- Provoking Thoughts
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Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path I am very concerned with the incomplete and contradictory theological expressions represented by some ministers on TV and the Internet and this confused message reaching around the world. Here is the core of my concern the Church and the work of the Spirit of the Lord are being portrayed as a lifestyle of accomplishments that can be measured by natural standards such possessions and success. That is what I call the American gospel, based and fully influenced by the American dream. This nation is at war, people around the world are dying not only physically but also spiritually, emotionally and psychologically, while some sectors of Christendom continue with their experimental claims of having experienced His glory while their lives smell not like the aroma of heaven rather the aroma of Wall Street. If you have been in His glory your life, motives, message and existence changes, must I mention Saul turned into Paul, prophesying seeing visions and fasting under the anointing without having attended an activation session or a prophetic seminar or having read Elijah's list. Sounds sarcastic I know but it is sadly true. Just because a TV show is poorly translated to another language does not mean that the message and words are universally and that they represent the Word of God for that region thus we are not touching the world just pretending and proclaimimg we are. The Catholicity (Universality) of His message is unquestionable. Getting to the point, I believe we need to pray for the true Voice of God, expressed through the Spirit of Truth to continue perforating the ceiling of this nation. By perforating the ceiling, I am referring to the minds and hearts of the people not to the literal heavens over the nation. The Body of Christ, the Church, the legal representative of heaven on earth have permanent access to the throne of God.
| Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the THRONE of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help [us] in time of need. |
Jesus permanently opened the path to the Church and just like Jacob saw angels ascending and descending before being transformed into Israel so are our prayers and their correspondent responses. There are no more closed heavens or heavens like brass to the believer, to believe such invalidates our inheritance as legitimate members of the family of God. We are passing a critical season of extreme danger within the Body of Christ. The force, movement and flow that I am concerned about is subtle, deceiving, well orchestrated and excellently executed and it is happening TODAY. An abnormal and artificial flexibility has been attached to the our foundational theological boundaries and currently is trying to usurpt the place of the truths that have validated this message since its inception. Some sectors of Christianity believe that if something or someone sounds prophetic and/or apostolic then it must be right. My comment to this posture is that in order to know the true prophetic and apostolic sound one must listen to the echo of our history. Acts of the Apostles the unfinished book that is where the prophetic/apostolic sound for this era was birthed. That sound originated there setting the standard for the work of the ministry for ever. We can not sail into our own spiritual Mayflower of "revelation" and hope that God will bless the work of our minds. We must be true to ourselves. Unless there is change you are in the same place, is up to you if you want ot keep your eyes opened, you are still in the same place if change has not happened. You can call it a new place in God, the next level, new dimension of faith, going deeper and so on, but if your heart is not able to comply with loving your neighbor as yourself, you are not moving in God, you are not progressing in Him. We are living a season in the theological history of this country where the scriptures have been placed in trial and I would dare to say that we are not far from the heresies condemned by the Church Fathers during the time the first fours ecumenical councils, when the image of Jesus, his dual nature (human and divine), his virgin birth and his right as the only begotten Son of God were under attack not by unbelievers but by theologically confused and quite influencial and outspoken believers. They were called adoptionists, arians, nestorians and gnostics and so on... they all have something in common while full of zeal they were believing a lie and willing to be excomunicated for their twisted believe. I will compare this dangerous trend with the work of double agents within the ranks of espionage. Playing the part while practicing treason. Many of our dear brethren on the Internet or watching TV are trusting the voice of their many leaders (this is a subject for another time the many voices the sheep hear and submit to thinking they are being spiritual) we must encourage our people to excersice their spiritua right of the practice of the art of discernment (a distinguishing, discerning, judging) of spirits. This practice was essecially necessary in the early church for the survival and well being of collective and internal truth.
| 1jo 4:1 | Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the SPIRITS whether they are of God:becausemany false prophets (one who, acting the part of a divinely inspired prophet, utters falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies) are gone out into the world. |
The discernment that John mentions in the passage above and that Paul considers a gift of the Spirit mentioned in 1st Corinthians 12:10 is not referring to discerning evil spirits from divine or what kind of evil spirit is in manifestation rather it refers to the distinguishing of the human spirit of the prophet from the divine Spirit of Truth proceeding form God. That is why is calling the speaker a false prophet and not a demoniac or demon possessed individual. Are false prophets always false prophets? Absolutely not. I will give some examples: How to identify a false prophet:
1) The prophecy presented clearly contradicts the universal truth presented in the Scriptures
2) Man-handles God's image trivializing and/or humanizing the divine
3) The information provided although NOT conditional never came to pass
Ex. God loves a nation more than another clearly His character and the scriptures that state that He is not a respecter of persons...
God loves everyone of the members of His creation, He did not create a person in order to ignore them or love them less...He doesn't see in colors, nationalities, race, economical or influence...He doesn't live in time, He doesn't even live...He is life...in order for Him to live means that He will have to be subject to life which He is not...He never intended to be but who He eternally is...He simple exists eternally...HE IS GOD) or when they prophecy for money.
(The Didache or the first Christian written document) establishes the following:
11.3 Concerning apostles
[and prophets, according to the directions in the gospel, act in this way.]
11.4 let every apostle who comes to you be received as the Lord.
11.5 He shall stay only one day, or, if need be, another day too. If he stays three days, he is a false prophet. 11.6 When the apostle leaves, let him receive nothing but enough bread to see him through until he finds lodging. If he asks for money he is a false prophet.
[11.7 ... and every prophet speaking in the Spirit neither test nor judge; every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. 11.8 But not every one speaking in the Spirit is a prophet, but only those whose behavior is as the Lord's, by their actions you can discern the false prophet from the prophet. 11.9 Every prophet calling for a table of food in the Spirit will not eat of it. If he does he is a false prophet.]
[11.10 And every prophet teaching the truth who does not do what he teaches is a false prophet. 11.11 But every prophet tested and found true who lives 'the mystery of the church in the world' and does not teach others to do the same - do not judge him. His judgment is with God. For the prophets of old also lived/acted in this way.]
[11.12 If any prophet, speaking in the Spirit says, 'Give me money', or anything else, do not listen to him. On the other hand, if he calls you to give it to someone who is in need, do not judge him. 12.1 Let everyone who comes in the name of the Lord be received, after that, when you have tested him, you will know what he is like - for you will have right and left perception. 12.2a If the one who comes is a traveler, help him as much as you can, 12.2b but he shall not stay with you more than two or three days if this is necessary. 12.3 But if he wants to settle with you, and he is a craftsman, let him work and so eat. 12.4 If he has no craft, see to it in your own understanding that no one lives among you in idleness because he is a Christian. 12.5 If he is unwilling to do this, he is trading on Christ. Be on your guard against such people.] [ 13.1 But every true prophet, who wants to settle with you is worthy of his food, 13.2 In the same way, a true teacher is worthy, just as the worker is worthy of his food. 13.3 Therefore, 4 when you take any firstfruits of what is produced by the wine press and the threshing floor, by cows and by sheep, you shall give the firstfruits to the prophets, for they are your High Priests. 13.4 If, however, you have no prophet, give them to the poor.
I am appealing to you my dear brother and sister to pray that the inside job that is taking place today in this nation stopped by the righteous right hand of the Father. If we are to lie in a nation protected by truth we must preach the truth. The mixing of ideas and the corrupting of truth, the googeling and balancing acts of scripture must cease. Please pray for the light of true revelation to touch every minister and every lay person. We need this level of revelation to stop the flow of carnality and deception. We must also acknowledge that this level of revelation will reveal what is within us first and we must be willing to wait for the process of deliverance to take place inside of us before He can open our eyes to the lives of others.
| And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? | |
| Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thineeye;and,behold, a beam is in thine own eye? | |
| Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. |
I make a comment to this biblical principle:
How can I lovingly and compassionately see the mote in my brother's eye unless I see it through the revelatory eyes of compassion of God's love? and then what is the point of seeing it if it is not to help him get rid of it? but how can I help him get rid of it if I am personally struggling with the same mote without victory?
We must comply with purity of speech and that of His Logos/His Son/ His Word. We must be true to the text and do the scripture no harm. We must pray for the ceasing of the misrepresentation of God's love and power. We must pray for the leaders within the Body of Christ here in the states that today are being tempted to compromise their birth-right of preaching the truth and seeing results, to be stong and say no to the temptation presented by the hunger for fame and success, the need to see some bills paid and/or to drive a better car or the need to impress people because they experienced rejection during their childhood and we the Church have not been the healing agent for him/her to leave those memories behind and move on to be the unique and precious individual God has called them to be. We owe God to present in prayer our brothers and sisters in ministry that are struggling "performing and working" the Gospel while spiritually, emotionally and even psychologically ill and sometimes even bankrupt. May God bring healing to all these famous fund-raising ministers that are confused hearing all these different voices pulling them in all directions while in fine print they have called holy what is unholy, clean what is unclean and knowingly have fallen prey eating meat sacrificed at the feet of the altars they have raised for themselves while millions go on living dead, apart from their legal right to hear the pure unadulterated message, the good news from heaven, and unable to read the holy periodical signed by Papa that says Jesus paid it All! and know you can experience freedom in your actions, emotions and life. We must pray for purity and clarity in the message. No more compromise, no mixture, no self, all God. We must pray.
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Aletheia Ministries "Serving God and Men with Gladness"
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