Tuesday 24 February 2015

Nose Punchers - Ear-Ticklers and Hebrews 4 Sword Wielders.



Here are three posts and they are incredibly representative of the evangelical position,followed by quite a charismatic position followed by a more Father level approach ( 1 John 2.)
1.A Box 1 Message
The first post is very black and white and takes a Biblically aligned view to the sort of behaviours expected among Kingdom people.
To be able to deliver such a sermon certain positions are held on what a preacher is, who we as humans are and the sort of thing Christianity is.
It holds a BOX 1 rigid view of the universe where God has made His Law known, and as Jews in the Old Testament believed we simply preach about the  appropriate behaviour and expect that everyone tries to do it. It attacks both liberal positions and Box 2 Christian positions as if they were the same thing.
2. A Box 2 Message
Quite often delivered by a baptised in the Spirit preacher, or an evangelical preacher that has matured and has had some revelation of the grace message of St Paul from Romans Chapters 3 to 5.
Rather than casting a world where everything is black and white and immediately just so, it takes a more fatherly role and is aware that everybody coming into a relationship with Christ is coming from different places, but is confident in the Presence of Christ in his or her own life, and in the power of the Word of God coming through him or her, to take the believer on.  This appears far too fuzzy to a Box 1 preacher

3. A Box 3 Message
This  is almost  at one level an amalgamation of Box 1 and Box 2 preaching.  At one level.
In actual fact it is not this is something new.
Now some tap into this area temporarily by prayer and fasting and letting the Holy Spirit touch their words with His fire. Others who by practice have trained their senses according to righteousness....that is both their mental acuity, and their feelings and emotional senses,  and they know by habitual living with Jesus that God is merciless to the sin spirit masquerading as our identity. Hebrews 4 describes the Word as a two edged sword piercing to the division of soul and spirit as of joints and marrow, able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Box 3 only recognises the authentic person. "Henceforth we view no man after the flesh".
When a mature person speaks by the Spirit it is alarming because we are not used to words having spirit discharge and the authority and strength and kick of the words can be too much.
Only this explains the violence with which the Nazareth people responded to Jesus or the priests who stoned Stephen. The spirits that masquerade as flesh are laid bare by speech that comes from the true spiritual identity of a person. A carnal person /secular person hears everything according to the flesh, and hears any disapproval or correction as condemnation, shame, rudeness. Spirit is none of these but always challenges sin in the flesh.  Sin in the flesh is not a behaviour first of all. First of all it is a spirit, the spirit that "energises / works within the sons of disobedience."
5 Signs of Ear-Tickling preachers
MICHAEL BROWN Charisma Article

Paul warned Timothy that the "time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

That warning proved true in Timothy's day, and it has proved true many times since, especially today, when we have a multitude of ear-tickling preachers. How can we recognize them?

We know that deception is very deceiving and that no one is willingly duped. And we know that no one stands up and says, "What I'm teaching is false doctrine meant to deceive and destroy you!"

We also know that it is arrogant for any one of us to think that we alone have sound doctrine while everyone else is in error.

Yet Paul did not warn Timothy in vain, nor is he warning us in vain, and so we must ask ourselves what, exactly, are the distinguishing characteristics of ear-tickling preachers.

1. Ear-tickling preachers bypass self-denial and the cross. Jesus told His disciples that if anyone wanted to follow Him, they had to deny themselves and take up the cross (see Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; in Luke 9:23 He says we must take up our cross daily). And Paul taught that "those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24).

Saying no to self and taking up the cross—meaning, giving up the claim to our own lives, dying to this sinful world and renouncing its claims—is a fundamental part of discipleship. Yet ear-tickling preachers will not talk about it.

The reason is obvious: It is not what our flesh wants to hear.

2. Ear-ticking preachers go light on sin. Throughout the Scriptures, both Old Testament and New Testament, including the Gospels, Acts, the Letters, and Revelation, there are warnings about the dangers of sin and calls to turn away from sin.

Of course, it is absolutely true that through the death and resurrection of Jesus and by the power of the Spirit we have been given victory over sin. And it is absolutely true that the message of grace, rightly understood, turns us away from sin (see Titus 2:11-14).

But that doesn't mean that as leaders, we no longer need to warn our hearers about the deceitfulness of sin or urge them to vigilant against sin. To the contrary, because so much grace has been given to us, our responsibility before God is even greater (see Hebrew 2:1-4; 10:26-31; 12:25-29).

3. Ear-tickling preachers are loved by the world. In 2 Timothy 3, Paul recounted the persecutions and suffering he endured for the gospel—they were frequent and intense—and then said, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:12-13).

Jesus said that the world would treat us the way it treated Him (John 15:18; Mat. 10:24-25) and that His disciples, like the prophets of old, would be persecuted for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:10-12).

"If you were of the world," He said, "the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:19).

But the world doesn't hate ear-tickling preachers because they are "of the world" in their approach to the gospel.

It is one thing to have a good reputation for integrity and purity and to live out what we preach. It is another thing when our message does not offend sinners. As Jesus warned, "Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets" (Luke 6:26).

4. Ear-tickling preachers tell the flesh what it wants to hear. The Old Testament prophets had to deal with this all the time. As Isaiah wrote long ago, "For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, 'Do not see,' and to the prophets, 'Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel'" (Isaiah 30:9-11).

In other words, "Don't make us uncomfortable, preacher! Don't make us squirm! Stop confronting us with the standards of a holy God!"

A friend recently shared with me that he learned that the owner of a local strip club was attending the same church that he and his family attended.

His sister-in-law approached the pastor and asked him about it, and the pastor said, "At least he's coming to church. That's better than not coming at all."

That would be true, except that the pastor never said a word about sin and never said anything that would make the man uncomfortable about his exploitation of young women (and others). And so rather than this man getting convicted of his sins and discovering the life-changing love of God, he went home deceived.

Ultimately, my friend and his family had to leave.

5. Ear-tickling preachers get away from the Word and give way to myths. They may use a verse or two in their preaching, but their sermons are driven by their own worldly ideology—especially if it sells—rather than by the content of the Word.

Some even get into the realm of complete fantasy, preaching alleged heavenly or angelic revelations that titillate the ears of the pseudo-spiritual but do not exalt Jesus, do not turn people away from sin, and do not produce lasting spiritual fruit.

I personally believe there are preachers today who genuinely know the Lord but have bought into a lie about the nature of the gospel, and while they think they are helping people, they are really hurting them in the long run.

May God grant these men and women repentance—especially those who actually are charlatans and deceivers—and may God give us discernment, repentance, and a love for the truth, regardless of cost or consequence.

Michael Brown is author of Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding With Love and Truth to Questions About Homosexuality and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.
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5 Signs of Nose-Punching Preachers

nose-punch_med
A recent article in Charisma News warns about the dangers of ear-tickling preachers and their deceptive message. An ear-tickler is someone who tells you what you want to hear. In contrast, a nose-puncher is one who tells you what he wants you to hear, and typically does so with all the fervor of an Old Testament judge or prophet.
A nose-puncher might appear respectable and religious, but he is nothing more than a bully with a Bible. He prefers doctrine to people, puts ministry before family, and he justifies his abuse of others by telling himself he is doing the Lord’s work.
Jesus encountered many religious nose-punchers; men who sought to throw the book at him and those who followed him. Ironically, these men claimed to know God but by their actions they denied him. Jesus rebuked the nose-punchers for being loveless sons of the devil, and they responded by putting him on the cross.
The apostle Paul also had his share of run-ins with nose-punchers. They hounded him from town to town preaching works and opposing his message of love and grace. On several occasions the nose-punchers beat Paul and plotted to kill him.
The nose-punchers are still with us today. Can you recognize them? Here are five signs of nose-punching preachers.
1. Nose-punching preachers emphasize self-denial and going without. “If you are not in the habit of denying your appetites and desires, you are not a real Christian,” says the nose-puncher. “The more you deny your needs and wants, the holier you’ll be.”
What’s wrong with this message? Nothing – if you want to be a Buddhist.
The modern message of self-denial is nothing more than the ancient practice of asceticism dressed up in religious jargon. Abstaining from food, Facebook, or fun won’t make you righteous and holy (Col. 2:21-23). But it might make you religious. It might make you like the fasting Pharisees who trusted in their own self-righteousness.
The die-to-self message simply means, “Trust Jesus, and not yourself.” It means walk by the Spirit rather than the flesh. It means live each day out of the glorious relationship you have with the Lord.
In the hands of a nose-puncher, “die to self” is reduced to little more than a quit-having-fun lecture wrapped in threats and warnings. But in the hands of a gospel preacher, “die to self” is a thrilling invitation to the adventure of the life that is ours in Christ.
2. Nose-punching preachers are hard on sin. Throughout the scriptures you will find serious men throwing stones of condemnation at sinners. Nothing’s changed.
If warnings and threats about sin stopped people from sinning, there would be no more sin.
Jesus reveals there is only one thing that can empower you to sin no more, and that is radical grace. I’m talking about the kind of grace that defends the sinner from her accusers and turns a thief into a giver, a hater into a lover, and the chief of sinners into the apostle of grace. Rules don’t change people and abuse definitely doesn’t change people; grace changes people.
firehose
The nose-punchers would have you turn from sin and turn again until you’re a dizzy sinner. But the good news that Jesus revealed and Paul preached reveals a God infinitely more appealing than sin. A nose-puncher will use threats to compel you to turn, and you might, for a little while, but a gospel preacher reveals the goodness of God that leads you to genuine and lasting repentance (Rom. 2:4).
3. Nose-punching preachers are no friends of sinners. It is one thing to have a reputation for integrity and purity but if our message leaves our neighbors untouched by the love of God, what good are we? If Jesus strode the streets of Jerusalem avoiding sin and sinners, where would any of us be?
Nose-punchers would have you withdraw from the world in a misguided desire for holiness. But Jesus prayed that we might be sanctified in it (John 17:15-19). The nose-punchers will teach you to hate the world, but Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave…” (John 3:16).
The nose-punchers would have the world to come to them (to get their noses punched), but Jesus tells us to “Go into all the world – the business world, the arts world, the sports world, the addicts’ world, the dirty, stinkin’ world – and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
4. Nose-punching preachers seek to crucify the flesh by preaching law. “Don’t be like those Old Testament rebels who refused to obey God,” says the nose-puncher. “To please him you need to keep all the commands of his Word.”
Such a message appeals to our religious pride because it is thoroughly carnal. It teaches you to trust in the flesh – your good behavior, commitment and obedience – instead of God’s grace. The legalist says you must work to be saved while the holiness preacher says you must work to be sanctified, but both are eating from the wrong tree.
The nose-puncher will whack you with the standards of God. “Look where you are falling short. Try harder or be damned!” But the gospel preacher says, “Look where Jesus has succeeded. Trust him and live!”
The nose-puncher would have you die daily, as though that were possible, but the gospel preacher says, “You have died already and once was enough!” Look to the cross, where your old self died, and reckon yourself dead to sin. “I have been crucified with Christ,” said the apostle. “And I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20).
5. Nose-punching preachers use the Bible as a stick. Their sermons are packed with scriptures but are devoid of Truth. Like the Pharisees of old, they diligently study the scriptures yet refuse to come to Christ for life (John 5:39-40). Or worse, they take a little of his grace and mix it with their own efforts, ruining the whole thing and becoming lukewarm in the process.
In the hands of a graceless preacher, the Bible is utterly lethal for buried within lies the law which ministers death (2 Cor 3:7). For thousands of years, nose-punchers have been using the law-bits of the Bible to control and manipulate others. Jesus called them abusers and killers (Matt. 23:34) and Paul called them dogs (Php 3:2). We would do well to heed their warnings and be wary of such men.
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Eternal Life is a Person


Sylvia put this up on Facebook with the words "I call the book of John the "I Am Book"" from http://080808onnowto.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/eternal-life-is-personbysylvia-pearce.html


ETERNAL LIFE IS A PERSON.... "He that hath the Son hath (Eternal) Life;"
(I John 5:12) I call the book of John the "I am" book. Jesus never said that He would give us a little piece of himself called "the way, the truth, and the life." He didn't say he would give us a little bit of bread and it would be life to us. He didn't say that he would give us resurrection, or life, or living water, and these would help is have more of God. No, what he did strongly and emphatically declare was this: "I am the Word, I am the Light of the world, I am the Living Water, I am the Bread of Life, I am the Resurrection and the Life, I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am Eternal Life." God's name always has been "I AM," not, "I have it to give." We do not have a distant God, dishing out to us humans, little bits of himself to live on. No, He has given us the fullness of Himself. The mystery of the gospel is, "Christ in you, our only hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). He is the deity in the temple, He is the contents of the vessel, He is the vine of the branch, He is the husband of the wife, and He is the head of the body. He firmly announced to all His creation, "My glory will I not give to another"(Isaiah 42:8). Therefore, salvation is a Person, Love is a Person, the Truth is a Person, Peace is a Person, Righteousness is a Person, and Eternal Life is not just a place we go after death, but it is a Person! His plan from the beginning was to create a family of sons who would freely contain and express His deity nature throughout eternity. It takes a great blow to our egos to really know that we are only the clay pots and not the glory of the contents. Christ is the content, it is He that fills the temple. Yet we have been falsely taught that we are the one who should fulfill the law and try to fill our temples with good works.




The essence of all idolatry is trying to be what only God is. This too is the essence of legalism.Trying to be good leaves our hearts empty and still cry ing out for more. For it is Christ who can fulfill the law in us, and it is He that wants the glory.We are His dwelling place, not our own dwelling place. Could this be why Christians are so miserable? We, of all people, who know that our sins are forgiven and our future destination is heaven, should live in the joy of the Lord most of the time.But do we? I dare say that if we are honest, most of us experience the very opposite.I believe that most of us live condemned and frustrated lives, trying to cope with what we have and wonder why faith doesn't work.That is why so many Christians are crying out to Jesus, "Come quickly Lord Jesus," as they wait to be relieved from their misery by the second coming of Christ.Our salvation and entrance into the kingdom of God is wonderful, but it's not good enough to just know that our sins are forgiven. What about now? What about the present tense? Why do we love the Jesus who saves us, but hate the human person that He saved? Did He do only half the work? Maybe we are getting closer to our answer by looking at just that. We think that we are responsible for finishing or perfecting the other half of what doesn't seem complete, namely us.What a job! We are taught to pray more, read our Bibles more, come to Church more, tithe more,and strive to become more like Jesus. Then there is the problem of the world:we should keep ourselves from worldly thoughts and not overindulge in worldly pleasures such as eating, drinking, smoking, and carousing. Then there are our personal shortcomings: tempers, jealousies, pride, and secret sins. The list goes on forever. But most of all we must look good to the world and keep our reputations and God's reputation respectable because we must be good witnesses. I say it again, "What a job!"Why doesn't Christianity work? I'm not happy and I'm not satisfied--God is satisfied because He sees his son in me, but I'm not satisfied. I look most of the time like Paul in Romans Seven--"the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not that I do. For the will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."Since the problem is exposed in Romans seven,then the whole solution, which is the missing link in Christianity, is hidden there as well. The real problem and hidden sin of the Christian is self-effort. "I ought to. I should do better by self-effort." It is very subtle, though, for it seems right and good, yet in truth it is the very heart of our problem. The law continually stirs up self-effort because we believe we can and should do it. We are not believing in God, but in ourselves. Colossians 1:27 says, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." The mystery of the Gospel is "Christ in you," yet we believe more in our own performance than Christ in us. That is why the third person of the Trinity (the Holy Spirit) is the least known to most Christians. We are provided with the life of Christ by the Holy Spirit, yet we strive in our own efforts to be that life. Paul strongly warned the Galatians against legalism in their church. They began their Christian walk by faith alone, but soon after, added all kinds of laws to live by. Therefore, Paul cried out, "O foolish Galatia ns, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth.This only would I learn of you; Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh"(Galatians 3:1-3)? Paul's strong warning "Who has bewitched you," implies that the devil is at work. It is devilish to try to become what only God himself is. Let us understand though, that the law isn't wrong in itself, for it is God's perfect picture of His holy nature. Our problem is not God's picture of himself, the problem is how to be like that picture. We can never be like God by self-effort, yet God wants us to come to the end of believing that "WE" can do it.


The only way that we can come to the end is for us to go right on trying. But don't try half way.Try with all your heart. Try until you're bloody from trying.Most Christians settle somewhere in-between; a little bit of Jesus, a little bit of me, a little bit of the law, a little bit of righteousness, a little bit of the devil, a little bit of sin, "Ho hum! God doesn't expect me to be perfect anyway." On the contrary, Jesus demands perfection, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).Jesus says it has to be all or nothing.
It is better to try until we can't try anymore, than to settle somewhere in the middle ground That is why Jesus said to the Laodiceian church in the book of Revelation, that because they were lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, He would s pew them out of his mouth (Rev. 3:15-16). God wants self-effort to become exceedingly sinful. God wants you to be real desperate, so desperate that you can't try anymore.Then you are more than happy for righteousness not to depend on you. It is a desperate, but thankful heart, that knows that righteousness and eternal Life are both a person, and that person is Christ, who lives in us.

Monday 23 February 2015

OK, so if you don't sell the Word and who would normally buy the whole message anyway.....?

How do you survive and provide for your family?




Expanded because Martin Revans on Facebook was kind enough to query.

Jesus had an answer to this one. But it's kind of the spiritual version of blonds have more fun.
If you preach a gospel of benefits and outer stuff.....like when Jesus did healing in a big way plus feeding the crowd you end up with crowds of.people like.Benny Hinn does and maybe big offerings.....but nothing really has shifted on people's insides.
(The end of the gospel is HUGE. According to Romans 8 it is not about people squeaking into heaven narrowly....it is about sons of men becoming sons of God, or realising God has made them such, and so coming into their own that from their insides out such power life and righteousness comes forth that they can be said to have come fully into their inheritance as God's own sons....and the thousands of years of bondage in creation is set free. We see this in a tiny way after every single genuine gathering in Jesus Name....most christians report how suddenly after these gatherings manythings that refused to shift suddenly shift and many prayers or desires of the heart are answered.)
Jesus was forced into operating a Matthew 5 filter system to make.it clear from the outset the types He was looking for.
(Passages like the Beatitudes make it clear God's Kingdom is about those who are prepared to taste the bitter....go right through it into the hidden blessings the other side)
He knew His time.was short and He couldn't faff around for decades like modern tv preachers....so He had to mean business and get at least a handful.turned.right round in only 3 years or so.
(The confusion with this sentence maybe that church preachers describe a "turned round person" as the 12 disciples following Jesus in the gospels.
But Jesus specifically says early on that He was giving Himself to nobody for He knew what was in them. AFTER the shattering experiences of the Cross and their total repentance, Jesus BREATHED UPON THEM in the Upper Room. These were the first really born again and turned round human beings in history)
So here's the conundrum.....how do you preach real change and still get supported? Yer Romans 3 to 5ers will always wear posh suits as they populate heaven for the future. But what if you want the Kingdom to come now?
(Romans 3 to 5 is the first material all believers have to get under their belt.
It is like the childhood stage of the New Covenant. You could be 70 and just been converted...this is the stuff you need to know. It is like the child and first bit of the young man stage of spiritual life in 1 John 2. It is about no condemnation, how our righteousness is to do with Jesus and not our works.
But this Jesus inside us is not fully grown. it is nowhere near the sort of Jesus that is so full of Rivers of Living Water that outer creation begins to be shifted by Him. The second half of the gospel is also about believing ON Jesus but THROUGH all our circumstances...of church, family and job....see Ephesians 1 to 5.)
Jesus (nevertheless)found an answer to that one.....we never hear him starving. ( He DID LOSE hundreds possibly thousands on one day....see John Chapter 6. Yet nevertheless He always believed for material provisions and food and clothing for all his disciples and families who were not in day jobs at this time. At the time of this chapter must have been quite a challenge...and this is many of our positions on the net right now. If we continue to preach at the level of Romans 3 to 5 churches and Christians will receive us with open arms. But if as someone has to....we push the envelope into mature Christianity...the Father level in 1 John 2...it covers the sort of material evangelicals don't like, nor do charismatics and we lose support.)
Union people haven't found an answer either....most are living from their Illuminati husband's pensions and if they speak too loud their spouses will divorce them. So what's the answer?
(By far the most who refer to themselves as Union people (not Trade Unions!!!) are those who have been blessed to see the full import of John 15 through writings and talks by Norman Grubb who is one of the first to articulate what St Paul's Romans letter is really saying. And he is a Cambrdge University man who spent the best part of 60 years as a missionary working on Galatians 2:20 and also all the faith passages of the Bible. Many of such people, truly forerunners who have pressed right through against incredible odds of a backward immature church world, and who are largely aged between 50 -90.
Many are on their spouses pensions...some who understand and some who don't. At this point hardly anybody on earth knows how all corporations dovetail into one pretty centralised control....of policy and belief and often money too....and ofcourse such saints are living precariously on these very pensions.)
Churches are hopeless because like the useless synagogues in Jesus time the people in them are there for highly bogus reasons.....and as Jesus found as soon as people really get delivered or healed the priests kick them out on their ear anyway.
(Churches are naive places, understanding very little about the whole Turnaround process of the gospels and the disciples. A bit like the organisation YWAM , our own Argentinian churches had the notion of creating young people's communities and doing the work of the gospels with us so we in turn could be sent out. But unlike Jesus, neither YWAM nor our churches had the first clue about what was in man. What CS LEWIS cryptically describes in his sci fi book....THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH. So these poor pastors start leading us through into what were the first stages of Romans 7 breakdowns....and ofcourse when the demon strengths began manifesting and destroying their own families or their lives, they were completely unprepared....and not least because none of them had properly been through their own Romans 7 experience yet.)
(So if churches do not and cannot yet support this kind of reality of message, the first time in recent history when any attempt has been made at getting anywhere near the training of the gospels,....if this doesn't work yet we have to be like St Paul and arrange our own support)
So you get a job ....and because it's a corporation it's all about the abuse of the individual for the bottom line profit.....and the particular corporation or education entity turns out to be somehow Masonic...Round table or"straight A illuminati "anyway? (Like Monsanto or BASF or Procter and Gamble practically laundering Satanism pure into the earth)
3rd level answers only please (ie not answers from people who only experience "the Lord's provison" from either tithe extorted congregations, or from saints endlessly rechurning the first things gospel of Romans 3 to 5 and therefore have little or no firsthand experience in receiving their needs purely by faith like say George Mueller and his 19th Century orphanages entirely by faith with not even begging or pleading letters)
and not from blonds.....I am grey.
Jesus first bound the strong man....there's a clue.
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Tavita NevilleRoss and Kisa Emmanuel Amos like this.

Kisa Emmanuel Amos Very true!
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Tavita NevilleRoss Ego is not a dirty word
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Martin Revans I feel thick when I read your posts, Chris - they are a bit exclusive...
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Chris Welch Martin Revans
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Saturday 21 February 2015

Revelation of God's Holiness - R Edward Miller


















Some biography about Ed Miller's son.
Robert is the eldest son of Dr. R. Edward and Eleanor Francis Miller, who were on their way to Argentina as missionaries, when Robert was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 22, 1945. While only a few months of age, he contracted rheumatic fever, which left his heart with a mitro-valve prolapse. As a small child he attended a crusade where he was prayed for by Evangelist/Prophet William Branham, and by God’s grace, he was made whole.

At the early age of five, Robert saw the outpouring of the Holy Spirit under his father’s ministry in a small church in Mendoza, Argentina. At age seven, he was present for the 1952 angelic visitation, with times of deep intercession at the Bible School in City Bell, Argentina. There, the angel foretold of a nationwide revival that was to soon come. In 1954 those promises were fulfilled through Evangelist Tommy Hicks. The story of this revival is written by his father, Dr. R. Edward Miller, in his book, “Secrets of the Argentine Revival.”

During his childhood, Robert would often go with his father to the healing crusades. There, he would sit on the platform and watch his father praying for the sick, diseased and dying. He witnessed untold numbers of miracles night after night. The paralyzed would leap up and walk, the blind would see, deaf ears would be opened and demon possessed people would be set free.

Saved by the grace of God at an early age and filled with the Holy Spirit at the age of 14, Robert began to minister as a translator for foreign missionaries in Argentina. In 1961 he went to Bethany Bible College (6820 Auto Club Rd., Minneapolis, MN), graduating in 1964.

He began to pastor his first church in Walport, Oregon, and was there for one year. He was then led by the Holy Spirit back to Argentina, where he taught in a Bible School in Mar del Plata for his father and also worked there with the children in the orphanage.

Shortly thereafter, he founded and was Pastor of a church there called “Peniel” (Face of God – Gen. 32:30). During those years, a precious move of God broke out among the Bible School students. Heavenly worship, deep repentance, cleansing, spiritual warfare and intercession were a daily occurrence. The Bible School and Church experienced a tremendous, unforgettable move of God’s Spirit, where the Lord awesomely manifested His Glory and Presence during untold hours of worship. Month after month, the services continued each day, and would last until four o’clock in the morning. People would go straight to work without sleep for weeks at a time (supernaturally sustained by God). It would take volumes to write of all the wonderful experiences, healings, miracles and deliverances that took place during those years. There was such conviction and repentance, with many being converted and filled with the Holy Spirit. Nearly everyone experienced God in an open, transparent, face to face relationship in the light of His manifested Glory and Presence. Many of the students attending “Peniel” during those years are serving the Lord Jesus and in the ministry today.

The Lord instructed Robert to return to the United States in 1974. He was ordained at The King’s Temple by Pastor Charlotte Baker and continued ministering throughout the USA in many churches until 1976.

Robert, again led by the Lord, returned to Argentina -- this time to the capital city of Buenos Aires, taking over a struggling church. By the grace of God, this work blossomed. Again, the Lord visited the people in extraordinary ways during those unforgettable years. How wonderful it was also to have Prophetess Ruth Heflin ministering at conferences. A group of about 25 young people gave their lives to the Lord Jesus, and joined the youth training school that had just begun. It was hard to envision at that time that all but one of these students would be serving the Lord and in the ministry.

The church continued to grow, and purchased land in a central location in the Capital city of Argentina and later built a lovely sanctuary on it, with the help and oversight of Beto Pagano, a church member, businessman and contractor.

Also, during these years, a “Quinta” (lovely park area) was purchased out in the country. A portion of this property was subdivided into lots and sold to people in the church, who built their houses and now live there at the Peniel Christian community. A youth camp facility was also begun. What tremendous encounters with God, the children, young people and counselors have experienced on those campgrounds!

Yet another part of this “Quinta” property was later developed into a conference center, with the capacity for 3,000 people, under the leadership of Robert’s brother John Miller who took over the work in 1984.

In July 1983, Robert moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to help his father who was pastor of a new church he had pioneered. Ministering together, the church grew to over 600 people, which God sovereignly drew from various states and from other nations (Taiwan, Australia, South America, etc).

A powerful move of the Holy Spirit, later called the “fire move”, broke out in this church, during the years they were pastors together, which lasted several years. Ministers and laypeople from many parts of the world came to the conferences and would ‘catch’ the fire and take it back with them to their churches. Again, it would take volumes to relate the accounts of this move of God’s Spirit during those years in Atlanta, but we will share just a few highlights.

Such were the manifestations of power and fire, that some would literally see the flames as lightning bolts. Some could actually feel this intense heat of the flames upon their bodies. While many, because of fear, could not stand the intensity of the Holy Spirit manifesting this way, countless others who did not yield to their fears and close their hearts, were given open visions and transported into the world of the Spirit, for hours at a time. People would call these experiences “virtual reality”, for many of them were still conscious of this world, while in the spirit world other. Many were transported in vision to Heaven or hell and would describe the things they both saw, and experienced, totally unaware that they were speaking in this world, where others could hear witness what they were describing. Most everyone experienced the crucifixion of Jesus in a very personal way, and were then brought into a life changing love relationship with Him.

Those whose experiences took them to hell, would cry out because of the burning flames and repent of the hidden sins in their lives. Many were given to identify themselves with the Cross of Christ, as if they were the ones who had killed Him. (Acts 2:23 …ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.) Then after this experience, the Lord would reveal to them His overwhelming love and mercy, letting them know that they had not taken His life, but that He had willingly given it on their behalf, so they were completely forgiven. Impossible to describe, the depth of gratitude and worship that poured out of these lives, as tears bathed their faces and the radiance of God’s love and glory lit their countenances.

A classic example of those taken to Heaven in a vision is the experience of a Taiwanese woman, who for many years had lived in condemnation and torment over a past abortion. In one of these meetings, while under the power, she was taken to Heaven. A beautiful teenage Chinese girl came to meet her with a joyful, radiant face, calling her, “mother.” She told her mother, among many other things, “I love you and forgive you. Please don’t suffer anymore, because I’m happy here in Heaven and I love being with Jesus.” This woman came back from this experience so radically set free, that she has never more been plagued by those condemning torments. Unforgettable for sure were the experiences that all who were there, encountered. That fire spread to many churches in different countries, including Argentina, Canada, England, Holland, Panama and the United States.

A few years later, Robert was invited to minister in the country of Panama, which turned out to be an incredible visitation of the Lord. The services were aired live over radio waves throughout Panama, then the calls began pouring into the radio stations, telling of supernatural things God was doing while people were listening to the live services in progress. An architect who was driving on his way home, was listening to this service, when the sense of God's Presence became so strong in his vehicle, he had to pull over on the shoulder of the road, no longer able to drive, because he was crying uncontrollably. He had been backslidden for some time and the Lord restored him back to Himself right there.

Another account was of a Christian manager of a factory who was on her lunch break. She was listening to the service over the radio and began to weep uncontrollably. She then fell under the power of the Holy Spirit. When other operators saw what had happened through the window into her office, they went in to see what was taking place and upon hearing the radio message, they too fell under the power of the Spirit. Everyone in the factory spontaneously broke into tears, dropping everything and God began to move among them.

Another report was of a pastor and his wife from the interior of the country who could not be at the conference, and had said that as they were listening to the message over the radio waves, they clasped hands around a coffee table and began to pray, when suddenly they were slain under the power of the Holy Spirit and fell on the floor weeping. There were reports about several other people who from their homes reported the same phenomena. Truly, God had come and was calling His people to Himself.

Robert has been privileged to minister in many countries. By the year 1995, he had ministered in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Israel, Greece, South Africa, England, Holland, Spain and Wales. Countless people’s lives have been transformed as they encounter the reality of Jesus Christ. Robert is a spiritual father to pastors and leaders in several countries (edifying, encouraging, exhorting, imparting his gifts and anointing to the next generation).

In July of 2001, Robert went to Buenos Aires, Argentina to be with his father until Nov. 1, 2001, at which time the Lord took Dr. R. Edward Miller home to Glory. Robert and Deborah returned to Georgia, U.S.A. in the first part of 2002, founding the church, “Peniel Int’l Fellowship” in Union City. This church has an outreach in Argentina for some of the poorest and needy children. Thousands of dollars every year are sent to feed and clothe the children who gather together at the new “Quinta” outside of Mar del Plata, which was purchased in 2005. Already the miraculous provisions of God for the poor and less fortunate of that area, are too numerous to mention. Many are coming to know Jesus as their Savior and are baptized in water and filled with the Holy Spirit, as a result of this outreach that is under the direction of Daniel and Inez Kloster.

In November of 2005, in recognition of the call on their lives, both Robert and Deborah were ordained at White Horse Christian Center. In January of 2012 the Lord led the Millers to return to metro Atlanta, GA as their home base, as they minister in many churches in the U.S.A. and abroad.

Passionate for God, Robert often ministers in the prophetic psalmist anointing, where the Heavens open and the manifested Presence of God fills congregations with the sense of God’s heavenly glory. People meet God face to face and those encounters transform their lives for eternity.

from Revival carriers.org

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Friday 20 February 2015

R.Edward Miller - Love

6 Videos and the biography of R. Edward Miller













On March 27, 1917, Robert Edward Miller was born in Alsea, Oregon, U.S.A. He is the son of Dr. Buford Charles Miller, a Baptist minister, who came into the full gospel message through the ministry of the well known Aimee Semple McPherson. He was used by the Lord in the healing ministry with Dr. Charles S. Price and pioneered many large churches with his team of young people in Southeastern Oregon.

After his father's untimely death, Edward Miller, at the early age of 11, spent ten years working on the farm of his aunt and uncle. Separated from his peers and locked into long hours of farm labor, he learned to pray. His Bible was his companion. One day, while working in the fields, he had an encounter with God and a genuine conversion.

Attending Bible College in Southern California, he again experienced the Presence of the Lord like he had as a child in the field on the farm. During his college years, there were many days when classes were suspended, because the Holy Spirit visited them. During these days of prayer and seeking God, he was challenged to some day go to the mission field.

After Bible College, he took up his first pastorate among the Chiloquin Indians in Chiloquin, Oregon. After this, he then moved to Bandon, Oregon to pastor his second church.

Years later “The Haven of Rest” and the "Crew of the Good Ship Grace" (a radio broadcast) financially sponsored the Millers, enabling them to go to South America to answer the call of God to become missionaries in a foreign land. On their way to South America, the ship was detained in Puerto Rico due to the United State’s involvement in the war with Japan. They remained in Puerto Rico for a couple of years, ministering evangelistically and in several churches. After this time, they continued on down to Montevideo, Uruguay's capitol city, where they ministered for several years in tent evangelism and pioneered a full gospel church. Dr. Miller then moved down to Argentina, which, unknown to him, was to become his "life work."

In the fall of 1948, he went to Mendoza, Argentina at the foot of the South American Andes Mountains. There, tired of “church as usual”, he set himself apart to intensely seek the Lord for 8 hours every day. He had to discover for himself, the same power that he had seen in other ministries and churches as a child. After several months, his prayers were answered and he experienced a dynamic encounter with God. Shortly afterward, a move of the Holy Spirit broke out in the church which he was pastoring. (The story of the moving of the Holy Spirit in Mendoza is related in his book, "Secrets of the Argentine Revival").

He spent many years in Argentina as a missionary, ministering in crusades as an evangelist and witnessing many supernatural miracles and conversions. He not only pioneered several churches, but traveled to many churches throughout the country where spontaneous visitations of God would break forth. He founded a Bible School in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina, where for several years there was an unusual move of the Holy Spirit and a manifestation of God’s Presence. Many of the students went on to serve the Lord, founding churches in many provinces of the country.

Dr. Miller also began an orphanage for abandoned children, which became very well known in the city of Mar del Plata. By faith, God brought in offerings to construct all the buildings.

The Millers remained in Argentina until 1974, strengthening the Peniel churches and working with their sons, Robert and John, and adoptive daughter Annie.

The Holy Spirit had spoken to the Millers, telling them that they were to go forth to churches in various other nations to strengthen their faith for an onward move into the purposes of God. So in March 1974, they left the work in Argentina to move into a larger harvest field. For the next six and one-half years they traveled around the world several times, ministering in numerous countries, including Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East and the United Kingdom.

In 1980 they returned to the United States, where God directed them to begin a work in Atlanta, Georgia. With a small group of about a dozen hungry believers, Peniel Bible Assemblies began with prayer and bible studies in one of the homes. As God began to sovereignly draw others to the fellowship from neighboring areas - as well as from other states and countries - it was necessary to find a larger place to meet, as the number of those desirous of moving into the purposes of God continually increased. Eventually, property was purchased and a church built to seat 700 people, which soon was filled. A tremendous move of the Spirit of God took place during the years of 1986 to 1994. Too numerous to mention here, are the countless testimonies of those who had life-changing encounters with God as He manifested His Presence, Glory and power.

Once again the Millers felt led to travel overseas. This time most of their efforts were spent ministering in Taiwan and Malaysia. The impact of God’s sovereign move through their ministry there, lasted for many years, with thousands of lives changed. So much so, that China’s “eternal First Lady” Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, asked to have an interview with him. She also had him flown to her private residence to pray for one of her family members.

Dr. R. Edward Miller has authored a number of books and has an extensive library of audio messages, which continue to minister to many around the world. His rich insight into the Scriptures and the Presence of God in his personal life, have brought spiritual awakening and enrichment to many who have desired a deeper walk with God.

In their final years, the Miller’s returned to Argentina, where God called both of them to their eternal home with Himself.  from revival carriers.org




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Saturday 14 February 2015

Job part 2 - The Righteousness of Job - Annalize Mouton



I have searched the Lord's heart on "death to self" or "dying to self" now for quite a long time, and this is what He has shown me: Job was a man who had completely died to a selfhood apart from God. He was alive only to a God that he knew to be his friend and through whose goodness alone, he was clothed with His righteousness. And if you think that Job didn't know about that, please read and then resolve within yourself to once and forever not know yourself or any other person after the flesh, but only after His spirit within them!

If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, then…your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'

If we do not put on the righteousness of God, everything in our lives will run out. The same as happened to the prodigal. Our finances, our health, our wisdom, our strength, whatever we considered to be ours. We have to return to our Father/our Origin and be clothed upon with Himself, His life, His Righteousness, His garment, and live in His abundance of life and everything else. Where does this returning (repentance) happen? In our minds, our awareness, consciousness, our thinking and eventually the words we speak and the works we do. For us to enjoy the full benefits of our Father’s house we need to have our consciences purged by fire of the dead works of our wandering-years and the resulting shame and guilt. When we return, we find that our Father has all the time been waiting for us, and He comes running towards us with outstretched arms and is not even interested in us confessing our sins or becoming his servants. Why? Because in His mind we are, has been and always will be His very own beloved children, made in His image and likeness. If that was not the absolute, unshakeable TRUTH, Adam and Eve would have been put to death immediately, and God would just have had to start all over with creating another man. The blood of goats and bulls could never take away sin, and it never did. Our God is terribly fearsome in His fiery Holiness and I really do not think we have even caught a tiny glimpse of that yet. Just think about all the preparations and coverings and sacrifices needed for service in and entering the tabernacle of Moses! All to allow frail human beings like us to come into His Manifested Presence/a Pillar of Fire/Thunderings and Lightnings. In His presence no sin can be and no sinful person can ever stand – we all would be fried to crisp and ashes immediately. Think about it. After Adam and Eve sinned, they knew they’ve had it! They had lost their light covering and were desperately trying to cover themselves with something so as not to be annihilated immediately! Yet, here comes God as usual, in the cool of the day (hear what these words are saying of Him who is a consuming fire, eternal burning) and He seeks them out! He calls for them, as if they had never sinned! And as He covers them so that they might be able to stand upright in His presence again, they found out that He has had a covering prepared for them – His own spotless Life Blood, Lamb, Jesus Christ slain before the foundation of the earth. The cross on which sin died in the heart of Father God even before He made man.

Now, take another look at Job: There is what God says and continues to say about Job right through until the end. Then we also read what satan says about him, his friends, and Job himself. God’s word about Job – to satan in the heavenly court, to Job’s friends and eventually to Job himself, and Job's own words about himself and God somehow line up (agree):

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

God: 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

God: 2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” (He has kept his faith in me despite the fact that you persuaded me to let you harm him without any cause.)

Eliphaz: 5:8 “If I were you, I would go to God and confess my sins (present my case) to him.

Job: 6:29 “Desist now, let there be no injustice; even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.”

Bildad: 8:6 If you are pure and upright, surely now He would rouse Himself for you and restore your righteous estate.

Zophar: 11:4 you have said, ‘My teaching is pure, and I am innocent in your eyes.’

Job: 12:4 I am a joke to my friends, the one who called on God and He answered him; the just and blameless man is a joke.

Job: 13:15 Nevertheless, I am going to argue my case with Him. This at least will be in my favour, that I am not godless, to be instantly rejected from His presence. …This is my case: I know that I am righteous.

Eliphaz: 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

Job: 16:17 Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.

Job: 17:13 and 14 (Now remember here that the name Job also means Who is my Father?) If I say to corruption (death), ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’ where then is my hope – who can see any hope for me? (So many think that death has fathered them and is their salvation! But not so Job.)

Bildad: 18:5 The truth remains that if you do not prosper, it is because you are wicked.

Job: 19:3 Ten times now you have declared me a sinner.

Job: 19:25 But as for me [Job] I know that my Redeemer lives …this body shall see God. Then He will be on my side. Yes, I shall see Him, not as a stranger, but as a friend! What a glorious hope!

Eliphaz: 22:4 Is it because you are good that He is punishing you? Not at all! It is because of your wickedness! Your sins are endless!

Job: 23:10 He knows every detail of what is happening to me; and when He has examined me, He will pronounce me completely innocent – as pure as solid gold!

Bildad: 25:4 How can a mere man stand before God and claim to be righteous?

Job: 27:2 I vow… that as long as I live …my lips shall speak no evil… I will never, never agree that you are right; until I die I will vow my innocence. I am not a sinner – I repeat it again and again. My conscience is clear for as long as I live.

Job: 29:14 …righteousness was my clothing.

Job: 31:35 Look, I will sign my signature to my defence; now let the Almighty show me that I am wrong; let Him approve the indictments made against me by my enemies.

32:1 The three men refused to reply further to Job because he kept insisting on his innocence. Then Elihu became angry because Job refused to admit he had sinned and to acknowledge that God had just cause for punshing him.

Elihu: 32:11 I have waited all this time … but not one of them has convinced Job that he is a sinner, or has proved that he is.

Elihu: 33:8 You have said it in my hearing … again and again. ‘I am pure, I am innocent; I have not sinned.’

Elihu: 34:7 Who else is as arrogant as Job?

God to Eliphaz: 42:8 I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not been right in what you have said about me, as my servant Job was … and my servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf, and won’t destroy you as I should because of your sin [which they insisted on they have] your failure to speak rightly concerning my servant Job.

How did Job overcome his friend's (acting as the accuser here) accusations and ended up being blessed so outrageously by God again? By having a clear conscience before God and men, by clothing himself with righteousness, and casting down the arguments and speculations of proud men against the knowledge of God’s own righteousness, goodness and kindness [shown toward men in Christ Jesus].

Job stood firm on his knowledge of God, the rock of his salvation.

Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb [slain before the foundations of the earth], and by the word of their testimony [again and again and not agreeing with the accuser]; and they loved not their lives unto the death [even though He slay me, I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES AND I SHALL SEE HIM IN MY FLESH].

Most of us are at a breaking point: we have run out of our own resources (the inheritance of life that we received at our natural birth). We need healing in our bodies, finances, restoration in relationships… our oil has been depleted… we need life and that in abundance in every area of our lives. And everyone around us, our families, friends, nations, are all in dire need of Abundant God-kind of Life.

We have to understand that what we are contending for is the double portion, which belongs to the eldest son, the First Born! Therefore it is crucial for us to enter fully into the life of Jesus Christ, God Himself. He is the First Born. And then we receive of His fullness all spiritual blessings! Everything! And this is something we have to do ourselves. The Spirit within us bears witness that we are the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. As He is, so are we. Clothe yourself with the Righteousness of God. Agree with who and what God says you are. Do it today! The prodigal came to his senses – his right mind, the mind of Christ. Paul says: we have the mind of Christ. Have you come to your right mind, yet?

Colossians 1:15 -23 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, [and I, Annalize Mouton], have become a servant.


Scripture quotations mainly from The Living Bible

Illustration: from William Blake's Illustrations of the Book of Job

Friday 13 February 2015

Job part 1 - The Unveiling in flesh - Annalize Mouton

A few years ago the Lord opened the book of Job to me more, and had me study it with Revelation and the Gospels, Romans and Hebrews. It is time I believe to share just some of it (this is by no means complete, there is so much more, but time and space do not allow me to touch on more now – only an appetizer to whet your appetite to really, diligently search out the hidden things of God, to sit at His feet and be taught of Him – He will surely give us the treasures of darkness, share with us the secret of the snow). I pray that the eyes of our understanding may be opened so that we would be able to compare spiritual truth with spiritual. And I would love to hear what the Spirit reveals to you or had revealed to you.

Most of the interpretations or commentaries available on this very old book (some say oldest) do not look at the whole story of Job through “the finished work of the cross”. And without that, much of it will stay hidden, obscure. This is a book about the awakening of Job to his origin, to who his Father is and who he was and who everyone else was/is – The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring. (Acts 17)

It really is the unveiling, the revelation of Jesus Christ and His generation, the Morning Star and the morning stars, a corporate, many membered Spiritual Man, the New Jerusalem, Zion from whom the mature Sons of God are being birthed one here, one there. Also always keep in mind that Hebraic thinking is circular and not linear – this is a story that began in ages past, is, and shall be – as in the beginning, so it shall be in the end. In the beginning God …When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

It is a move from a fear-based religion to an intimate knowledge of Love and Life. It is the story of a home-coming… of a servant becoming a mature Son/huios.

Everything in this book – all names and numbers, the symbolism, everything is extremely important and revealing.

So brothers and sisters, sons of God, morning stars, please: Consider My servant Job!

Behold, …My servant the Branch. … Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, the son of Man and the Son of God, the suffering servant …He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.. In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious. …Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. …I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

The meaning of the name Job in Hebrew has been debated. Possible meanings range from "to show hostility”, "enemy of God", ”alienated”, "repent" or “return”, 'he who turns (to God)’, “No Father” or “Where Is My Father?”.

The name Uz is mentioned several times in the Bible. In Genesis Uz is the son of Aram, a direct descendant of Shem. Genesis 10:23
The word may also be related etymologically to the word oz, meaning 'east'.In the Book of Job (1:3), Job is described as "the greatest of all the people of the East.”

The first word applied to Job is "blameless" which is a translation of the Hebrew word tam – a word often used to describe sacrificial animals that were required to be without blemish or perfect. (Jesus the spotless Lamb of God) The second word describing Job was "upright." (My Righteous One) This word meant that Job faithfully obeyed God’s laws. (In Him was no sin) This included justice and mercy in the treatment of other people. (Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.) The third description of Job is a brief phrase, "he feared God." The fear of God is the highest expression in the Wisdom literature to describe wisdom. The fourth description is the phrase, "he turned away from evil.”

The numbers three and seven appear twice and five plus five or ten is mentioned once. The numbers three, seven, and ten were frequently used in the Bible to symbolize completeness. There was nothing that Job lacked materially in the culture in which he lived. The full measure of God’s blessing can be seen in verse 2 where the text states that Job had seven sons and three daughters. Both Ruth 4:15 and I Samuel 2:5 describe seven children as the ideal number. Job is further blessed in that he has seven sons, which were more favored than daughters, plus three daughters. (Compare this with his possessions, sons and daughters at the end).

Job 1:6 and on… Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary, the accuser, the law) came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Where did this happen? Within Job. Jesus said: the kingdom of heaven is within, God dwells within … His throne is within …Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. …"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Look at the whole process set loose by God’s words! Tribulation, severe hardships, a shaking of everything that could possibly be shaken – accumulated things, son and daughters, mindsets, Job had trouble on all sides. Sickness and death as if to say, see Job, this is what all your serving God and sacrifices and offerings brought you – you’re just a poor, abandoned sinner, curse God and die like a mere man! Dust to dust, ashes to ashes… Job’s persistent cry though: I am righteous, even though He slay me, I know My Redeemer lives. …our faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar heard of Job’s terrible losses and agreed to go to Job and comfort him. Again, look at the meaning of their names and their reasonings:

Eliphaz – “God is fine gold”, “God is his strength”, “the endeavor of God“.
He was Son of Esau by Adah, and father of Teman, Kenaz and Amalek (Genesis 36:4,10; 1 Chronicles 1:35). The Temanitee were celebrated for their wisdom, as we learn from Jeremiah, who says (Jeremiah 49:7), "Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?" Job's friend was probably among their wisest men at the time; and his discourses certainly show a considerable knowledge of human nature.

Bildad’s name consists of two elements, but there's no consensus on which ones those are.
The first part of the name comes from the Babylonian divine name Bel, which is closely related to the name Baal, and means Lord: other sources further agree that the second part of the name Bildad comes from the verb ידד (yadad), which probably means to love: Hence, Bel Has Loved. Also son of contention, old friendship.

Zohar – “rising early”, “crown”, “sparrow or chirping”, “tsphar, meaning doubtful, supposed from root meaning "to leap” (to hinge on two thoughts? a double-minded man?)

All of them basically accused Job and his children of sin and therefore they themselves were responsible for the destruction of their lives.

Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.… Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ… For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, "He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness. The carnal mind is at enmity with God. be renewed in your mind… put on the mind of Christ.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him. My Redeemer lives! And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

Then God spoke to Job and he “saw” Him. And what does God say to Him? Amongst others: Job don’t you remember, come on Job, wake up! Put on your garment of splendour, gird the loins of your mind… Don’t you remember Job…let’s reason together… Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me…Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? …Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! … Come on, Job, wake up!

And as happened to Moses, Isaiah, Paul, John on Patmos, so it happened with Job: My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.
…”For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty. …And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. … No flesh can see God and live … No man has seen God at any time; The Only Begotten God Who is in the bosom of The Father, he has declared him. …Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. …For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know, even as also I am known. And what is this knowing? And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. …I pray for them… that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

One with the Father, Job becomes a Father after God’s own heart. And only then could he, Job, birth the man-child, the spotless bride, male and female – the generation of Jesus Christ. And inherit the kingdom prepared before time. The LORD blessed the latter days of Job (the spiritual man) more than his beginning (the natural man); and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters.…

The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers (Job 42:14-15).

The names again are significant, and here are their meanings:
• Jemimah means “dove”, a symbol of peace …
Keziah is another spelling of the word cassia = incense or a fragrance … For we are a sweet odour of Christ to God
Keren-Happuch literally means “the horn of adornment”, beautifier – and is a reference, therefore, to the outward beauty that comes from an inward character.

Secondly, Job gave the girls an inheritance, as well as to their brothers. According to the Old Testament, the inheritance was only given to the males of the family and not the females. The sons were given an inheritance. The only reason girls were given an inheritance was if there father were to die without having a male heir (Numbers 27:8). If a girl were given an inheritance then she was not allowed to marry anyone other than a man from here father’s tribe. God did not allow the inheritance of one tribe to pass along to another tribe (Numbers 36).

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
“O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
“Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

Painting: Job by Bonnat

Tuesday 10 February 2015

Let's Get To The Heart of the Submission Doctrine

Having spoken out so strongly again about Apostolic Covering I want to teach this one clearly.
Graham Cooke, Bill Johnson,Rick Joyner and others who talk on the Courts of Heaven and Protocols of heaven RIGHTFULLY observe there is a LINE of AUTHORITY but this is where their teaching becomes false.Not just false. It is the very method the devil has used to hook Kenneth Copeland up with the Pope and Rick Joyner up with the Order of Malta.

Our generation were told that Gifts were given by the Ascended Christ....first apostles then prophets etc.The teaching then went out that we had to be in a line of submission in order for any of our prayers to get answered and for us all to grow.

Around 1949 when Ed Miller was seeking God to see a breakthrough in Argentina, the Lord did far more than Ed planned for. For a start tthe revival that came through Tommy Hicks was immense, filling complete stadia as thousands literally got healed. But far more than that God began opening up the realm of the thirdlevel church, a pattern Ed taught for the rest of his earthly life seeing four or five more revivals. For the Melchizedek Order, or Holiest Place order is where revivals are triggered from. This is the protocol Jesus entered when He was baptised in the Spirit, and it is the same realm He is catching or rapturing His saints into as they finally wake up to what was theory before.....that they are a Kingdom of Kings and Priests unto God. However in 1949 an angel appeared to them and specifically warned them by name that Fort Lauderdale would be a false movement.
Can you imagine, when my whole foundation in 1976 had come through most of these men? Don Basham started the Holy Spirit move in 1967 in my hometown. Derek Prince was someone we all listened to. And who could fail to notice the way Ern Baxter was being used in the Bible Weeks? These were the Fort Lauderdale Ministries.

But my role as a teacher in the Body of Christ is to teach truth where there is error.
And using an explanation of Ed Miller himself I want to really press home what is actually true.

The first generation of leaders in this new corporate Kingdom vision have not really spent long enough getting the heavenly blueprint. If we take a phrase of St Paul....
about the ascended Christ giving gifts unto men of apostles and prophets and superimpose this upon our own worldly thinking about authority, what we end up with is the current bondages in the church.

SUBMISSION coupled with the spirit of this world means the same as ISLAM.
Islam actually means submission.

"You are not to lord it over one another as is the custom of gentiles"
Jesus said "Call no man Father". So Catholics do precisely that, and call a man Father or POPE.

So how are we to reconcile things?
In the Spirit it is easy.
Ed Miller explains.
All ministries are like Taxi Drivers to the Throne of God but they do it free of charge. There are no meters running. When people are at the throne of God the taxi Drivers drop them off and leave them there.
Ministries in the New Covenant are eunuchs. They minister but don't involve themselves to their gain. They bring Word. They say the things God is saying. Even things of rule and authority, then they shut up.

Ministries train people within the New Covenant to hook up with the Melchizedek Order at the throne of God for themselves. The New Covenant is real, which specifically states "and no man shall teach or say to his brother know the Lord for all shall know Me from the least to the greatest."

Until people's own inner hearing is sorted, we have to bring Word to awaken that special piece of equipment. But once the New Covenant is up and running in someone's life then they will see the Kingdom as well or better than us who taught them.

When we speak of alignment it is purely in terms of the Throne of God, but apostolic ministries are good descriptions of what Kind David wrote in Psalm 84.
Blessed are they whose strength is in Thee, in whose hearts are the highways to Zion. They go into valleys of weeping and they make it a place of streams.

Ministries stand or fall on their Holy Spirit authority, not on human badges. When Paul was disciplining the Corinthian guy for sleeping with his father's new wife....the most interesting thing for me is this phrase....

when you are gathered
and the Holy Spirit is present
and my spirit is among you...

which is kind of a package that is a bit mystical....but I take it to mean in a similar way to Jorge Pradas or Ed Miller....who just needed to be present in a meeting and it was like their authority created an "open heaven" in a church gathering.
John 2 describes mature ministries as thse who know the One who is from the Beginning. They are beyond winds of doctrine....they just KNOW GOD...in their hearts are the very highways to Zion....they are connected to the Melchizedek order. They are like wifi broadband units giving clear sattellite reception through to the Throne of God. It's not that they exercise earthly rulership in the manner of lording it over people. Why would you need to do that if you are showing others how to connect with the Melchizedek order themselves?

Not even Jesus healed everybody in Jerusalem....there were some left for the apostles. Jesus certainly did hardly anything in Nazareth. Yet Jesus had that direct confrontation with the Enemy, in the wilderness and binding the strong man gained a potential certificate of ministry over Israel. It was limited to Israel and those who had so much faith they literally pulled involvement out of Him....like the Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion. But this modern charismatic idea of authority over geographies for earthly rule and lording it over congregation members is just total baloney.....not evenJesus had that....as witnessed at His trial.Jesus had nothing on those 12 disciples who just walked off. If the same had happened to Bill Johnson or Rick Joyner they would have set their staff on them and harangued them with something. This is a correction of thinking that needs to go right into the whole of the current charismatic networks of churches.