I am a passionate person, I don't know of anyone who knows me who would disagree. I am hot or cold, I am extreme, intense. I'm not saying I can't be relaxed because more and more I'm just peaceful and relaxed. But when I believe something, I really believe it! Funnily enough this can lead me to get discouraged and doubt I mean doubt everything. When I don't see healing, or financial provision, or changes in people/relationships, or whatever, I get angry sometimes. I start thinking that maybe this God stuff is all my imagination, that maybe none of it is real. Like I said, I'm either hot or cold!
But generally my extreme doubts, anger, discouragement, even depression all add up to one thing--hunger. I am starving for intimacy, a fresh experience, a fresh conversation, with Jesus. I just miss him. Do you know what I mean? I think my Christian experience has been pretty broad, non-charismatic and charismatic, arminian and calvinist, etc... But every church I've ever been part of has had legalism as a common denominator.
Some mixed in a little law, some alot. Some were honest about it, some called it 'grace'. But even if the methods or doctrines about getting God to show up or do something were different, they all had methods. Some believed that prayer was the key (yeah, I've read Ravenhill and God knows how many others), some believe if you really want something (revival anyone?) than add fasting to that. Some say confessions of sin and repentance is key, actually, many claim this on both arminian and calvinist sides. We must consecrate the temple, purify it, clean it out or the Holy Spirit will not fill the temple (this leans very heavily on OT imagery obviously). I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of people who believe that faith and the word of faith (speaking things out) is the key to getting whatever it is that you need.
I believe that faith and prayer are great, but they are the fruit of the answer, not the answer. There is no method for receiving any of God's blessings, the greatest of which is his constant presence. I'm tired of begging God for what I need or want, especially begging for him to reveal himself, manifest himself to me.
You see, when I first started listening to Rob Rufus, getting my first real glimpse of the glorious gospel of grace, I would be caught up in a crazy swirl of joy and love, it was euphoric and it would last for hours sometimes. I would wake up in the night and God's presence was so real! His voice was so clear! It was beautiful and wonderful. At any moment in the day I could say "God, you there?" and he would be there in this tangible powerful way. I was so caught up in his love!
But then something really weird happened, which I don't think I've shared with anyone but Aaron. One night after listening to some grace preaching I was lying in bed still caught up in God's glorious presence and I must have drifted off to sleep. I was woken up by such an evil presence that was paralyzing me so that I could not speak without a pronounced effort. Finally I said "Jesus" and the evil presence left.
Now, things like this had happened to me lots of times before, but for some reason this experience had a horrible effect on me. Because I fell asleep in God's presence and woke up in fear, in my mind God's presence just kind of turned on me so to speak. It's really strange, but especially at first I could not experience God's presence anymore the way I had been because every time he came I became afraid, I instinctively withdrew. Very very strange, since in general I'm not afraid of demons (apart from the initial reaction when you're first caught off guard or you're having a dream) Over time the effects have been dulled and of course I've experienced God's presence many times, but it has never been the same.
I know this is a very weird story but I guess I don't care what people think of me so much. I don't really know why I'm sharing it in relation to this post but I think I'll just leave it for whatever it's worth.
Anyway, I don't appreciate worship songs that are begging for God to come or whatever. I think they ignore the fact that he has come, Jesus has come and made a way for us to enter into the holy of holies! There is a new a living way, not a dead ritualistic way that sends in the holiest guy you can find with a rope tied around his leg hoping he can please God enough to get everyone safely through another year.
Now we have a great high priest who has entered the holy place with his own blood. Did God strike him down? Or is the blood of Jesus so superior to the blood of bulls and goats that God had to strike down the whole system? The curtain was torn from top to bottom because for any other sacrifice to be offered after the blood of Jesus had been sprinkled would have been blasphemy. Think about that!
We are not beggars, we are sons! We live in our father's kingdom, we carry out his word, his work, with authority. There is no power on earth that can stop us from victory! There is no power on earth that can keep us from our father and his love.
I'm putting up another song that I love. I love it because it doesn't say "will you come" it says "you will come". Now yes, he is already here, but he also promised to come! He said where two or three were gathered he'd be there, he also said "I will never leave you". So both are true, but in either case, there's no place for begging unless you are under the law and still a slave. But I am not!
Showing posts with label spiritual warfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual warfare. Show all posts
Friday, January 09, 2009
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Changing People
I don't know if I put the right title for this post, but it's the best I could come up with. It seems lately that many of my grace friends have been coming under attack lately, having people close to them bring serious accusation and condemnation. Well, I guess I decided to join in! Well, not really...but I'm getting a small taste here and there. Honestly, it's been good for me and I hope it will be even better for my friends, since their attacks have been more brutal I can only imagine God will step up with an even more amazing demonstration of the grace and blessing they already believe in!
It seems that when people come to us with accusation, it is often a thinly cloaked attempt to change or conform us to their idea or standard of who and what we should be. They hold us up to themselves and/or other ideals they have invented as 'godly' and see us as fallen short. They are not happy with our performance or even our whole personality and therefore they come to us demanding us to change. They come assuming they know us, what we truly think and feel; they come presuming they can control us by humbling us (or perhaps more accurately, humiliating us) through judgements they pronounce on us. Often all this is very subtle, and most often it is a reflection of how these people live from day to day, under constant condemnation and fear of failure. They are not happy people, but insecure and beaten down. They are trying to change the people around them so they can feel better about their own lives.
My unbelieving response to this kind of pressure to change through guilt manipulation would be to try to defend myself against accusation, trying to justify myself even by repenting and confessing sin to the human accuser, apologizing for something that may not even be wrong. But the way I respond to accusation is changing, because the more I realize I AM JUSTIFIED ALREADY, the less power condemnation holds over me. I still struggle at times with people trying to put guilt on me, especially when those people are very close to me (such as husband or parent...) but God's grace is changing me.
This change is coming by a deep trust in God's love for me, that when I hear accusation I KNOW it is not from him. Immediately when accusation comes, the first thing I feel is God's love, his manifest presence, his voice speaking to me that he loves me just the way I am. He loves everything about my personality, my weaknesses do not concern him. I can trust that his grace IS changing me and I can live in rest and joy knowing that it's his timeline, his seed will grow and grow because it is supernaturally powerful to overcome all hindrances that may come. This amazing security I have in my Father and his love for me is producing fruit! I am able to handle accusation, even closely examine it without being angry with the person bringing it. Without bitterness, resentment, or fear or doubt!
My ideas about how to change people are changing. The more I understand that it is God's love changing me on his schedule, the more I have patience and love for my brothers and sisters who are also on God's schedule. There is only one thing we do to change people, or ourselves: sow grace. I recently listened to Rob preaching on the parable of the sower (which was excellent by the way!) so I've been thinking about it a lot.
"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:23
Before we can sow the word of grace, we have to receive it, hear it and understand it. We have to let it stay in the soil of our hearts until it grows, not giving up when it doesn't yield a crop on the first day, or second, or third...being patient and trusting the power of the seed that God has planted in us.
I think the best way to deal with accusation is to boldly and unashamedly stand in the gift of righteousness before our accusers, understanding that ALL accusation ultimately comes from Satan and never our father in heaven. We can allow our shield of faith to quench every fiery dart and our temptation to pick up the same demonic weapons of condemnation and accusation will be overcome as we realize God has already fully equipped us to stand firm against these attacks. God has accused Jesus of ALL our sin (yes, past, present, and future), has completely punished it in his body, and given us perfect righteousness as a gift because we have believed in Jesus. He will never never accuse us of sin or faults. The more we understand this, the more accusation becomes irrelevant. God changes us by his loving presence, by speaking the truths of the gospel to us over and over in fresh ways.
So when accusation comes, I can peacefully recognize that someone is merely regarding me according to the flesh and not according to faith and I don't need to panic or hang my head in shame. I bring the accusation to my Father, and he says 'That's a LIE, I have declared you RIGHTEOUS!!!" I am free to be who I am because I am in Christ! And now that I am free, I can joyfully allow others to also be free without feeling I need to be changing them either. Changing people, either ourselves or anyone else, is not our job. We sow the seeds of grace that come from Jesus, and he makes the seeds grow!
Some more resources for overcoming condemnation:
Victory Over Condemnation (Rob Rufus)
City Church International message archives
Dynamic Love Ministries (Bertie Brits)
Joseph Prince Ministries
It seems that when people come to us with accusation, it is often a thinly cloaked attempt to change or conform us to their idea or standard of who and what we should be. They hold us up to themselves and/or other ideals they have invented as 'godly' and see us as fallen short. They are not happy with our performance or even our whole personality and therefore they come to us demanding us to change. They come assuming they know us, what we truly think and feel; they come presuming they can control us by humbling us (or perhaps more accurately, humiliating us) through judgements they pronounce on us. Often all this is very subtle, and most often it is a reflection of how these people live from day to day, under constant condemnation and fear of failure. They are not happy people, but insecure and beaten down. They are trying to change the people around them so they can feel better about their own lives.
My unbelieving response to this kind of pressure to change through guilt manipulation would be to try to defend myself against accusation, trying to justify myself even by repenting and confessing sin to the human accuser, apologizing for something that may not even be wrong. But the way I respond to accusation is changing, because the more I realize I AM JUSTIFIED ALREADY, the less power condemnation holds over me. I still struggle at times with people trying to put guilt on me, especially when those people are very close to me (such as husband or parent...) but God's grace is changing me.
This change is coming by a deep trust in God's love for me, that when I hear accusation I KNOW it is not from him. Immediately when accusation comes, the first thing I feel is God's love, his manifest presence, his voice speaking to me that he loves me just the way I am. He loves everything about my personality, my weaknesses do not concern him. I can trust that his grace IS changing me and I can live in rest and joy knowing that it's his timeline, his seed will grow and grow because it is supernaturally powerful to overcome all hindrances that may come. This amazing security I have in my Father and his love for me is producing fruit! I am able to handle accusation, even closely examine it without being angry with the person bringing it. Without bitterness, resentment, or fear or doubt!
My ideas about how to change people are changing. The more I understand that it is God's love changing me on his schedule, the more I have patience and love for my brothers and sisters who are also on God's schedule. There is only one thing we do to change people, or ourselves: sow grace. I recently listened to Rob preaching on the parable of the sower (which was excellent by the way!) so I've been thinking about it a lot.
"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:23
Before we can sow the word of grace, we have to receive it, hear it and understand it. We have to let it stay in the soil of our hearts until it grows, not giving up when it doesn't yield a crop on the first day, or second, or third...being patient and trusting the power of the seed that God has planted in us.
I think the best way to deal with accusation is to boldly and unashamedly stand in the gift of righteousness before our accusers, understanding that ALL accusation ultimately comes from Satan and never our father in heaven. We can allow our shield of faith to quench every fiery dart and our temptation to pick up the same demonic weapons of condemnation and accusation will be overcome as we realize God has already fully equipped us to stand firm against these attacks. God has accused Jesus of ALL our sin (yes, past, present, and future), has completely punished it in his body, and given us perfect righteousness as a gift because we have believed in Jesus. He will never never accuse us of sin or faults. The more we understand this, the more accusation becomes irrelevant. God changes us by his loving presence, by speaking the truths of the gospel to us over and over in fresh ways.
So when accusation comes, I can peacefully recognize that someone is merely regarding me according to the flesh and not according to faith and I don't need to panic or hang my head in shame. I bring the accusation to my Father, and he says 'That's a LIE, I have declared you RIGHTEOUS!!!" I am free to be who I am because I am in Christ! And now that I am free, I can joyfully allow others to also be free without feeling I need to be changing them either. Changing people, either ourselves or anyone else, is not our job. We sow the seeds of grace that come from Jesus, and he makes the seeds grow!
Some more resources for overcoming condemnation:
Victory Over Condemnation (Rob Rufus)
City Church International message archives
Dynamic Love Ministries (Bertie Brits)
Joseph Prince Ministries
Monday, January 28, 2008
Should We Be Cross Centered?
There's an interesting discussion going on over at Dan's blog (Life on Wings), where Peter Day has posted a great piece called "Overturning the Tables of Legalism" about how much we should focus on the cross as believers. The argument on the cross-centered side seems to be that Paul was cross-centered and seemed to use 'the cross' as short-hand for the gospel message as a whole. There's also a quote saying we shouldn't move on from the Cross, however my thoughts on that are that since there is no Scripture saying the same, it doesn't have much authority. On the other side, some are arguing that the throne or empty tomb would be a better symbol for Christianity.
I was sitting playing a mindless computer game when a thought popped into my head. Maybe from God? I think so but you can judge for yourself. What popped into my head was the story of the Israelites in the wilderness with Moses, the time they all got bitten and poisened by serpents and God instructed Moses to raise up a bronze snake on a pole so the people could come and look at it and be healed. (Numbers 21:4-9) What did they do with this bronze snake on a pole afterward? Turns out they decided to worship it, turning it into an idol instead of worshipping the God who saved them... (see 2 Kings 18:4) And there's connection between this pole and Jesus in John 3 v. 14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
Now to be sure, Paul did sometimes refer to the cross as a kind of short-hand for the work of Christ, and so can we. But I think there can be a danger of turning 'the Cross' into some kind of entity, we can do exactly what the Israelites did with their snake pole--we can end up putting our focus on the means of salvation rather than the person who saved us. I talked about this in my previous post as well, " Not Clinging to the Cross". Yes, we should always remember the death of Jesus, as we do every time we break bread together, there's a right time and and right way to remember the work of Jesus on the cross. But we remember the cross in a way that is life-giving, partaking of the body and blood of Jesus, being renewed and healed by taking his eternal resurrection life into our bodies. The breaking of bread NEVER ministers shame, guilt, condemnation, death, fear, etc...but ALWAYS the life-giving power of God's loving grace.
Another argument is that we need to center our lives around the cross in order to remain humble, but this argument is rooted in the idea that the cross is a reminder of our sin. I'm very sorry to say this (and I've said it over and over) but IF THE CROSS REMINDS YOU OF YOUR SIN THEN YOU ARE DENYING THE VERY POWER OF THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS, THE WORK OF THE CROSS. Once again, take a look at Hebrews 10 (which I also wrote about a while back in my post called "Knowing God Under the New Covenant" The work of Jesus on the cross totally washes all our sin away forever and we are no longer even conscious of it! That's right, if God has forgotten it, so should we. To the extent we live aware of and focused on our sin, to that extent are we living in unbelief, not trusting that the sacrifice of Jesus was enough to put us in right standing before our Father.
And out of curiosity, I went to Bible Gateway and did a few searches (not including the Gospels) just to give a basic idea of what the New Testament church might be centered on. I only found 13 references to 'the cross'. I found 89 references for "gospel", 470 references for "Christ", 345 references for "Jesus" (there is probably some overlap for "Christ" and "Jesus"), and 66 references for "Spirit" (with a capital 's'). In a general way, I think this leads me to believe that we should live Jesus centered lives, not cross centered lives. I think that by over using the phrase 'the cross' without clarying and teaching what we mean by it (we do the same thing with many many other words such as 'gospel', 'grace', etc...), we are not helping people to understand these doctrines well but are deceiving them into thinking that knowing the right terminology means they have adequate understanding and are well-taught.
[ I think it would be good for me to say, not necessarily in relation to this topic in particular, that I also think women need to be looking into these things and are not only qualified as well as men to do this, but are encouraged by their Father in the Spirit to do it! I am publicly, for my sake and for the sake of any and all daughters of the Kingdom of Heaven, renouncing the doctrines of demons in the church today that are trying to suppress, control, manipulate, and destroy women(just as their leader did in the garden many many years ago) and I'm specifically referring to the idea that women are not able to discern and study Scripture and doctrine for themselves by the Spirit, without any man. And we are released from the curse of Genesis 3 sisters! So be free!!!]
I was sitting playing a mindless computer game when a thought popped into my head. Maybe from God? I think so but you can judge for yourself. What popped into my head was the story of the Israelites in the wilderness with Moses, the time they all got bitten and poisened by serpents and God instructed Moses to raise up a bronze snake on a pole so the people could come and look at it and be healed. (Numbers 21:4-9) What did they do with this bronze snake on a pole afterward? Turns out they decided to worship it, turning it into an idol instead of worshipping the God who saved them... (see 2 Kings 18:4) And there's connection between this pole and Jesus in John 3 v. 14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
Now to be sure, Paul did sometimes refer to the cross as a kind of short-hand for the work of Christ, and so can we. But I think there can be a danger of turning 'the Cross' into some kind of entity, we can do exactly what the Israelites did with their snake pole--we can end up putting our focus on the means of salvation rather than the person who saved us. I talked about this in my previous post as well, " Not Clinging to the Cross". Yes, we should always remember the death of Jesus, as we do every time we break bread together, there's a right time and and right way to remember the work of Jesus on the cross. But we remember the cross in a way that is life-giving, partaking of the body and blood of Jesus, being renewed and healed by taking his eternal resurrection life into our bodies. The breaking of bread NEVER ministers shame, guilt, condemnation, death, fear, etc...but ALWAYS the life-giving power of God's loving grace.
Another argument is that we need to center our lives around the cross in order to remain humble, but this argument is rooted in the idea that the cross is a reminder of our sin. I'm very sorry to say this (and I've said it over and over) but IF THE CROSS REMINDS YOU OF YOUR SIN THEN YOU ARE DENYING THE VERY POWER OF THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS, THE WORK OF THE CROSS. Once again, take a look at Hebrews 10 (which I also wrote about a while back in my post called "Knowing God Under the New Covenant" The work of Jesus on the cross totally washes all our sin away forever and we are no longer even conscious of it! That's right, if God has forgotten it, so should we. To the extent we live aware of and focused on our sin, to that extent are we living in unbelief, not trusting that the sacrifice of Jesus was enough to put us in right standing before our Father.
And out of curiosity, I went to Bible Gateway and did a few searches (not including the Gospels) just to give a basic idea of what the New Testament church might be centered on. I only found 13 references to 'the cross'. I found 89 references for "gospel", 470 references for "Christ", 345 references for "Jesus" (there is probably some overlap for "Christ" and "Jesus"), and 66 references for "Spirit" (with a capital 's'). In a general way, I think this leads me to believe that we should live Jesus centered lives, not cross centered lives. I think that by over using the phrase 'the cross' without clarying and teaching what we mean by it (we do the same thing with many many other words such as 'gospel', 'grace', etc...), we are not helping people to understand these doctrines well but are deceiving them into thinking that knowing the right terminology means they have adequate understanding and are well-taught.
[ I think it would be good for me to say, not necessarily in relation to this topic in particular, that I also think women need to be looking into these things and are not only qualified as well as men to do this, but are encouraged by their Father in the Spirit to do it! I am publicly, for my sake and for the sake of any and all daughters of the Kingdom of Heaven, renouncing the doctrines of demons in the church today that are trying to suppress, control, manipulate, and destroy women(just as their leader did in the garden many many years ago) and I'm specifically referring to the idea that women are not able to discern and study Scripture and doctrine for themselves by the Spirit, without any man. And we are released from the curse of Genesis 3 sisters! So be free!!!]
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Lions, Crocodile, and Buffalo?
I just watched this amateur nature video and it really got me excited. I know, I'm weird. Anyway, watching a pride of lions attack and catch a baby buffalo, then seeing a crocodile try to grab it from the lions, you lose hope for the poor little guy. But then an amazing thing happens. The buffalo herd comes back and start attacking the lions, and the baby gets up and is taken back into the herd. I just thought of how the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour. Then I thought, the church will stand and the gates of hell will not prevail against it! We as the church have so much power in Christ, I got excited about how we can attack the lions even as they're in the midst of feasting on our own and rescue others-- if we stand together and don't give in to fear. I know it's a stretch, but that's really what was going through my head...
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
WHY JESUS DID NOT GIVE IN TO THE GRACE HATING SPIRIT EVEN FOR A MOMENT!
The following is an excerpt from Rob Rufus' The Grace Hating Spirit (part 1) from August 22,2004.
But when we read the Scripture you are going to be tempted to feel sorry for the Pharisees and Sadducees and I encourage you don't be sorry for them. But it's going to sound like Jesus is being very harsh and very rude and very unfair to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but we need to understand that these Pharisees and Sadducees were the self-appointed religious orthodoxy of the day, they were religious bigots, and they were the number one hindrance stopping the multitudes coming into salvation and coming into grace. And Jesus discerned that he must not give into these grace hating people for even a second. (And so let me just read it to you:)
He realized that they were operating under a grace hating spirit: they were religious bigots. Jesus perceived and discerned that they were the number one hindrance to the vast multitudes of people entering into the freedom and joy that is in God's salvation through his wonderful grace. Jesus was not beguiled by the cunning politically correct exterior of these religious bigots. They could put on such a good show of appearing hospitable and nice but Jesus knew how controlling and manipulative they were. His heart went out to the multitudes that were sick and oppressed and struggling under the weight and burdens of religious condemnation that had been loaded on them by these religious leaders who Jesus called false gods. So not only did Jesus go around and preach good news and pray for the sick and see great miracles among the crowds and multitudes that followed him, but he also realized he had to expose these bigots for who they were because the grace hating spirit would want to enslave the people again. So he was not being rude to these religious leader , on the contrary they were being rude to him. They saw Jesus as a threat to their control over the people so they thought that through flattery and offering hospitality they could disguise their hostility and weave their manipulative charm over him. They arrogantly presumed that they could get Jesus safely into their camp and under their control and then they thought they could work on him and sterilize him and emasculate him of his spiritual testosterone. But they took on far more than they bargained for, for the the Son of God is not only the Lamb of God, he's also called the Lion of the tribe of Judah and lions were never meant or created to live in cages. The great roar from the lungs of Jesus is so full of supernatural power from heaven that it shook these religious leaders to the very core of their perverted hearts. Jesus understood that you cannot submit to the grace hating spirit for even a moment. Today so many Christians are naive and deceived by the grace hating spirit. Many Christians are beguiled by smiling faces and false humility that hides, camouflages, and masks an ugly and sinister face that hates freedom and stops the multitudes of desperate people entering into salvation.
Rob then reads Luke 11:-37-52
After verse 44 (Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.) Rob injects:
Now if you know anything about Hebrew culture that is the most insulting thing you could say to a Jewish person and I wish I had an hour to teach on that. But let me just sum it up: He's saying "you guys are so obsessed with exterior performance of religion and you don't deal with the supernatural dynamic of internal life on the inside, you're so full of death that when people come under your ministry and they touch you , you touch them with death and they don't even know that they're touching graves they're touching death. You kill their dreams, you kill their vision, you kill their hopes, you kill their aspiration, you bring death to everything that you're involved with. You're like unmarked graves that people are contacting without even knowing they're touching death." Isn't that pretty heavy going? Don't you think more preachers should be like Jesus? ...
Now folks these Pharisees and Sadducees didn't say 'Oh that's very nice Jesus. We thank you for being honest with us and we will now repent and really be your friends from now on." What happened was their cover was blown, the Son of God had seen right through that exterior political correctness and now the true nature of these religious bigots comes out. Notice the next verse:
"When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions waiting to catch him in something he might say" (verses 53,54)
Notice these words 'oppose him'. Who were they opposing? The one who was full of grace. They were opposing grace, there was a grace opposing, grace hating spirit behind these men. Notice it also says 'fiercely'. This grace hating spirit is not against grace in some half-hearted way, it is fiercely opposed to grace. It said they besieged him. That sounds like a fully committed assault on a castle and it says they asked him questions. Not to learn from him, but to trick him and to undermine him, and then to catch him. The grace hating spirit wants to catch you and enslave you.
But when we read the Scripture you are going to be tempted to feel sorry for the Pharisees and Sadducees and I encourage you don't be sorry for them. But it's going to sound like Jesus is being very harsh and very rude and very unfair to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but we need to understand that these Pharisees and Sadducees were the self-appointed religious orthodoxy of the day, they were religious bigots, and they were the number one hindrance stopping the multitudes coming into salvation and coming into grace. And Jesus discerned that he must not give into these grace hating people for even a second. (And so let me just read it to you:)
He realized that they were operating under a grace hating spirit: they were religious bigots. Jesus perceived and discerned that they were the number one hindrance to the vast multitudes of people entering into the freedom and joy that is in God's salvation through his wonderful grace. Jesus was not beguiled by the cunning politically correct exterior of these religious bigots. They could put on such a good show of appearing hospitable and nice but Jesus knew how controlling and manipulative they were. His heart went out to the multitudes that were sick and oppressed and struggling under the weight and burdens of religious condemnation that had been loaded on them by these religious leaders who Jesus called false gods. So not only did Jesus go around and preach good news and pray for the sick and see great miracles among the crowds and multitudes that followed him, but he also realized he had to expose these bigots for who they were because the grace hating spirit would want to enslave the people again. So he was not being rude to these religious leader , on the contrary they were being rude to him. They saw Jesus as a threat to their control over the people so they thought that through flattery and offering hospitality they could disguise their hostility and weave their manipulative charm over him. They arrogantly presumed that they could get Jesus safely into their camp and under their control and then they thought they could work on him and sterilize him and emasculate him of his spiritual testosterone. But they took on far more than they bargained for, for the the Son of God is not only the Lamb of God, he's also called the Lion of the tribe of Judah and lions were never meant or created to live in cages. The great roar from the lungs of Jesus is so full of supernatural power from heaven that it shook these religious leaders to the very core of their perverted hearts. Jesus understood that you cannot submit to the grace hating spirit for even a moment. Today so many Christians are naive and deceived by the grace hating spirit. Many Christians are beguiled by smiling faces and false humility that hides, camouflages, and masks an ugly and sinister face that hates freedom and stops the multitudes of desperate people entering into salvation.
Rob then reads Luke 11:-37-52
After verse 44 (Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.) Rob injects:
Now if you know anything about Hebrew culture that is the most insulting thing you could say to a Jewish person and I wish I had an hour to teach on that. But let me just sum it up: He's saying "you guys are so obsessed with exterior performance of religion and you don't deal with the supernatural dynamic of internal life on the inside, you're so full of death that when people come under your ministry and they touch you , you touch them with death and they don't even know that they're touching graves they're touching death. You kill their dreams, you kill their vision, you kill their hopes, you kill their aspiration, you bring death to everything that you're involved with. You're like unmarked graves that people are contacting without even knowing they're touching death." Isn't that pretty heavy going? Don't you think more preachers should be like Jesus? ...
Now folks these Pharisees and Sadducees didn't say 'Oh that's very nice Jesus. We thank you for being honest with us and we will now repent and really be your friends from now on." What happened was their cover was blown, the Son of God had seen right through that exterior political correctness and now the true nature of these religious bigots comes out. Notice the next verse:
"When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions waiting to catch him in something he might say" (verses 53,54)
Notice these words 'oppose him'. Who were they opposing? The one who was full of grace. They were opposing grace, there was a grace opposing, grace hating spirit behind these men. Notice it also says 'fiercely'. This grace hating spirit is not against grace in some half-hearted way, it is fiercely opposed to grace. It said they besieged him. That sounds like a fully committed assault on a castle and it says they asked him questions. Not to learn from him, but to trick him and to undermine him, and then to catch him. The grace hating spirit wants to catch you and enslave you.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Using the Gift of Tongues
I think I recently mentioned in passing how I came to receive the gift of tongues. I guess it all came about during the summer of 1998 shortly after I was introduced to the charismatic world. But quite frankly, I couldn't find much use for it and rarely used it. There is precious little practical teaching on this gift, at least in the churches I've been in. Yes, I've heard brief exhortations to sing in tongues during worship or even to speak out (with interpretation) as God leads for corporate edification, but in the last ten years I think I've heard only one sermon on it (though I've heard brief explanations during Alpha week-ends as well). It was actually a good sermon too. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that all in all I've neglected this gift most of the time.
A while back I heard Jackie Pullinger To describe her personal experience with the gift of tongues and I could really identify with it. She never used it either until challenged by some Americans visiting her in Hong Kong many years ago. God used them to convict her of her foolishness in neglecting a gift he had given her and she promptly began speaking in tongues for 15 minutes a day though it didn't seem to do anything. It was shortly after she began doing this that she began to see incredible breakthroughs in her ministry. (You can listen to her speaking or check out her book Chasing the Dragon to get a more detailed and accurate account.) This has always stuck in my mind and it has served to remind me that if I've been given a gift, I need to use it!
So over the past few years I've slowly begun to just pray in tongues sometimes, whether I feel it accomplishes anything or not. Recently thought, I've really been thankful for it. I am now happy to report that I'm actually experiencing the reality of "...The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself..." (I Cor. 14:4) Though I'm not using it every day, I'm using it far more regularly, and particularly in times of intercession, when my words seem to fall short, and also in times of need, such as in temptation, spiritual attack, etc... Of course I have to give an illustration.
The other day I was having a somewhat stressful day. Actually, most of my days are 'somewhat stressful'! Our two-year-old has been removing dirty diapers lately, along with all of his other usual disasters in every room of the house. And we are desperately trying to get our house in order so we can put it on the market. Well, this day I had already spent more than 2 hours trying to get this kid to take his nap. He can now climb out of his crib and cannot tell you how many times I disciplined him and put him back. Then my husband got home and commented on one of the lesser disasters I hadn't had time to clean up yet. I got angry, it wasn't pretty, I left the house for a couple of hours feeling lots of guilt and condemnation. I could recognize spiritual attack in the middle of it all as well, but just couldn't seem to find my way to the throne of grace. I went back home but nothing was resolved and I left again feeling depressed and hopeless. When I got home again, it was still terrible. I wouldn't even let Aaron pray for me.
Finally as I ran a bath it occurred to me that I could pray in tongues. I felt so relieved as soon as this thought came to me (thanks Holy Spirit!) and I immediately began praying and God's presence came back! Love and mercy came flooding over me and all the anger, bitterness, hopelessness, unforgiveness, I had been giving in to just gave way and was gone. You see, I had repented of my sin, but the enemy was just accusing me and telling me I couldn't have an uninterrupted relationship with my Father. I had to wait and suffer a bit you know. But when I started praying in the Spirit the power of the enemy was broken somehow.
I'm really beginning to value this 'lesser of gifts'. I think I've really been ashamed of it for a long time. My background in the Wesleyan Church, while good in so many ways, perhaps left me with this sense. They affirm every gift except tongues as a prayer language, which is viewed as divisive (which I'm sure can be true). I've even encountered a strange vehemence and hatred towards tongues from some people, some of whom I highly admire and respect. Growing up it was common to hear my parents and others saying things like "yes, they speak in tongues but you would never know it,they are so godly they would never talk about it". So I guess I have thought it's wrong to admit to having this gift! But Paul didn't seem to mind claiming to have it, and I've never heard of anyone keeping any other gift a secret (actually it sounds a bit like burying things...) So instead of being ashamed, I'm going to thank God that I'm speaking in tongues more and more and encourage all of you to do the same if you have this gift. And if you don't, than eagerly seek it along with the greater gifts!
A while back I heard Jackie Pullinger To describe her personal experience with the gift of tongues and I could really identify with it. She never used it either until challenged by some Americans visiting her in Hong Kong many years ago. God used them to convict her of her foolishness in neglecting a gift he had given her and she promptly began speaking in tongues for 15 minutes a day though it didn't seem to do anything. It was shortly after she began doing this that she began to see incredible breakthroughs in her ministry. (You can listen to her speaking or check out her book Chasing the Dragon to get a more detailed and accurate account.) This has always stuck in my mind and it has served to remind me that if I've been given a gift, I need to use it!
So over the past few years I've slowly begun to just pray in tongues sometimes, whether I feel it accomplishes anything or not. Recently thought, I've really been thankful for it. I am now happy to report that I'm actually experiencing the reality of "...The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself..." (I Cor. 14:4) Though I'm not using it every day, I'm using it far more regularly, and particularly in times of intercession, when my words seem to fall short, and also in times of need, such as in temptation, spiritual attack, etc... Of course I have to give an illustration.
The other day I was having a somewhat stressful day. Actually, most of my days are 'somewhat stressful'! Our two-year-old has been removing dirty diapers lately, along with all of his other usual disasters in every room of the house. And we are desperately trying to get our house in order so we can put it on the market. Well, this day I had already spent more than 2 hours trying to get this kid to take his nap. He can now climb out of his crib and cannot tell you how many times I disciplined him and put him back. Then my husband got home and commented on one of the lesser disasters I hadn't had time to clean up yet. I got angry, it wasn't pretty, I left the house for a couple of hours feeling lots of guilt and condemnation. I could recognize spiritual attack in the middle of it all as well, but just couldn't seem to find my way to the throne of grace. I went back home but nothing was resolved and I left again feeling depressed and hopeless. When I got home again, it was still terrible. I wouldn't even let Aaron pray for me.
Finally as I ran a bath it occurred to me that I could pray in tongues. I felt so relieved as soon as this thought came to me (thanks Holy Spirit!) and I immediately began praying and God's presence came back! Love and mercy came flooding over me and all the anger, bitterness, hopelessness, unforgiveness, I had been giving in to just gave way and was gone. You see, I had repented of my sin, but the enemy was just accusing me and telling me I couldn't have an uninterrupted relationship with my Father. I had to wait and suffer a bit you know. But when I started praying in the Spirit the power of the enemy was broken somehow.
I'm really beginning to value this 'lesser of gifts'. I think I've really been ashamed of it for a long time. My background in the Wesleyan Church, while good in so many ways, perhaps left me with this sense. They affirm every gift except tongues as a prayer language, which is viewed as divisive (which I'm sure can be true). I've even encountered a strange vehemence and hatred towards tongues from some people, some of whom I highly admire and respect. Growing up it was common to hear my parents and others saying things like "yes, they speak in tongues but you would never know it,they are so godly they would never talk about it". So I guess I have thought it's wrong to admit to having this gift! But Paul didn't seem to mind claiming to have it, and I've never heard of anyone keeping any other gift a secret (actually it sounds a bit like burying things...) So instead of being ashamed, I'm going to thank God that I'm speaking in tongues more and more and encourage all of you to do the same if you have this gift. And if you don't, than eagerly seek it along with the greater gifts!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Compassion, Loving Our Enemies, and Fighting Our REAL Enemy
I just looked at an article by a well respected Christian leader (fundamental, non-charismatic) and felt saddened by how much effort we put into attacking people in the world. It doesn't matter who it was or what it was about, it's easy to find books, articles, sermons, etc...that people have poured endless hours of time and energy into to combat the church's perceived enemies. I suppose included in that list would be pornographers, Hollywood, abortionist rights people, liberal political adherents, feminists, the homosexual community, people in other religions, atheists/humanists, other believers with different theological bents, and the list goes on and on. We often view anyone who passionately fights for beliefs different than our own as our enemies, people who are trying to destroy us and everything we stand for (and sometimes they really are).
It seems the common way of dealing with these 'enemies' is to fight back. Now as good Christians we normally fight back with lots of words and little else, but our attitude towards our enemies is certainly often less than compassionate and loving.
Jesus said:
I suspect that there's a good reason behind why Jesus told us to love our enemies. First of all, these enemies are souls he loves and wants to save, kind of like he saved us while we were still his enemies. Second of all, when our attention is focused on flesh and blood enemies, we forget about our real enemy who is not flesh and blood. I think the word 'pray' is a little tip-off that those who persecute us need prayer. They are prisoners and slaves of Satan and need to be set free! In fact, all humans, whether believers or not, have a common enemy. Satan is trying to destroy and devour all of us, hating us because we bear the image of God. When you see this, it's becomes normal for us to view unbelievers with love and compassion. I mean, they are in the unfortunate position of being caught between two enemies--God who must pour out his wrath on sinners, and Satan who hates, lies, steals, accuses, and destroys anything God made. There is only one hope for them: Jesus Christ.
Let's not forget Ephesians 6:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
You see, fighting against people is a waste of our time. It will not bear the fruit we were meant to bear and quite frankly, it's beneath us! We have been empowered and commissioned with the authority of Jesus to stand against the schemes of the devil and wrestle against every demonic power this world has. And as we do that, we release the captive souls and set prisoners free to worship our Father in heaven. We take back this world for our King, the only Eternal Glorious King of Kings.
So I think the right response to people who persecute us is not to persecute them back with our hard words, but love them and pray them into the Kingdom of Heaven. I think that is a tactic our 'enemies' will find difficult to stand against!
It seems the common way of dealing with these 'enemies' is to fight back. Now as good Christians we normally fight back with lots of words and little else, but our attitude towards our enemies is certainly often less than compassionate and loving.
Jesus said:
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." (Mat. 5:43-44)
I suspect that there's a good reason behind why Jesus told us to love our enemies. First of all, these enemies are souls he loves and wants to save, kind of like he saved us while we were still his enemies. Second of all, when our attention is focused on flesh and blood enemies, we forget about our real enemy who is not flesh and blood. I think the word 'pray' is a little tip-off that those who persecute us need prayer. They are prisoners and slaves of Satan and need to be set free! In fact, all humans, whether believers or not, have a common enemy. Satan is trying to destroy and devour all of us, hating us because we bear the image of God. When you see this, it's becomes normal for us to view unbelievers with love and compassion. I mean, they are in the unfortunate position of being caught between two enemies--God who must pour out his wrath on sinners, and Satan who hates, lies, steals, accuses, and destroys anything God made. There is only one hope for them: Jesus Christ.
Let's not forget Ephesians 6:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
You see, fighting against people is a waste of our time. It will not bear the fruit we were meant to bear and quite frankly, it's beneath us! We have been empowered and commissioned with the authority of Jesus to stand against the schemes of the devil and wrestle against every demonic power this world has. And as we do that, we release the captive souls and set prisoners free to worship our Father in heaven. We take back this world for our King, the only Eternal Glorious King of Kings.
So I think the right response to people who persecute us is not to persecute them back with our hard words, but love them and pray them into the Kingdom of Heaven. I think that is a tactic our 'enemies' will find difficult to stand against!
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