War of Words

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

But the devil says you can’t.

Who do we believe? If scriptures say we can stop sinning, that we can walk in holiness, that we can be pure, yet the devil says we sin everyday, in thought, word and deed; that we cannot help ourselves but to sin, who do we believe?

 

There is a war of words. The scriptures of the Almighty or the lies of the serpent. He countered God in the garden by twisting and changing the holy commandment. He is still at work today. He has even slithered his way into Christianity and is, unfortunately in many pulpits.

Try the spirits to see if they are of God. Do they speak the pure language of the scriptures, or are they taking you off the narrow path. The narrow path is walk of holiness. The wide way says we cannot be holy, pure or without sin.

Grace is NOT a license to sin. We can do despite to the Spirit of Grace and grieve Him when we return to fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.  Jesus has given us power over all the lies of the devil and has made it possible for us to walk and live in the light.  Believe Him.

Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Speaking Sound Doctrine

http://israeliteindeed.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/speaking-sound-doctrine/

Powerful message by Israeliteindeed pointing out the apostasy that is running rampant in Christianity and the penalty the righteous pay for walking in the truth.

Faithlessness

 

An examination of Unbelief in the Church

Joh 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

We CANNOT have faith if we are seeking to please men. While John 5:44 does not speak to pleasing self, however, in pleasing men, are we not also pleasing self? The true honor that we must seek out is only that which comes from the Father of Lights.

We must be surrendered to the Lord our God, casting all of our cares upon Him. In submission, we will find true spiritual life, and will produce greater fruit and opportunities to serve the King of Kings. In decreasing self, the door will open to increasing Christ in you.

We cannot serve self and God.

Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

We cannot follow the world and follow Christ. He is the narrow way, and few there be that find it. If we do not repent of our attachment to worldly lusts, we are in unbelief. Whenever we reject what the Word teaches us, and deny the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are in unbelief. All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Matthew 6:24 teaches us that if we love the world, we will hate God.

A house divided will not stand.

Mar 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

The foundation of a Christian is the Word of God. If one abides in the Faith, by producing fruit, by dying to self, by letting the Word of God dwell richly within us, we are standing on the Rock, Christ Jesus. This is the true security that Jesus speaks of when he says to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these thing shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) In doing the will of God, we are believing God. This is faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is not merely believing that He is. “…the devils believe and tremble.” (James 2:19) If we are divided (from God) in our understanding of what faith is, we will not stand. God will not walk with us, unless we agree with Him. (Amos 3:3)

We cannot walk in the flesh and sow to the Spirit.

Gal 5:16-17 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Cain and Abel. Isaac and Ishmael. Jacob and Esau. Throughout the Bible, we see many examples of what occurs when persons follow the Spirit or self. The Holy Spirit will put to death the man of sin, if we allow Him to. He has given us free will, and the ability to choose Him (as did Abel) or reject Him (as did Cain). Abel had faith and believed in the Lord, while Cain’s countenance had fallen because he didn’t believe “…If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7) The carnal mind hates God (emnity) and will seek out any Light He has given us, to destroy it. It is the thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy. If we are walking in the Spirit (hearing God’s voice and obeying it), we will have victory over self and all the trappings of the kingdom of darkness. To Christ be all the honor, praise and glory, because He said, “…for without me, ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) It is His Spirit dwelling within us that enables us to overcome the world. “….to them gave he power to become the Sons of God.” (John 3:12)

Wilt thou be made whole?
Belief

Jer 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

It is in the drawing nigh to God, that we will experience greater knowledge of Him. This is the knowledge that makes one wise unto salvation. We will understand the scriptures and receive revelation directly from the One who gave them to us! The secrets that were once hidden from the foundation of the world are made known to the sons of God who BELIEVE on His name (He is the Word of God).

In Matthew 3:16, Jesus tells His disciples that they are blessed, because their eyes can see and their ears can hear. In the prior verses, He teaches that those who are without, that is, in unbelief, cannot understand the parables because their hearts were waxed gross, their ear dull of hearing and their eyes were closed. If these individuals had truly loved God, they would have surely recognized the Messiah who stood before them. They would have believed in Him and would have understood His teachings. They would have been healed by their faith in Him. It is also important to note that when Jesus had come to his own country, he was not able to do the mighty words of God, because of their unbelief. He came to his own, but his own BELIEVED Him not.

In the story of Abraham, we learn that he was a friend of God. (James 2:23). Abraham BELIEVED in the Lord, he had a living, walking, obedient faith, and thereby, God counted him righteous. We also can be as Abraham: filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ by our active faith.

In Psalm 119:105, we read that “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” God’s Word, quickened in us by the power of the Holy Spirit will teach us how to walk, that is, how to live our lives in holiness. He is the Light of the world that shines in the darkness! We are no longer in unbelief, stumbling in the darkness, but fulfilling the law of the Spirit in Christ, by which we are justified.

Unbelief
The Land of Nod: Exiled

The unbelievers at the crucifixition mocked Jesus Christ, taunting our Lord saying, “Save thyself, and come down from the cross.” These individuals did not believe what Jesus taught when he said, “ And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32) Their refusal to repent and believe (have faith) in the Scriptures caused them to be removed from the presence of God. In 70 AD, God’s wrath was revealed on Jerusalem, just as Jesus prophesied in the 24th chapter of Matthew. “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” (Matthew 27:25) This is the fate of Christ-rejectors. All who deny the Son will perish.

Spiritual death is the result of unbelief. Let us remember to examine ourselves, and despise not the chastening of the Lord when we sin, lest we develop an evil heart in departing from the Living God.

Bring Forth Fruits Meet For Repentance

Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

If we reject the urging of the Holy Spirit to deny ourselves, (belief) we become doubled minded, (unbelief) and this spiritual state produces an unstable, wavering, faithless individual. The carnal mind is the spirit of antichrist within us, that wishes to choke out the Word we received at our circumcision. It is the state of faithlessness that leads to perdition. We must therefore, act quickly when the Spirit brings conviction to us, bringing forth fruits,(belief) and receive repentance of our sins. Our Lord is longsuffering, and His will is that “…all should come to repentance.” (2nd Peter 3:9)

In Luke 24:47 Jesus commands His followers to preach repentance and remission of sins. In Luke 5:22, Jesus said that He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. In Luke 3:8, John the Baptist preached to those who believed in their flesh, as children of Abraham, to bring forth meets for repentance. Revelation 3:19 says to be zealous and repent. Luke 13:3 says unless we repent, we will all perish. There are multitudes of scriptures confirming that all must repent to receive the blessings in Christ Jesus. If we are repenting, we are believing. By contrast, if we refuse and harden our hearts against the Spirit, we are in unbelief.

Thomas
Faithlessness

Can we call ourselves believers in Jesus Christ, when we doubt his Word, as Thomas did?

Joh 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

As the scriptures testify, believing is an active, living faith. Although the Lord had told his disciples that He would rise from the dead, Thomas did not believe Him, or the reports of the witnesses who saw Him raised, “…Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) We must trust in all the Words of God, with all of our heart, with all of our strength and all of our soul. This is trusting God. This is having faith. This is belief.

In conclusion, let us examine ourselves, in honesty, before the Lord. Are we merely seekers, or living epistles of the Truth? Are we fully persuaded that God will wipe away all of our tears? Do we believe men and seek to please them above God? Do we hold onto our own opinions, above what the scriptures teach us? Do we give credence to our emotions, or are we casting down imaginations? When God tells us that faith without works is dead, do we believe Him? If God can part the Red Sea, and we, by faith, believe that this occurred, can we believe that we can live a life of holiness in Christ? Are we living with not only the expectation that Christ will come for His bride at the end of days, but are we also remembering that with His Coming, will be a judgment of our words and actions. It is written, that if we ask Jesus anything in His name, He will do it. It is written. Do we believe it?

Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Lord, help our unbelief.

Hoshi’ana

November 29, 2009

The Image of Jealousy

Eze 8:5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

What lies in the hearts of men? Are the redeemed of the Lord portraying a Christian walk to the world, but setting up the abomination that maketh desolate within?

Eze 8:10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

Images of Jealousy still exist today in the temple of God, as it was when Ezekiel witnessed the horrors practiced by the children of Israel. These images of jealousy abound within the apostate denominations in the form of false doctrines. Sun worship is still occuring in the form of the keeping of pagan practices.

Jesus Christ did not bow down to images of stone, or pray to the dead, and He did not teach His followers to do these things. He did not encourage His disciples to practice the customs of the heathen that they lived amongst. Our Lord was JEALOUS for His Father’s house when He cleaned out the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers. What would Jesus Christ do today if he walked into any one of a multitude of the fallen organizations that is called “church?”

Eze 8:12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

It is incredible arrogance to think that God does not see the abominations that are practiced in secret places. These ancients of the house of Israel, who were the elders of their people, believed that God did not see their idolatry.

What Images of Jealousy are hanging on the walls of the temples today? What beast is being worshipped, what creeping thing is being served? Let us allow the Holy Spirit, who searches our hearts, to reveal to us the truth, just as He did to the prophet, Ezekiel. Let us learn from the example set forth in these scriptures and never say, “…the Lord seeth us not.”

Hoshi’ana

November 29,2009

Revival

And you hath he quickened,  who were dead in trespasses and sins; Eph 2:1 

 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.  For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.  The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.  When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.  But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.  And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. Jon 2:1-10

 What is revival – that is, what is biblical revival?  Passing many churches in this nation, you will see signs advertising “revivals” and many of these types of gatherings are receiving national, if not, global popularity. 

 Is the jerking, shaking, and spasmodic body movements accompanying these revivals biblical or is it another spirit manifesting in loss of control, hysteria and trance.  What is this falling down backwards and writhing on the floor in some ecstatic state?  Is THIS the quickening of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter the Father sends in Jesus name?  Jesus Christ told us what to expect when the Spirit is present:

 Joh 16:8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 

 Let us examine what SCRIPTURE defines as revival and try the spirits of those ministries who are claiming that the Spirit of the Almighty God is present in their meetings.  A study of the Word of God will reveal, that those ministries are outside the parameters of true Christianity and preaching “…another Jesus”,  blaspheming the truth of the Word of God.

 The Lord warned us that many would come in His name, proclaiming to be Christ. 

 Luk 21:8  And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

 Go ye not thereafter after them!  If they say, “He is in the desert…go forth NOT, He is in the secret chambers – BELIEVE IT NOT!”  If they say, He is in Kansas City or Pensacola, what will you do? 

 Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

 The Bible warns us against deceiving, lying spirits whose sole purpose is to drive us far away from the truth of the scriptures.  In fact, both Old and New Testaments have much to say regarding false prophets and exhortation that we test their words and judge righteously. 

 1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

 Jer 14:14  Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

 I recently viewed a “revival” on Daystar Television and was concerned to see so many overcome by emotionalism and hysteria.  If the scriptures tell us that He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment, why is it that none of these manifestations of the Holy Spirit were occurring?  I saw men and women shaking, having little to no control over their bodies, I heard chanting and, NO SCRIPTURE.  

 We are instructed to study to show ourselves approved unto GOD, and if we are Christians, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, who will lead us and guide us into ALL truth.   If this is not the biblical revival that the scriptures reveal, then what is it?

 Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

 The apostle Paul wrote that we were to have NO fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather to reprove them, for all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light.  The Light of God is revealed in the Word and testified of by His Holy apostles and prophets.   As Christians, we are expressly forbidden from partaking in these “unfruitful works of darkness”:

 1Co 10:20  But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

 Biblical Revival

 

  God has quickened (revived) us, who were dead in trespass and sins.  We were translated from death to life WHEN we repented of our sins and believed the gospel.  If we have indeed obeyed the gospel:

 We became a new creature:

 2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 We receive a new heart:

 Eze 11:19  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

 We have passed from death to life:

 Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 

 We receive Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

 1Co 12:4  Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1Co 12:5  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

1Co 12:6  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

1Co 12:7  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

1Co 12:8  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

1Co 12:9  To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

1Co 12:10  To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

1Co 12:11  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

 We produce the Fruit of the Spirit:

 Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

 We overcome sin:

 1Jn 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

1Jn 2:14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

 We are born again:

 1Pe 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

 We proclaim the Gospel:

 Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 We pray and God hears us:

 1Pe 3:12  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

 We have power with God:

Gen 32:28  And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed

 We are hated by the world:

 Luk 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

 The apostle Peter teaches us in  2^nd Peter 1, to add to our faith, temperance, which is self-control.  The Holy Spirit brings peace, calm and clarity to our beings, causing us to walk circumspectly and upright, conducting ourselves in manners as becoming Christians.  The Spirit does not cause us to exhibit wild behavior, nor does He cause us to let go with wreckless abandon.  He does not chant, He does not cause us to writhe, He does not cause us to move our body with violent jerking motions.  These actions are found NO WHERE in scripture. 

 The breath of God IS His Holy Spirit.  It brings us life:

The Spirit of God hath made me,  and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Job 33:4

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them,  Receive ye the Holy Ghost:  Joh 20:22 

 Biblical revival is therefore evidenced by repentance, bringing restoration to a soul that was alienated from God.  The very fact that we must be quickened, as defined by scripture, is because of sin.  An individual who is in right standing with Christ, has no need of spiritual revival, as his life is hid in Christ.

 Psa 85:4  Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

Psa 85:5  Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?

Psa 85:6  Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

 The Strong’s definitions for revive as follows:

 

H2421  חיה  châyâh   khaw-yaw’A prim root (compare H2331, H2424); to live, whether literally or figuratively; causatively to revive: – keep (leave, make) alive, X certainly, give (promise) life, (let, suffer to) live, nourish up, preserve (alive), quicken, recover, repair, restore (to life), revive, (X God) save (alive, life, lives), X surely, be whole.

H2331    חוה   châvâh  khaw-vah’A primitive root; (compare H2324, H2421); properly to live; by implication (intensively) to declare or show: – show.

H2424 חיּוּתchayûthkhah-yooth’ From H2421; life: –  X living.

Scriptures to study: 

(Isa 57:15)  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

(Hos 14:7)  They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

 (Hab 3:2)  O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

  (1Ki 17:22)  And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

 (2Ki 13:21)  And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

 (Rom 7:9)  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

 (Rom 14:9)  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

 (Hos 6:2)  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

 Hoshi’ana

Novemeber 29, 2009