Truth and Discernment

Jesus Christ gives truth and discernment! Satan gives lies and deception! To walk safely through the mine fields that Satan has planted all around them true Christians need truth and discernment. Truth and the resulting discernment come to those who draw near to the Lord in prayer and become sanctified by truth.

I say true Christians because there are those within the Church who are not true Christians. There are ministers and members in parts of the Church who are plants by Satan. There are Christians who have come under their spell and are being drawn away from being a true follower of Jesus. If they don’t wake up they will fall away.

It has become real cloudy as to who the real people of God are. The Lord Jesus is looking for those who are loyal to Him and His word rightly divided. Therefore, He is allowing lines to be drawn to reveal who His real followers are and who will stay true to Him.

One of Satan’s main tactics is deception.  Therefore, those who want to remain true to Jesus and His word rightly divided need truth and discernment. We even need discernment about who the people of God are. There is some misunderstanding among many Christians about whom the people of God are. It is simple, the people of God are those who have believed in Jesus and forsaken all to follow Him. It is evidenced by staying true to Him and His word rightly divided. The Church that Jesus Christ is building is made up of Jews and Gentiles who have by faith believed in Jesus as their Savior and Lord and are following Him accordingly.

What about Israel? In the economy of God Israel still has a special place. All Christians should pray for the Jewish people especially that their eyes become opened to the truth of Jesus the Messiah. The real peace of Jerusalem will only come when the Prince of Peace is accepted by the Jewish people and their leaders.

At present, Christians with discernment see that there are increased attacks against true Christians, Israel and the Jewish people. These attacks are growing by leaps and bounds in the United States. They also see that while true Christians and the Jewish people are coming under increased attacks, Muslims and Islam are growing in favor and influence. This is all by design! Some who are attacking Christians are not attacking Muslims. 

In closing, remember that to walk safely through the mine fields that Satan has planted and remain true to the Lord Jesus you need truth and discernment. Truth and discernment come to those who draw near to the Lord in prayer and become sanctified by truth by studying His word.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restoration or Judgment

I am encouraging every Christian who sees that the Church is largely responsible for the condition of America to pray for repentance which leads to restoration. Restoration of the Church will come, but the question is will it come before or after extreme persecution of Christians. Another question is will it come before God’s judgment on America? For me and my house we choose restoration of the Church which results in revival and awakening that builds momentum till Jesus comes.

There is a judgment that begins at the Church. It can be self judgment that leads to repentance and restoration or it can be judgment from outside the Church. I pray for self judgment, repentance and restoration of the Church rather than the world systems being an agent of judgment on the Church.

There will be a segment of the Church which falls away and becomes part of the systems of the world regardless of what takes place, but there will be a faithful remnant Church with Jesus Christ formed within that is one with the Lord Jesus and with each other. Will it come forth before judgment on America?

A closing word on judgment: any judgment of God, however small or severe, before final judgment is to bring repentance. God is longsuffering and merciful! His judgments before final judgment are part of His mercy.

Faith, Healing and the Church in the United States

                                                             
Most Christians in the United States have not been taught to believe for physical healing, but even among those who have been taught being healed and/or staying healed is the exception rather than the rule. Why? There is one simple answer and it has to do with understanding that Jesus Christ has only one spiritual body.

When enough Christians wake up, repent and become part of one restored remnant Church then and only then will everything fit together and work as Jesus, the Head of the body intends for them to work. This includes physical healing for His family on earth. There are things that we will not understand until Jesus literally returns, but the basic Scriptural truth about healing is that it is available for each member of the body of Christ until they finish their course on earth. The exceptions to this principle are only fully known by the Lord Himself. At present, because of lack of truth healing is the exception rather than the rule.

What can we do to see healing in the body of Christ to the degree that Jesus, the Head of the body, desires? We can receive truth and live by the resulting faith that sets us free from anything that is not of the Lord God. A major truth that God desires for all people to know is that Jesus is the only Way to God, and Jesus has only one spiritual body. When Christians receive this truth and begin to make the necessary corrections all will begin to fit together and work as Jesus intends. While Jesus was on earth in a physical body, the parts of His physical body worked together as they were intended to do so. He wants His one spiritual body to work together as intended.  

The world understands that the condition of the soul affects the physical body. The deeper truth is that the condition of the spirit affects both the soul and the body.  Parts of the Church understand this in some areas, but not in this most important area. Jesus is building only one Church which means that He has only one spiritual body. He had one physical body when He was on earth and He has only one spiritual body now that He is at the right hand of His Father.

Up to now, most Christians who have been taught to believe for healing have not been taught healing in the context that I am presenting it. Jesus works where He can; He has often had to work with His people who have limited revelation, but the truth remains that for the most part healing has been the exception rather than the rule. Let’s change that! Let’s change it to what Jesus the Head of the Church has always intended for His one body. Let’s become one spiritual body united in the faith.

I will sum this up by saying that Jesus loves each member of His body, but He wants each member to have the revelation that they are part of one spiritual body of Christ. Healing will begin to flow as Jesus intends for it to when His body begins to function as His body. There is a world of difference in you believing for healing while most of the body of Christ does not, and you believing for healing as a part of the body of Christ that does believe for healing.  Right now you are doing what you can to experience healing, but when the body of Christ functions as intended gifts of healings are always flowing. Selah!

 

 

A Word of Exhortation to Women

Recently I wrote a message supporting and encouraging women in ministry. This message is for all women and it is to exhort you and if necessary bring any needed correction.

Yesterday I read a woman's response to a message. The response was based on the word rightly divided; it included spiritual discernment; it was an anointed word, and it contained truth that will set free anyone who has ears to hear. On the one hand my spirit was stirred with excitement, and on the other hand I saw the need to shake up and wake up women to fulfill what Jesus has called them to be and to do.

Figuratively speaking there was more needed truth in the response I read yesterday than there is coming from these women ministers that many of you are following and financially supporting.  The response also had more anointing than I have seen on those women. Wake up, strengthen yourself in the Lord and get about His business!

To you women that I lost when I said something about women in ministry, I say grow up in the Lord; quit listening to these men who say women are not to be in ministry; get in the word and become sanctified with truth. Then get about being a woman of the Lord.

To you women who are staying out of the fray and just want to be social, social, social butterflies I have a question. Would you be posting what you have been posting if you or your loved ones faced the threat of being burned to death or losing your head today?

To all women who are born again I have a word. You don’t need any pastor or minister’s OK to give yourself to prayers, supplications and intercessions. Prayers, supplications and intercessions that are inspired by the Holy Spirit, are based on the word rightly divided, and anointed by the Holy Spirit will accomplish more than if you had a worldwide television ministry and/or were famous for writing books. Quit being men pleasers and begin pleasing, praising and worshipping Jesus Christ.

Come on! There is a cause! Open your eyes and ears spiritually and your natural eyes and ears will open to see and hear what is really going on. Yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him get you focused. Get before the Lord in prayer and get before the Lord in His word. Most of these preachers you are wanting attention from don’t yet have a clue to the real problems and how to solve them. If you will become what the Lord Jesus wants of you, maybe the Spirit will respond to what you are doing in private and wake enough preachers up to do their part in restoring the Church and saving our nation which means saving your loved ones from what the enemy has planned for them.

In closing, I lovingly remind you that you are needed in the body of Christ and the kingdom of God. There is an important place that Jesus has for you. Let’s unite in faith and please the Lord Jesus by getting about our Father’s business. 

 

 

True Christians are in a Spiritual War

Many years ago the Lord God spoke audibly to me in a dream and said to call the body of Christ, the Church, to (spiritual) war. I continue to do so with the word below.

True Christians are in a spiritual war that has battles on many fronts, but not many true Christians are involved in effective spiritual warfare, especially Christians in the United States. On the one hand we have way too many Christians who are passive while Satan and his minions, human and demonic, are actively working works of destruction. On the other hand we have a large number of Christians who mistakenly think they can change things by the arm of the flesh, such as through the political arena. Wake up and realize that even if your candidate is elected there is not going to be the needed godly change. The needed godly change must begin in and with the Church.

My word to all true Christians is unless you wake up and join with enough others who are awake and take appropriate actions you will end up in a not so pleasant situation if you live long enough. Do I have to be more specific, and do I have to even mention your children and grandchildren?

What are you to do? It is really very simple. Humble yourself and repent, make sure you have forsaken all to follow Jesus Christ, make sure you are anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, become sanctified with God’s truth, put on the whole armor of God, take up the sword of the Spirit, give yourself to prayer with the spirit and with the understanding, and join in the unity of the faith with others who are doing the same. Onward Christian Soldiers! Onward to victory!

Middle Huggers or Jesus Followers

 

Every one of us is going to be judged, either at the Great White Throne Judgment or at the Judgment Seat of Christ. I promise you that you do not want to be at the Great White Throne Judgment. If you want to be at the Judgment Seat of Christ and hear the words “Well done, My good and faithful servant,” you'd better forget about following the Left wingers, Right wingers or Middle huggers and get focused on following Jesus the Christ and Him only.
 

I am not saying that you should not vote or run for office. I am saying that you'd better wise up and find what Jesus says about all issues. I am saying that you'd better get your priorities in order and realize that the real needed changes on this earth will not come through the world system of politics or any other system of the world.

 

The needed godly changes in the United States will come only through the salt-and-light influence of a faithful remnant Church that is following Jesus and seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. Be careful about who is influencing you spiritually. One of the main reasons the Church in the United States is in such a divided mess is because of the preachers. However, there are the real, and those preachers are preaching and teaching the rightly divided Word of Truth that brings maturity! Submit to the Spirit of God, and He will lead you to them.

 

Finally, forget about pleasing people, including preachers and politicians. Get focused on pleasing Jesus. One of the main ways to please Jesus is to study His Word, rightly divided, until you know it, and then live and witness it. The world systems will oppose you, but heaven will support you.

 

Luke 9:23: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

Luke 14:27: "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."

Luke 14:33: "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."

The Only Hope for America

Because things are getting worse and worse around them, many Christians in America keep saying that the coming of Jesus is near. Things are getting worse, but what is near is destruction and loss of freedom, if enough Christians don’t wake up and prepare for the coming of the Lord. Jesus is not coming for an unprepared bride. At present, Christians in other nations, especially where persecution is intense, are much more prepared than most Christians in the United States of America.

God does not show partiality to people or nations (Acts 10:34). Other nations that have turned away from God have fallen, and so will America unless enough Christians repent and become one with the Lord Jesus and with each other. Notice I said that enough Christians in America must repent. Why do the very ones who need to repent keep calling for America to repent, rather than humbling themselves and calling on God in true repentance themselves?

The only hope for America is a faithful remnant Church, with Christ formed within, that is united in the faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit, spiritually armed, and using the sword of the Spirit to destroy the works of Satan and his forces.  We must have a faithful remnant Church to witness Jesus and His kingdom and do spiritual warfare, or else the freedom of Christians and non-Christians alike will become a thing of the past in America. Restore the Church and save the United States from destruction.
  

 

 

 

 

Jesus Calls Men and Women to be Ministers in the Church He is Building

 

My father-in-law had no problem identifying stupidity in relation to what was at work in certain people. One of his favorite sayings when identifying one of them was that they were “dumber than dirt.” I will not use those words at the moment about people opposing and preventing God-called women from ministering, but I will say that ignorance abounds concerning the matter in many parts of the Church, and it is having serious ramifications.

 

What are the ramifications? Jesus intended for His Church to be a victorious Church. He sent His other Self, the Holy Spirit, and called ministers, anointing them with gifts to help equip the body of Christ to be victorious. In too many cases, church leaders have limited or outright refused both, and everyone is paying the price! Too many Christians have not been taught, and the majority are immature, untrained, and carnal. Satan and his forces, demonic and human, are closing in on Christians, and most of the Church is unprepared to resist.

 

The major reason the Church is unprepared is because of a lack of ministers who have been called and prepared by Jesus, the Head of the Church. Ephesians 4:11 teaches that Jesus calls apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to work in the Church for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of ministry. An honest and careful search of Scripture will reveal that many women served as leaders in the Old Testament and in the New Testament Church that Jesus started building. They were needed then, and they are needed now. Without true and mature ministers, both men and women, the Church cannot be fully equipped and prepared. If the Church is not fully equipped and prepared, then evil spreads almost unhindered. I must add, unfortunately, that there are both men and women ministering in the body of Christ who are not properly equipping the saints, especially those who follow and support their ministries.

 

I had righteous anger recently when I heard of a church not allowing a woman to minister simply because she is a woman. How stupid can you get? Oops!

 

There are both men and women serving as ministers within churches in the United States who are not called to ministry by Jesus Christ. There are men and women who have been called by Jesus Christ to minister in the Church He is building who are prevented from ministering within churches in the United States. What a dichotomy! Undiscerning and spiritually immature people have placed uncalled men and women in ministerial positions. People who are ignorant of Jesus and His Word rightly divided have prevented men and women who are called of God from ministering.

 

This is a very serious matter! It needs to be corrected! The overall church in the United States is at present impotent to stand against the wiles of Satan. Many churches are even cooperating with Satan. There is a Holy Spirit-called leadership vacuum in many churches, with the blind leading the blind.

 

What actions can be taken? Pray for truth to come forth. Pray against deception in this matter. Know the Word, and start speaking up for truth. Take your tithes and offering somewhere that has true and mature ministers, whether they are male or female. Oh, no, another Oops!

The Church Must Lead the Way in True Repentance

 

Jesus is not going to rapture out a Church that is not prepared for the marriage of the Lamb! The Church in America has not yet made herself ready (Revelation 19:7).  

For many years, I have gone through the Bible on a yearly basis. This morning, my attention was drawn to something I wrote in my Bible on 4/2/11. I wrote, "How long church? How long before you demonstrate true repentance?" This was in response to Judges 10:10 and a note in my Bible. The note pointed out that after 18 years of Ammonite oppression, the Israelites demonstrated true repentance. What is it going to take to bring about true repentance among enough Christians in America? Will true repentance come before or after captivity? 

Repentance before destruction is one thing, and repentance after destruction is another. It is one thing to repent before losing our freedoms, and it is another thing to repent while in captivity. Look at the price being paid by Christians and their families where freedom has been lost. I encourage you to subscribe to Voice of the Martyrs and get an idea of the price being paid by Christians where freedom has been lost, or is very limited at best. 

Wake up Christians! If our nation goes down, Christians in the United States will suffer like they have never suffered. If Christians took their religious and/or carnal blinders off and really opened their eyes, they would see what is taking place right now and that it is a strong indication of what is coming. Wake up Christians! It is past time for you to repent. Get on your knees! Repent and call for the Church to repent. Quit calling for America to repent and begin calling for the Church in America to repent. It bothers me, it grieves my spirit to keep seeing and hearing Christians calling for America to repent because it tells me that they don't have a clue. Yes, America does need to turn to Jesus, but too many Christians don’t understand that it is first things first. Many don’t even realize that the Church needs to repent. 

Wake up! The Church in America is largely responsible for the mess around us because it has not practiced being good salt and light. It is the Church that must lead the way in repentance. If enough Christians repent, then they can be real salt and light to the harvest fields of America. I love to see and hear of the lost becoming saved, but at present, quite often the ones working in the harvest fields should be working to get their local church straightened out. They go out and, amazingly, Jesus often honors what they do. But too many are bringing in the sheaves and making them into duplicates of themselves, rather than helping them to become formed into the image of Christ. Wake up! It is the Church in America that needs to lead the way in true repentance.

Cause and Effect

In this natural world, we often see or experience cause and effect! Cause and effect is defined as "denoting a relationship between actions or events such that one or more are the result of the other or others." A dog hears a loud noise and starts barking. The loud noise is the cause, and the effect is the dog barking. There is cause and effect concerning the state of the Church in the United States and the eroding condition of our country. 

The United States is sinking fast, and the primary cause is the condition of the Church. Jesus has always intended His church to be one body, sanctified by truth, anointed with the holy Spirit and power, and, in the unity of faith, to be an influential witness of Him and His kingdom to the world around it. It is to be salt that flavors and preserves and light that exposes and dispels darkness. It is to have power to overcome the works of darkness.

The Church in the United States is no stranger to division in its ranks. Division has been a long-time issue and centers mainly around issues of tradition and doctrine. For the most part, it has also been weak and anemic because of a lack of the anointing of the Holy Spirit and power. Over time, this lack of power has resulted in more and more dependence upon the arm of the flesh. In short, most of the Church is mirroring the world and its systems, rather than being a strong and united witness to the world for Jesus and the kingdom of God. 

The bottom line is that we need repentance that leads to a restored Church. That brings me to a cause and effect that I encourage you to be a part of. If we can get enough Christians to work together and bring about restoration within the Church, it would cause revival and great awakening that has a godly effect not only on the United States, but on nations throughout the earth.