look to anything or anyone else to meet our needs, we are looking to another god and are involved in spiritual harlotry. Harlotry and idolatry are very closely related. Harlotry is looking to an idol (another god) for what our Heavenly Father should provide for us. Spiritual harlotry is selling our purity to meet our needs. It is self-seeking and self-serving.

It is easy to see how the bad heart-tree is a harlot tree. Spiritual harlotry is seeking to meet the needs of our life-structure on our own, instead of trusting God to take care of us. The good heart-tree is a bride tree, in which we are able to trust God to meet all of our needs and satisfy our wants.

Babylon is a harlot system, a means of meeting human needs and selfish wants apart from God. Babylon is ruled by a spirit of harlotry and is characterized by competition, immorality, and sorcery.

HARLOTRY IS SELF-SEEKING AND SELF-SERVING:
It is seeking to meet my own needs and desires apart from God.

COMPETITION IS SEEKING POSITION OR CONTROL:
Some characteristics are: Contention, Strife, Thieving (taking), Lying, Deceit, Manipulation, Seduction, Control, Dominance, War (fighting), Overlord, Tyrant, Backbiting, Murder, Greed, and Covetousness.

IMMORALITY IS SEEKING PLEASURE OR ENTERTAINMENT:
Some characteristics are: Lust, Fantasy Lust, Fornication, Sexual Perversion, Unclean, Overeating, Overplaying, Overworking, Over-resting, and Reveling (partying).

SORCERY IS SEEKING POWER OR DIRECTION:
Some characteristics are: Occult, Witchcraft, Hypnosis, Mind Control, Mind Power, Humanism, Intellectualism, Astrology, Psychics, and New-Age Junk.

Much of the world has taken giant steps into Babylonian harlotry in recent decades. Games and “playing” have become a major part of the western world. Gambling lotteries and casinos have spread widely across the land. Sexual perversion and recreational immorality are accepted as normal behavior. Psychics are now openly viewed by many as a valid source of direction for their lives. Competition has intensified as people struggle for control in families, businesses, governments, tribes, and nations. Computer and video games, gambling, spectator sports, recreational drugs and alcohol, entertainment, and other recreational industries probably already represent the largest segment of production in the western world. Are we seeking from another god what our true God desires to supply?

WORLD WAR

Many skirmishes and wars continue to be fought within the Babylonian world system. Men and nations compete for the assets of the world to gratify themselves. There is no end to the struggles for positions of control and possessions in the Babylonian jungles of social structure.

However, the greatest war of all time is the all out win or die worldwide war between Babylon and New Jerusalem (the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light). The war is between the harlot and the Bride way of life ruling the world. Christ Jesus has already won this war and has provided victory over the evil Babylonian kingdom of darkness. The full manifestation of this victory waits for the hearts of mankind to align with Christ Jesus. This involves human beings turning from their harlot lifestyles and becoming the righteousness of God in Christ. The pure, holy, glorious Bride of Christ is the fulfillment of the victory Christ Jesus purchased with His own blood.

Therefore, the war is now within the minds and hearts of mankind, especially those who are called by His name. The god of Babylon strives with much success to limit the faith of the people of God. His greatest tool is spiritual blindness to kingdom of God reality. When God’s people cannot see and cannot hear Him clearly, false concepts can be planted that prevent true faith from developing. What man believes in his heart determines the release of the rule of the kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of light.

The war is about faith to believe that the kingdom of God is now available on the earth. The enemy has destroyed the faith of most religious people. They simply do not believe that the kingdom of God that Christ came to purchase can manifest now. The enemy has perverted the word of God and caused most people to believe the planet is to be destroyed and not redeemed. The enemy wants you to have no faith for the kingdom of God now and no hope for the planet to become restored.

This blindness and loss of faith in the kingdom of God is not new. Works of Babylon were firmly implanted in the church before the fourth century. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the English Bible was translated, there was almost no revelation of the kingdom of God on earth. This present life and world were seen as hopelessly evil and lost. The planet would have to be destroyed, a new planet created, and Jesus bodily returned for there to be any of God’s kingdom on earth.

This led to what I consider to be the most grievous of translation errors in our English Bible. In 2nd Peter the translators deviated from their own translation rules to cause the word to say the “elements” of the earth will be burned up in judgment. Going back to the original language, it is absolutely obvious that without any doubt Peter was speaking of the rudimental elements of evil that would be completely destroyed.

The word translated “elements” is “stoicheion” (stoy-khi’-on), which means something orderly in arrangement, a basal, fundamental, initial serial, and constituent. In other words, “stoicheion” means the basic, foundational, principles of an order. In this passage it specifically refers to the foundations of the evil order affecting earth, not the physical elements of the planet.

This is the only time this word is interpreted to mean physical elements in the Bible.

“Stoicheion” is used seven times in the New Testament; in every case it refers to basic principles or rudiments, either of the doctrines and oracles of God or of the evil world order. In no other place is it interpreted as referring to the physical elements.

(For a detailed study of this passage see Chapter 7 of the book The Seventh Millennium.)

God is looking for a kingdom people.

God is calling forth a people that will break through the Babylonian darkness, and renounce their harlot lifestyles, and renew their minds to the mind of Christ by the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God waits for God’s people to change their mind-set from seeking life and pleasure from other gods to a pure love relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord and King.

Will we become the Bride or continue in our harlot ways? The world waits to see the reality of the New Jerusalem lifestyle and the love and power of the real kingdom of God. Multitudes will come to the real thing; however, multitudes will continue to seek other gods until they see something more real than what the church has produced in past centuries.

In prayer renounce the Babylonian ways in your own life and rebuke the enemy in the name of Jesus. Ask Father to fill your heart with the life and concepts of the New Jerusalem lifestyle.

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

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

GOD’S KINGDOM PATTERN

Posted: April 11, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching
Tags: Bride of Christ, discipleship, God's love, Kingdom life, Kingdom living, Kingdom teaching, radical christianity, Spirit first, Spirit led life

THE GOOD SEED

The seed that will produce the good heart-tree when planted in good heart-soil is LOVE. The unconditional God-kind of real love flowing through an affirming attitude is received in the heart as pleasure or comfort.

The heart perceives love primarily as ACCEPTANCE along with mercy, grace, and forgiveness for our shortcomings. We find love, acceptance, mercy, grace, and forgiveness in God through Jesus Christ.

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 2:4-5: But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved).

Ephesians 1:6-7: …to the praise of the glory of His grace; by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…

Our hearts must experience the love of Jesus filling our spirits by the Holy Spirit. Our hearts also need to experience the love of Jesus in our souls through the manifest love of Jesus coming through other people. To grow a good life-structure we need to receive the seed of the love and acceptance of Jesus flowing through an affirming attitude from the people in authority over us and from those around us. We never outgrow our need for love.

God’s pattern is for the individual to be formed in a godly environment of love and acceptance; not just a Christian home with clean morals and firm discipline, but a family characterized by unconditional godly love. The seed-pattern of the kingdom of God is the real love from God flowing through godly parents, extended family, and community always affirming the worth of the child while tenderly nurturing and training from conception to maturity.

Ephesians 6:4b: Amp. “… but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.”

THE GOOD ROOT

The seed of love sown in the soil of our heart will begin to grow the foundational ROOT system of our life-structure. The taproot is the reality of the LOVE OF JESUS in our heart. The tip of the taproot is abundant life. The main root of the love of Jesus, along with its beautiful secondary roots, will fill our heart-soil with the fullness of God. The secondary roots that branch from the main taproot are both in-working and out-working characteristics, such as peace, approval, devotion, kindness, calmness, blessing, joy, gladness, goodness, satisfaction, hope, cheerfulness, and delight.

Ephesians 3:17-19: …that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

THE ENEMY’S SCHEME

THE BAD SEED

The bad seed is UNLOVE. Unlove is perceived in our hearts primarily as REJECTION, and is felt in the heart as PAIN. Seeds of rejection, accusation, condemnation, and unforgiveness flowing through a judgmental or critical attitude are the seeds the enemy uses to plant a bad life-structure. Unlove is the absence of the unconditional God-kind of love.

Rejection may come in many forms and from many sources. Usually the rejection that produces the most severe pain comes from those closest to us–from those who should love us. Rejection is often communicated in subtle ways. The child that is severely abused, abandoned, or that suffered the trauma of parental divorce may not be the only child who feels the pain of rejection. If our parents were just too busy with their own situations to really be there for us when we needed them, we experienced rejection, too. Apathy can be the worst kind of unlove.

Psalm 109: 2-4a, 22-23: For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers. I am poor and needy and my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken like a locust.

Romans 2:1a, Amp.: Therefore you have no excuse of defense or justification, O man, whoever you are who judges and condemns another.

Ephesians 6:4a, Amp.: Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger; do not exasperate them to resentment…

There is no more painful seed which can be planted in our heart than being judged and condemned by someone we love, especially those who have some measure of authority in our lives. We are particularly open to parents, pastors, teachers, coaches, mates, older siblings, and close friends. The enemy knows this and will seek to cause unforgiveness, condemnation and accusations from those who should love us. He wants us to feel the devastating pain of rejection and react to it with resentment.

THE BAD ROOT

The pain in our heart begins to grow the foundational ROOT structure of our life. The painful seed of rejection begins to produce anger, resentment, and bitterness. Left to its natural course, the seed of rejection will always produce a root of BITTERNESS. The tip of the taproot of bitterness is death. The secondary roots are both out-working and in-working characteristics. The out-working characteristics are things like anger, resentment, hatred, wrath, retaliation, rage, and an attitude of murder. The in-working characteristics are things like grief, sorrow, guilt, remorse, hopelessness, depression, despair, and an attitude of suicide.

Remember, the heart did not want these things. They are the natural result of the seed of unlove planted in the heart soil. The soil will grow whatever is planted.

Hebrews 12:14-17: Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any ROOT OF BITTERNESS springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.

The Greek word translated “bitterness” also carries the meanings of “piercing, sharp, pungent, and poison.” The life-structure becomes poisoned with bitterness, as the taproot of bitterness with all of its ugly subsidiary or secondary roots grows and entwines to permeate the entire heart-soil.

Acts 8:21-23: You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.

THE BAD TRUNK

The root of bitterness will spring up, cause trouble, and defile many. The trunk of our life-tree that springs forth from the root of bitterness is always, without exception—REBELLION. Rebellion (a disobedient attitude) is the natural outworking of bitterness, which is the natural result of inner pain from rejection. Rebellion is not usually something we plan or even desire for our lives. We didn’t want it. It was planted in our heart-soil, often before we were old enough to choose. Feelings of being rejected by parents, teachers, siblings, relatives, and peers plant the seeds that will produce the structure of our life, a trunk of rebellion.

FEAR and PRIDE characterize the trunk of rebellion. The rebellion turns into fear as we feel unloved and subconsciously reasons something like this: “The authorities over me, or those around me, do not love me as much as they love themselves. Therefore, they are going to take care of themselves first and not me. And I don’t feel God loves me because I’m in rebellion against Him. Therefore, He’s not going to take care of me either. No one is going to take care of me, so I must take care of myself.” We are now self-focused, self-centered and have a poor self-image.

Then, we take a look at ourselves and a look at the big mean world and reason something like this, “Wow! I’m not very big and the world is so big. I don’t think I can do it. I can’t take care of myself.” FEAR, insecurity, inferiority, and anxiety enter at this point.

Eventually, we may look around and see others successfully taking care of themselves. We reason something like this, “If they can do it, I can too. So I’ll take hold of my boot straps, double up my fist, set my jaw and start getting tough.” When we begin to succeed at taking care of ourselves, get that good job, new car, etc., we are PROUD. Why not? I did it all myself. God didn’t do it. The authority over me or those around me didn’t do it. I did it.” Now we are filled with PRIDE, and we become stubborn, haughty, arrogant, self-willed, and unthankful.

When we are winning, pride reigns, but when things don’t go so well, fear rules. We will flip back and forth between fear and pride depending upon our evaluation of our performance. We have become performance-oriented. We find our self-worth only in our performance. Only perfection, which we never seem to achieve, will satisfy us.

The central characteristic of our entire life-structure has become NEED. It does not matter how much we have; it is not enough. There is always a sense of lack, not being good enough, not doing enough or having enough. This continuous feeling of need or lack becomes the primary motivational force in our life-structure.

THE BAD LIMBS

The limbs of the bad heart-tree do not grow from a trunk of well-being and abundance, but rather from a driving sense of intense need–a feeling that “I will not make it if I don’t have more.” From this strong sense of need, the limbs or branches of the life-structure come forth. The natural product of great need is a strong desire to have in order to attempt to satisfy the strong sense of need. This powerful desire to have is LUST. We are not talking about a spurious want type of desire. We’re talking about what seems to some people to be a life-or-death situation.

We subconsciously reason something like, “I must provide for myself or I might not make it. If I’m going to provide for myself, I must have money–money that is mine, that I control.” Lust for money and greed come forth in the life-structure. “If I’m going to get and keep money, I must have power and position.” A lust for power, control, position and fame develops into the life-structure.

The greatest need we all have, what we are really searching for, is love—to be able to receive and give real love. But, the person with this life-structure does not even know what real love is. The bad heart-tree has never fully experienced real love, the unconditional God-kind of love. However, this type of individual does know the good feelings of romance and sex. So, lust for romance or sex comes forth and promises to meet their deep, inner need.

Remember, we did not decide to be this way. It got planted in us a long time ago as painful rejection—unlove.

The major limbs of the bad heart-tree life-structure are lust for money, lust for power, lust for position, and lust for romance or sex. On these limbs the fruit of the life is borne.

THE BAD FRUIT AND SEED

The fruit that will always come forth on these limbs is BAD DEEDS. The attitudes and actions will be selfish and involve taking rather than giving. This type of individual may really wish in his heart that he actually cared about others. He may even convince himself he does care some. But, deep in his inner being, when he really gets honest, he does not care about others like he cares for himself. Some of the attitudes causing his actions and words to offend and wound others are aggression, competition, striving, high achievement, defensiveness, inconsideration, and hostility. Wounding others sets up his own rejection from those he offends. When he offends and wounds others, he causes them to reject him. This plants more pain in his heart and starts the cycle all over again.

These offensive and wounding bad deeds are the fruit. Most fruit has a seed inside. Inside this fruit is the SEED of unlove—rejection. The seeds produced by this person’s life are exactly the same as the seeds that were planted in his own heart-soil. The individual is helplessly unable to control his judgmental and critical attitude toward those he should love. Rejection, accusation, condemnation, and unforgiveness are sown from the person into the heart-soil of others, especially the wife or husband and children. And thereby the kingdom of darkness is reproduced in the hearts of others, producing the same life-structure all over again. In a real and practical way, the sins of the fathers are passed on to the next generation. The situation tends to grow worse to the third and fourth generations. (Exodus 34:7).

THE BAD BIRDS

Certain kinds of birds are attracted to the bad fruit of the Bad Heart-Tree. The birds are BAD SPIRITS. The Bible calls these bad spirits demons. Demon spirits of darkness, blindness, deception, and delusion will come with all their filthiness and torment to lodge in the limbs of the bad-heart tree. These spirits will shut out the light. The truth of God cannot get through to the heart, but lies, deceptions, and delusion will flow readily into it.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4a: But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded…

1 John 2:11: But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

2 Thessalonians 1:9b-11: …according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.

This type of individual is now ready to receive occult interest and involvement. He seems powerless against the enticing drawing of the lying promises of the occult to meet the needs of the life-structure. Promises of excitement, power, control, peace of mind, and riches turn into hopeless bondages and addictions that imprison him and steal all hope and, eventually, his very life.

Anyone deeply involved in occult, witchcraft, or other demonic activities has the bad heart-tree as his life-structure. It is the only way to great deception. Occult activities can range from overt satanic worship and witchcraft to church members who are deceived into practices of spirit-power that look like God. Some have called this Christian witchcraft. The bad heart-tree, mixed with religion, produces false prophets.

Remember, this individual did not plan it this way. He did not want this at all. It was planted in him as rejection, which caused pain that grew into bitterness, and then into rebellion, with fear and pride. Then his need became lust, which produced bad deeds and bad seeds, which invited evil spirits to lock him into bondage and torment, unable to hear God or His truth. In addition, if the enemy can cause the heart to be closed off to godly people as well, this individual is locked into bondage.

THE WALL

This bad tree an its fruit is not pretty. The individual soon learns his behavior is not acceptable and it causes him to be rejected and to suffer more pain again and again. He observes that every person who gets close to him eventually hurts him. He also recognizes that every person that gets close to him is hurt as well. As a result of this, he begins to build a WALL OF DEFENSE. This wall is designed to hide what actually is in the heart-tree. It is created to prevent closeness with people and stop the wounds caused by painful rejection. The wall is constructed of things used by the individual to attempt to make him feel better by venting on others.

Proverbs 18:19: A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle.

The person with a wall of defense is saying, “No one is ever going to get close enough to me to hurt me again.” He builds a wall as strong and as tall as necessary to keep anyone from seeing what is really in his heart and to keep anyone from ever really getting close enough to hurt him. He usually begins building his wall with contention and contrariness. Next are unaffection, withdrawal, and so on. If these characteristics fail to keep everyone away, the wall is built higher with more serious resistance.

Recall that the wall is supposed to hide the pain, bitterness, rebellion, fear, pride, lust, bad fruit, and spiritual darkness of the heart-tree that has grown from the seed of unlove planted in the heart-soil. One problem the person runs into is that the wall itself becomes very ugly. In order to cover its ugliness, one might whitewash the outside of the wall. However, this mask is only temporary, It may last long enough for a person to make it in the presence of others, such as at work or church, etc. Another problem is that the limbs keep growing over the wall. The person will continue adding more bricks to make the wall higher and stronger.

Acts 23:3: Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

In the upper portion of the wall of defense, blame and slander are used to create separation. A major tool for creating emotional and eventually physical distance is the abuse of alcohol and drugs. If these big tools don’t create enough distance to keep others away, the individual becomes abusive, immoral and violent. In painful desperation and frustration, if he is unable to keep others out any other way, he will murder them.

Now that the wall is strong enough and high enough to keep people out from the side, and the spirits of darkness are keeping the light of God out from above, the helpless individual has become an island. He cannot give or receive love. The person is now isolated from other people and from God. Feelings of loneliness and hopelessness overwhelm him. The angry, hostile attitudes that had been focused outwardly on others begin to be focused inwardly on himself. Self-rejection now plants its painful seeds in his own heart-soil producing a deadly cycle of depression and self-hate.

The person now must attempt to build a wall to separate himself from himself. He becomes as two people in one body–one rejecting the other. He is actually dying for love and is unable to receive it or give it. Finally, he realizes it won’t do any good to just murder the one who rejects him; he’s must kill the one that is hurting him from the inside. So, he stacks the last brick on the wall. Suicide makes this statement, “You will never touch me now; you will never hurt me again; and I will never hurt me again.”

Remember again, this person did not want it to be this way. It just happened. It was planted in him. The work of Satan is complete when he can cause people to reject each other long enough to grow the seed of unlove to its final maturity—death and separation from God and His kind of life.

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

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

Radical Disciples – A Remnant Revolution

Latest Posts

Categories

Posts Tagged ‘radical christianity’

A Matter of Life or Death – By Ron McGatlin

Living life radically for Christ..

Called to be radical

THE SECOND GREATEST MYSTERY

By this all will know that you are My disciples……

FORGIVENESS & BEYOND

BEYOND REPENTANCE

THE DIVIDED-HEART TREE

HARLOTRY OF BABYLON

GOD’S KINGDOM PATTERN