THE DEPRESSION HAS BEGUN

The DEPRESSION HAS BEGUN
-by Andrew Strom.

Ten months ago in November 2007 while preaching in Wisconsin
USA, I felt a strong unction from the Holy Spirit to speak about
the future of the United States and the imminent Crash. As often
happens under that kind of anointing, a real boldness came over
me, and for the first time I found myself clearly putting a "date"
on the coming financial Depression - something I had never done
before - except in the vaguest of terms. I found myself predicting
that tragically within six months America would be in Recession,
and within 12 months the actual Depression would begin.
(-This audio is on our website - http://www.revivalschool.com )

So let us look at the evidence. It is now ten months later. Has the
Depression begun? Sadly the answer has to be "Yes". In the last
two weeks the two largest mortgage giants in the world (Fannie
Mae & Freddie Mac) failed, the largest Insurance Company on earth
crashed (all taken over by the US Government), Lehman Brothers
went bankrupt (almost taking the entire financial system with it),
Money Markets reeled, the two remaining giant Investment banks
sought protection as "holding banks" - which means the end of
Wall Street as we know it, etc, etc. Stocks are in turmoil, Oil leapt
on Monday by the most ever recorded, gold is volatile - and on it
goes. -The most shattering two weeks since the Great Depression.
Meanwhile the US Treasury is seeking 700 billion dollars in a
forlorn effort to put Humpty back together again - tragically too late.

THERE ARE "JONAHS" on THE BOAT

Why is this storm hitting America at this time? There are certainly
many reasons - most of which we have discussed before. But let
me put something else before you that I believe God spoke to me
not long ago:- There are "Jonahs" on the boat - and they are
sending the nation down.

Who are these Jonahs? I believe they are the "prophets" of America
who will not preach the truth - who sleep comfortably in the bowels
of the nation while chaos reigns all around them. Too afraid to
deliver God's word 'Repent', they run the other way - toward smooth
talk and pleasant sayings - "Peace peace" when there is no peace.
And the depths of this great crisis can be laid directly at their door.

Yes - that's right. A big reason why the ship of America is sinking
is because her prophets ran away from their God-given task and
message at the crucial moment.

If only these prophets had preached the TRUTH when the nation
so desperately needed to hear it. If only they had begun - way
back in the 1980's - to call the lukewarm church to repentance,
to rebuke the people for their love of money, their greed, their sin.
But no - the siren call of "popularity" was too strong. The call of
"grace, grace", of mass acceptance, of big reputations and even
bigger offerings. And so they sold out. And now they sleep bliss-
fully in the midst of the ship, while the storm whips to fury all
around. How do you sleep, O Jonahs, who would not cry "Repent"?

And it is not just the "prophets" either. It is the televangelists too.
Caught up in a world of fakery, hype and money-grubbing unseen
in the church since the Dark Ages, these hucksters are spreading
their garbage to every Third World Revival nation around the globe.
Greed, manipulation and pride on a scale that only America could
generate. Where is your shame, O charlatans of greed?

And so God is forced to act. And just like Jonah, the storm will
not abate until the wayward preachers are thrown overboard. Until
America is rid of these international thieves and prostitutes, she
is finished. And she will not recover until they are gone.

You see, it is not just the leaders who are at fault here. It is also
the people, who "love to have it so". And thus until the heart of the
people is scourged and purged they will accomodate the "Jonahs" -
even seeking more of their ear-tickling fables to comfort themselves
in this time of breaking.

Until the heart of American greed is shattered - until her people
act of their own volition to throw these Jonahs overboard - this
storm will go on and on. In fact, it is about to grow a whole lot worse.

Mark my words, America: Until you remove these Jonahs, your
nation cannot recover. They have held the whole world in thrall by
their apostasy. And God cannot have it so any more. How long will
it take you to realize? How long will it take you to act?

THROW THE JONAHS OVERBOARD and be done with them!!
Only then will this mother of all storms subside.

Sarah Palin and Women in Church Leadership

Dr. Kluane Spake

www.kluane.org - spake@mindspring.com
Sarah Palin and Women in Church Leadership
 
Right now, many conservative Christian churches still don't allow women to preach in their pulpit or participate in governmental leadership. Most Conservative Christians believe that God has ordained the roles of men and women to be different in the Church.
 
On September 18, 2008, Gospel Magazine (the most widely distributed urban Christian publication in the country) was pulled off the shelves of more than 100 LifeWay Bookstore across America. The bookstores' owner, the Southern Baptist Convention, said the problem was that the five smiling women on the cover are women church pastors! Other churches still don't allow women leaders either - i.e. the Catholic Church and several evangelical groups (such as the Presbyterian Church in America still don't ordain women.

For years, I attended a church that would NOT allow me to speak at a public meeting, preach to a group in my home, teach a Sunday School class to adult men and women, take an offering, introduce a song, or say a public prayer. They were nice people - doing what they believed was right - that "Biblical order" demands that men alone were chosen to lead in Church government authority, and they alone should run the show!
 
It's odd that it seems okay to many of these same Conservative Christian types to support Governor Sarah Palin as potential Vice President -- when most of them don't even think that a woman should exercise co-leadership in her marriage, let alone lead her country!
 
Whether she wins or not, the question is why are people willing to vote for her as Vice President and still think that a woman is not qualified to serve as pastor of their church?
 
We must ask, IF the Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, is supposed to be "UNDER" her husband and to be submissive to him (as so many theologians claim), then how can she independently lead America? Will her husband actually be making all the decisions? Will McCain be her "covering?" Will she just be some "man's" puppet or figure-head? Or, maybe her husband will relinquish his authority "over" her, so that she can do her job. Or, perhaps she is well able to stand firmly in her right to serve fully to her capacity?
 
With almost multiple personalities, the extreme Christian Right seemed ecstatic when Sarah Palin was invited to be on the McCain ticket. That was because she is a Christian! But how can she go along with their expectation to remain subservient," compliant, accommodating, submissive, and deferential to all men -- and still fulfill this assignment of Vice President of this great country? 
 
This continued gender bias is a PRIORITY question for all of Christianity. I know! I write this as a woman pastor who has fought a career-long battle to shatter the "Stained Glass Ceiling" for gender equality. I've surveyed hundreds of churches to determine their use of women in leadership - and even though some say that it is okay, they usually don't implement it. OF course there are numerous pastors who champion women's rights to lead, but statistically they are few and far between.
 
And of course, during the last decades, there has been a great rise in successful female pastors, evangelists, Bishops, etc. They have endured in spite of it all.
 
Hierarchical tradition has long maintained that "Women should keep in their proper place," or as Martin Luther coined, "A woman's place is in the home." That saying is not anywhere in the Scripture, it's a quote from Luther!
Then there was Calvin, who taught that a woman was created in the image of God... "Though in the second degree."i Calvin was certain that women had absolutely no place of impact in society. Earlier Augustine wrote his theory in De Genesi ad Litteram IX.5, cfVII.3,1 that said the woman was only to be a helper for childbearing, but in every other case another man would be a better help.
 
Limiting and prejudicial ideas against women in leadership have endured in various forms for centuries.
 
We can no longer ignore the fact that thousands upon thousands of educated people flatly reject the Gospel because they refuse to accept these ridiculous kinds of preconceived, prejudicial ideas that barrier abilities and squelch potential of another human being.
 
In this era of heightened gender awareness and sexual revolution, the church must address this issue of discrimination. That's why we must re-examine Church history that ledgers continuous biased bigotry and closed mindedness against women in leadership.
 
Praise God! This truly is a cultural, political, social, and theological dilemma! This issue of equality has long gone fully addressed. Sure, some of us women are labeled "exceptions," but we still don't get invited to play golf with the guys!
 
The doors of full opportunity within the Church have been generally closed to most women. Often, a woman can have ten times the capability as a man, and not be given full recognition. Trust me when I say that even slightly egalitarian ideas are often labeled by many as feminist or a "Jezebel spirit!"  If a woman should happen to have ministry success, it is usually met with condescending disapproval and even hostility. Secret subterfuge. Indifference. Or, at best, nuances of patronization.
 
Thankfully, Jesus was the ultimate rebel! He defended women, revealed truths to them that He had not told another, and appeared to them first after He died. The way He valued women was a concept that shook that culture to the heart.  Paul insisted in Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ." This is a core-essential emphasis. No human being is excluded from service to God.2
 
The question is, can women make independent Church Leadership decisions regardless of their reproductive organs?
 
Win or not, Governor Sarah confronts the Church with a great predicament! We are being forced to confront long held standards. Church leaders at large must re-evaluate their staunch posturing against sincere and capable women leading.
If Sarah Palin is elected Vice President, will she (as a Christian leader and a political leader) be able to preach in a Southern Baptist pulpit? Or, in your church? WHAT? Are you open to women preaching in the pulpit? Leading governmentally?
 
Palin could potentially become President of the United States of America - and have authority over EVERY SINGLE PERSON in America (male and female). Does that mean that God can equally use both women and men in society, church, and home?

Lord God, we excitedly enjoy watching this unfolding reformation of change.
 
 
 
1 Calvin, "Commentaries on the First Book of Moses called Genesis" 1.2.18, vol. I, trans. John King (Grand Rapids, MI): Eerdmans, 1963.
 
2  See my book, "From Enmity to Equality" for a detailed theological study of what the Bible actually says about women.

God's Friend and Yours
Dr. Kluane Spake -  Your Online Pastor

BECOMING A TRUMPET OF THE LORD

Becoming a Trumpet of the Lord
by Lee Grady (Editor Charisma Magazine) www.themordecaiproject.com

While listening to an old Billy Graham sermon, I was challenged to be a faithful herald of the pure gospel.
 
A few weeks ago I watched a vintage Billy Graham sermon from the 1950s that aired on television. I said to a friend who was with me that I rarely hear the gospel articulated today as clearly as we did through this amazing evangelist. A few days later, for my birthday, my buddy sent me three recorded Graham sermons that are now available on DVD.
 
Last weekend I watched one of the messages, from Graham’s 1971 crusade at McCormick Place in Chicago. The shag haircuts, huge afros and bright polyester fabrics in the audience looked odd, and the music performed before the sermon was almost prehistoric (Norma Zimmer from The Lawrence Welk Show!). The cultural references included a mention of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar and a remark about Ocean’s 1970 hippie ballad, “Put Your Hand in the Hand.”
 
But when Graham held his big Bible in the air and preached about the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in that packed arena (still the largest exhibition hall in the country), nothing seemed outdated. The sermon might as well have been recorded yesterday. His message, in fact, seemed more relevant than a lot of the Christian books, videos, blogs and PowerPoint-enhanced teachings we circulate in 2008.
“My heart cries out for the American church to stop muddling, muffling, cheapening, distorting and merchandising the pure gospel.”
Listening to Graham stirs something deep inside me: a passion to preach, and to be a herald of truth to my generation. My heart cries out for the American church to stop muddling, muffling, cheapening, distorting and merchandising the pure gospel. How we need to return to the simplicity of evangelism that cuts to the heart, produces repentance and reveals the Son of God.
 
For several months I’ve been asking the Lord to make me his trumpet. In my quest He’s shown me some of the qualities that shaped biblical prophets into His mouthpieces. I pray all of us will adopt these same characteristics.
 
1. A prophet is bold. True prophets have steel backbones and foreheads of flint. They do not cower when the majority disagrees with them. Like the apostle Paul, they are compelled to preach because a holy restlessness churns inside them. They are possessed by God, and they must release the fire inside. Will you pray for this boldness and say with Isaiah, “Here am I, send me” (Is. 6:8, NASB)—even when you know you will be opposed?
 
2. A prophet stays biblical. So much of what is passed off as prophecy today resembles what you might find in a daily horoscope. The so-called “prophetic movement” in the contemporary church has been tainted by silly fads and charismatic witchcraft. One prophetic e-mail list sent out a word recently saying that dormant angels were being awakened out of the walls of our churches. (That’s not remotely scriptural.) Another predicted that God would begin to speak to people through the names of candy bars and blue jeans.
 
So much of our prophetic verbiage sounds like warm and fuzzy fortunetelling. This type of “imitation prophecy” can titillate and thrill those with itching ears, but it is pablum designed for babies who don’t want to grow up. What we need is a word we can sink our teeth into—true meat that is the Word of God.
 
3. A prophet does not compromise. Nathan was willing to confront King David’s sin, even though the prophet was on the palace payroll. Yet today, we practice the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” rule. We prophesy what people want to hear so we can get an honorarium and an invitation to return. This has caused some whole groups of prophets to collectively follow each other into a ditch.
 
Beware of the herd mentality! Don’t just swallow and follow! You cannot go along with something just because everyone else is doing it or preaching it. Stay close to the Lord, develop keen discernment and listen to the nagging voice of your conscience.
 
4. A prophet is compassionate. Some prophets today refuse to confront because they are too nice. Others speak rashly “like the thrusts of a sword” (see Prov. 12:18) and their words are delivered with a bitter, vindictive spirit. Neither of these prophets will receive his reward. We must speak the truth, and we must do it in love.
 
Most people think Jeremiah was angry and judgmental, but actually he wept when he confronted Israel’s sins. It is not enough to prophesy the Lord’s word—we should aim to speak with His tone of voice. We must be willing to intercede for and identify with those we confront.
 
5. A prophet stays pure. When Moses made the tabernacle, God told him to make silver trumpets that were “hammered work” (Num. 10:2). If we want to speak for Him, we must be willing to endure the smelting process. (In other words, prepare to be hammered!) Before Isaiah could be an effective prophet to his nation, his lips had to touch burning coals from God’s altar (see Is. 6:6-8). We must be willing to visit the uncomfortable furnace of sanctification.
 
God is not so much interested in the booming voice, the rousing delivery, the charisma or the technological savvy that we expect today from celebrity preachers. What matters most is pure content, and that can only flow through a pure vessel.
 
6. A prophet faithfully embraces the call. Jonah tried to flee as far as possible from Ninevah, but the God of the second chance used a strange vessel to get the prophet back on course. It involved a visit to a fish’s stomach, where Jonah spent three days in darkness, stewing in digestive juices. When the fish vomited him on land, he was better prepared to speak heaven’s words.
 
Like Jonah, the American church has been running from our evangelistic mission. We charismatics get excited about prophecy, angels, healing, visions, dreams, gold dust and prosperity, but when it comes to winning souls we’re not interested. Like Jonah, we’ve boarded a ship for Tarshish—and we’ve put unbelievers in peril by our disobedience.
 
Now is the time for us to reclaim our role as trumpets for the Lord. May we take up the mantle of Billy Graham and speak to our generation with boldness, biblical integrity, character, compassion, purity and faithfulness.

REVIVAL? NOT!

Revival? Not!
by Terry Somerville www.totalchange.org

I'm back from much needed holiday. Over the last few months many of you asked for my thoughts on the Lakeland Revival. I hadn't visited the meetings myself so I released several teachings to help believers test things out. I had heard good and bad reports from ministers I know, and because some of Todd Bentley's teachings were way off I urged caution.

In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 2. Corinthians 13:1

Well, now we know. It has become established that there has been much exaggeration and hype about resurrections etc. (Google words "Robert Ricciardelli" and "Lakeland" to find 1st hand reports.) Apparently Todd was cautioned on this and increased the numbers he reported! This is usually called lying. Now we are hear that Todd and his wife are separating. Dear Lord, help Todd and your church!
So what do we make of the whole Lakeland Revival mess?

1. Trust Jesus, Not Preachers or Meetings
If you have received from the Lord through Lakeland don't allow your faith to be in crisis over this. You received by trusting Jesus not Todd Bentley or a meeting! I remember some members of my congregation having a faith crisis when Jimmy Swaggart was exposed because they were saved in his meetings. I had to teach them Jimmy does not save. Jesus does!
For from Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Romans 11:36


2. Jesus Comes Wherever Two or Three Gather In His Name
God moved for some in Lakeland because Christians gathered in expectant faith! When will we get it? It's not a special place or person. It's a special savior! It is faith in Him that brings results. What is different about Lakeland, or any special meetings is that Christians expected God to move. But truly, God will move whenever we have such faith!

I remember planning special meetings at our church for an international revivalist. A huge crowd waited expectantly but he didn't make it. But, we didn't need him! Faith and expectancy was so high that Jesus moved in our midst in an amazing way! So why not every week at church? Good question! Could it be our hearts are on something else?

3. Christian - Get Your Own Anointing
Many people travel a long way to "get the anointing and take it home." There's some huge problems with this teaching. Yes, anointing can rub off, but God wants to make you a river, not have you sponging off someone elses anointing. This is what a Christian is all about!

Going to a meeting somewhere does not qualify you to receive. It may stir you up and be a time when the Holy Spirit gets to your heart. But it's faith in the full work of the cross that works, not the meeting ! God wants every Christian to walk in their own anointing, not depend on someone elses. Thats the amazing thing about being a Christian. The cross of Christ accomplished everything we need for life and godliness. Believe it.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
John 7:38

4. Do We Take Home Some Mystical Power Or Use Faith?Even when some one "brings the revival home" and a church "gets it" it's not a mystical substance you brought back with you. It doesn't work that way, it's mainly about faith. Look at what happens. Someone went to the 'revival" so everyone expects God to work. Guess what? Jesus was with you wanting to work His power all along, but you didn't believe it till you experienced it yourself. Now that you've seen it, and friends trust you at church, they will receive it too! It's time for the church to trust Jesus from the beginning, instead of waiting for far away meetings.

When we first heard about the renewal beginning in Toronto we had no money to go. We prayed in faith "Jesus, give everything you are doing to us too." That night it came without any travel, any contact, any impartation of anointing. It was simple faith. We have Jesus.
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
I John 2:27

4. There Are No Special Places, Just Believers Gathering!
The teaching that we have holy locations, and holy buildings (churches) and that we must make a pilgrimage to them to receive, is actually pagan idolatry mixed with Old Testament temple worship. Of course God may meet you at these places, but God will meet the sincere believer in any setting.

We are not a people of holy buildings, and holy places. We are individually and corporately the temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not waiting for you to go to Florida to meet Him. The reason outpourings happen in certain places is because believers are believing and receiving at that place! When will Christians actually believe they are the temple of God where ever they are?
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
I Corinthians 6:19

5. Listen to Your Listener, Know By Your Knower
Many Christians have said they felt something was wrong in Lakeland, but couldn't put their finger on it. This is the Holy Spirit bearing witness to your spirit by a lack of peace. When we let the peace of God rule in us it means He is acting as an umpire calling "fair ball, foul ball" If it's foul ball, test it out. Listen to the umpire even if you don't understand the call!
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3:15

6. Those Who Say "Don't Criticize, Accept Without Testing" are WRONG!
Don't listen to such people. They are deceived! We are explicitly told to test everything. See my article on testing.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
I Thessalonians 5:21

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
I John 4:1


7. Our "Spirit Filled" Church Is A Prisoner Of Consumer Culture
One look at the current crop of Holy Spirit ministry tells us the church is under a terrible stronghold of consumerism. Much prophetic ministry has sold out to trashy sensationalism to get a following, rather than directing the Body Of Christ into fidelity with Jesus. The anointing and blessing of God are treated as a product being marketed. "Come and get it!" Attendance and financial gifts are the price of purchase. Revival has become the "sacred cow" of the church. The one who has it wins! We are serving the IDOLS OF THE LAND

Hearts Are Not Right
Yes we are forgiven and belong to Jesus, but our hearts have not been right! We have been serving success, size, fame, youth, money! It seems every new teaching or event is just more of this! Believers must begin serving Him with holiness of heart. Where is the cry of repentance? Where is the desire for TRUE HOLINESS?

It is time for something different. A Church set free from serving the gods of the pagan nation around us. A return to the complete good news of the gospel. Jesus provided all at the cross! He died for forgiveness and eternal life PLUS everything we need for life and godliness. Don't seek it from the culture but from Him. Repent and seek Him! It's full LIFE , and the good news is you qualify now by faith only! It's not men and meetings and anointings, it's trusting Jesus completed work and love! Enter in.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Ephesians 1:18-19

8. Apostolic Covering Is Not Working
Over the last number of years God has been causing the church to recognize apostolic ministry. Yet the sad truth about the current apostolic trend is they seem to be producing mans hierarchies - an old wineskin! It is not working! Also, the idea that apostles, or any man is a "spiritual covering" or "father" and provides protection is not biblical. Often it has degenerated into mere control and, as we have seen, can end in failure. Hierarchies don't usually produce the genuine relationships needed in the Body Of Christ.

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Matthew 23:9

Jesus is our total covering. We have only one Father who is in heaven. We need brothers and sisters in Christ, a real body that grows and depends on one another.

Conclusion
A new day is coming in His church, and the troubles with the Lakeland Revival gives us all the more reason for seeking the Lord with profound earnestness. Millions of believers are done with Christendom. (the temple style, hierarchical church since Constantine) We are ready to have our pre-conceived ideas of church exposed and torn down. No more hype and flash from leaders in captivity to our consumer culture! We want the genuine, the Kingdom.
We are looking for the pure DNA of the Lord to be revealed in His people.
We want real loving brotherly relationships with our fellow believers,
We want true elders in the faith to step forward.
We want the gifted ministries to mature the Body of Christ, rather than be mixed with worldly motives.
We want the fullness of what Christ purchased at Calvary to be manifest in us.
We want to be fully empowered in this hour, to preach the good news, cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead and disciple the nations

WHEN CHRISTIANS COME OUT OF THE CLOSET

When Christians Come Out of the Closet
by Lee Grady (Charisma Editor) www.themordecaiproject.com

Singer Ray Boltz’s shocking announcement that he’s gay offers us a chance to adjust our attitudes.
How should we respond when a fellow Christian embraces a gay lifestyle? Do we give him a hug and tell him we wholeheartedly respect his decision? Do we just keep quiet and pray? Or do we grab a Bible and offer a stern lecture?
 
I know it’s an uncomfortable subject, but I’m delving into it because recording artist Ray Boltz has come out of the closet. The 55-year-old singer, winner of three Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association, told the world last Friday that he just got tired of fighting his same-sex feelings. He told the Washington Blade, a gay magazine, that he now lives “a normal gay life” and feels liberated.
 
I am sure the gay community rejoiced that Boltz has joined their side of this debate. Now they are waiting to see our response. Many of them expect Christians to yank Boltz’s music off the radio, stage bonfires with his CDs and send cryptic death threats. (Hint: None of these is the right reaction.)
 
“It’s easy to get angry at the people who are making wrong choices, but self-righteous anger does not produce the character of Christ in us or anyone else.”
Best known for a string of Christian hits in the 1990s including “Thank You” and “I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb,” Boltz told the Blade that he disclosed his repressed homosexuality to his wife and four grown children in 2004, the year he retired from his music career. He quietly moved to South Florida and began dating. His divorce from his wife of 33 years was finalized this year.
 
His confession was brutally honest: “I’d denied [my homosexuality] ever since I was a kid. I became a Christian. I thought that was the way to deal with this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was just going, ‘I’m still gay. I know I am.’ And I just got to the place where I couldn’t take it anymore.”
 
When I first heard Boltz’s announcement I felt betrayed, the same way I feel when a famous preacher admits to an affair or when a good friend leaves the faith. I’ll admit I immediately began composing a biblical lecture in my head.
 
I was upset that Boltz chose to stop fighting same-sex temptation after all those years of marriage. I was sorry to learn that he feels “closer to God” since he embraced his suppressed gayness. Most of all I was annoyed that his decision sends a distorted message to our culture that Christianity doesn’t offer the power to overcome sin.
 
But as I asked the Lord to share His heart with me about Boltz’s situation, I realized that our corporate response to this is as much about a right attitude as it is about right doctrines:
 
1. We must weep. The prophets who called ancient Israel to repent for apostasy did so through tears. Not only did they declare the word of God, but they also spoke with His tone of voice. I pray we will refrain from speaking God’s words to gay people until we have wept long enough to internalize His heart for them.
 
It’s easy to get angry at the people who are making wrong choices, but self-righteous anger does not produce the character of Christ in us or anyone else. Weeping, on the other hand, tenderizes us. It adjusts our self-righteous attitudes.
 
It’s not enough for us to preach to people. We must pray for them first. When they meet us, they need to see our moist eyes, not scowls and pointed fingers. Compassionate prayer bathes our message in God’s mercy. It requires us to humbly identify with sinners as we recognize that each one of us battles some form of brokenness or addiction.
 
2. We must love homosexuals. Preachers are fond of making grand declarations of God’s hatred of homosexuality, and we are prone to cheer them on. But Tim Wilkins, a recovered homosexual who is now director of Cross Ministry in Wake Forest, N.C., pleads with Christians to tone down the angry rhetoric. He says that every time a preacher makes a demeaning remark about homosexuals in a sermon, he wounds 70 percent of his listeners who either (1) silently deal with same-sex attraction themselves; or (2) have family and friends who do.
 
A 2007 Barna survey showed that 90 percent of young non-Christians and 80 percent of young churchgoers believe Christians display “excessive contempt toward gays and lesbians.” Could this be one reason we are not reaching large numbers of homosexuals with the gospel? If we don’t show genuine love, we can expect them to ignore us.
 
It was Jesus’ offer of friendship, not a sermon, that brought the hated tax collector Zaccheus to repentance. When Jesus called the little guy down from the sycamore tree and said, “Today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5, NASB), He erased all the rejection Zaccheus had endured from the moralizers who had condemned his thievery. (And Jesus didn’t get more popular with religious people when He made this new friendship.) Perhaps we need more hospitality and fewer sermons!
 
3. We must contend for the faith. Ray Boltz’s disappointing decision represents a national trend. Many people today are embracing homosexuality as an appealing alternative. They are listening to teachers, psychiatrists, talk-show hosts, Hollywood celebrities, sympathetic family members and even some mainline Christian ministers who say sexual orientation is totally genetic—and unchangeable.
 
These people have bought the lie that says a person who feels same-sex attraction must always be controlled by those desires. Not true! Jesus paid the ultimate price so that we can have freedom from every kind of sinful behavior.
 
We don’t have the right to compromise God’s Word, no matter how many people decide to come out of the closet. But let’s remember that the message we are called to proclaim to the world is not “Homosexuality is wrong.” That’s a true statement, but it has no power to change anybody.
 
The gospel we must shout from the housetops is that Jesus loves all of us, no matter our condition, and that His forgiveness can heal our brokenness. I pray Ray Boltz will soon discover that truth in a fresh way—and I hope he’ll write many more songs about it.

SPIRITUAL CHURCH (EKKLESIA)

Spiritual Church (Ekklesia)
by Ron McGatlin www.openheaven.com

We are as explorers moving day by day further into a new land – a land we have never before seen, filled with things we have not yet known. Almost every day of our journey reveals awesome sights about which we may have heard but were unable to understand or even imagine until our eyes feast upon it, and all of our senses are quickened as we examine it with great excitement. Suddenly, what we have only read about and could not fully understand now makes perfect sense as we partake of and experience the reality of that which has previously been only a promise.

The future has come to us now. The glorious reality of God and His kingdom reality is presenting itself more as we reach each new horizon and partake of the previously unseen spiritual reality of God. Truly our eyes are lifted up unto the hills of God far above the darkness of the fallen world unto the heavenly order descending from above. Truly what God has prepared for those that love Him had never entered our natural minds until this blessed day in which the Holy Spirit is revealing it to a new generation of maturing sons of God.

We are more than being revived. We are being made alive in areas where we have never lived before. Our spiritual senses and spiritual lives have been so dulled by centuries of natural living and natural reasoning and understanding that, though we were alive, we were as dead being blind and deaf to supernatural spiritual reality.

The supernatural works of God were foreign and appeared impossible to us. We relegated all current supernatural to only demonic sorcery. The supernatural gifts of the Spirit that should have been part of our daily lives were not functioning. Our natural animal instinctive living led us to look unto our own ways devised by our prideful natural minds to provide for our natural appetites, while the world died spiritually and drifted into a realm of deep darkness far from the light and life of spiritual living in God.

We made church into a human endeavor of natural functions and developed religion in an attempt to reach God with our natural efforts. We took a devious shortcut to life and developed religious forms and ways to eliminate the costly real way of the cross of self denial and acceptance of spiritual reality. In bypassing our personal cross experience, we missed the resurrection life of Jesus that came to move us out of our natural ways and into the supernatural spiritual ways of resurrection life in God.

Praise God we have come to a new horizon, and the brightness of the light of God has appeared. Forerunner scouts have returned to the camp of explorers with glorious reports of real spiritual life of God just ahead, and we are moving out at first daylight to experience the real assembling of God with His people in spiritual gatherings with God.

The Ekklesia church is not a natural thing it is a spiritual reality. The Ekklesia is made up of spiritual beings called out of the natural world and into spiritual reality gathered unto God in the Spirit - a spiritual gathering of living stones – an assembly of Spirit God, Jesus, many angels, and spirits of just men made mature in Jesus. All of our questions about headship, structure, and organization of church are dissolved as the Ekklesia comes together in the Spirit in the heavenly New Jerusalem on earth as it is in heaven.

Heb 12:22-24: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

For many centuries the church has been, for the most part, a gathering of natural beings with only occasional visitations of the Spirit touching the spirit within mankind. For the most part, natural effort went into performing religious rituals and praying mostly faithless prayers to a perceived distant God. It became a lukewarm church primarily concerned with social order and well-being. Skilled orators preached from a level of a higher caste than the ordinary laity who sat quietly at weekly meetings. Some received a sense of guilt and need for repentance of their sins, while others day-dreamed or fought to stay awake.

Probably no one even thought or dreamed of a gathering of spiritual beings on earth together with an innumerable company of angels, God the judge of all, Jesus the firstborn, and spirits of just men made perfect. We are so accustomed to living in the natural earthly side of our natural/spiritual being that the concept of the spiritual heavenly Jerusalem gathering on earth is hard for us to even think.

I believe God is speaking to His people today to step out of our natural side into our spiritual being side and look over the next horizon into the gathering of spiritual beings with Christ Jesus, Father God, holy angels, and spirits of others redeemed by the blood and living in the better things of the spiritual realm. The Holy Spirit brings all this to pass. Our spirits come together with the Holy Spirit and the entire God family and multitudes of angels.

Can we see it? Can we allow the reality of the spiritual Ekklesia to enter into our minds? Can we prepare now to come together in our next gathering as spiritual beings and not as natural people? No longer filled with conversation and considerations of natural things but filled with spiritual things – waiting upon the Spirit, instead of natural planning. This is moving into the next horizon of the reality of walking in the Spirit, abiding in Him and He in us. This is God dwelling with His people. The light of His glory will fill the room, and our hearts will knit together with God and one another.

2 Cor 6:16: ….. For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."

Rev 21:3: And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Rev 21:23: The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

Supernatural will become natural in spiritual gatherings. There will be no need for pumping and hype, no need for natural human intervention and control. The Spirit of God will rule as the headship of Christ Jesus becomes fully evident. It is the family of God from heaven and earth coming together, worshiping the One who sits upon the throne in perfect harmony – multitudes of angels blending their voices with the spirits of justified men in heavenly melody rising to high crescendos and flowing as a mountain stream lightly through the valley and suddenly flowing with great strength and joy into a glorious waterfall to again come into deep pools of fresh sweet clear life in perfect peace - heaven and earth in perfect harmony praising God upon the throne.

Mat 18:20: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

John 4:23-24: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

A SPIRITUAL CITY ARISING IN THE EARTH

A Spiritual City Arising In The Earth
by John Belt www.liveinhispresence.com

"You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." I Peter 2:5

We are spiritual stones being built up into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. He has promised that if we abide in Him we will bear much fruit for His Glory.
 
"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.'" Isaiah 28:16

 
I had a vision recently and saw a most crystalline city of God arising in the Spirit. I believe God is raising this city of His glory throughout the world. It was so beautiful and sparkling, resplendent with light shining forth and dispelling the darkness. If we can see with spiritual eyes, this is what God is raising up (Ephesians 1:18).
 
It has form in the Spirit but is not a natural man-made structure. It is a fearsome thing to the enemy. But it is a glorious thing to the sons and daughters of God! It was composed of crystal, but again it is a spiritual reality. It is a picture of God replicating on Earth what is already in Heaven (Luke 11:2).
 
The spiritual realities of the Kingdom of God are being built and established at this time. This city is not of human hands but is made up of spiritual stones in Jesus Christ. He, being the foundation stone, is a glorious stone that holds all things together.
 
Walk in the Light
As we walk in the light as He is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another and the Blood of Christ washes us from all sin (I John 1:7). It is in this place that we are able to be part of this City of Light that God is raising up.
 
We now walk with Him, in communion with Him, just as Adam walked with God in the Garden before the fall, but in even deeper measures because God now dwells inside us as we are living tabernacles of the glory of Christ.
 
"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." John 10:9
 
He has opened the door of Heaven to us that we may come in and go out finding true spiritual food, true riches, dwelling with Him in the place prepared for us before the foundation of the world (Luke 16:11).

As we learn to value the anointing of His Spirit that He has given us, we are able to abide in Him and He in us. With this, His light will permeate us and shine through us.
 
High Praises of God & Two-Edged Sword
"Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute on them the written judgment--
This honor have all His saints.
Praise the LORD!" Psalm 149:6-9
 
What are the high praises of God? The high praises are those praises that take us to a different place of experience with Him. These are the praises that God inhabits and in turn deposits within us the glory substance of the Kingdom of Heaven. These praises lift our feet to be like hinds feet on His high places. As we praise Him He lifts our feet to these high places.
 
"He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.

I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them..." Psalm 18:33-37
He causes us to experience the spiritual reality that we are seated with Him in the Heavenly places far above all darkness, hindrance and demonic activity. The high praises take us upward and cause us to experience ascension in our spirit, connecting us with the heart of God. This spiritual revelation becomes reality to us and we realize all things are under our feet just as they are already under His feet.
 
These praises also cleanse the heart and the atmosphere surrounding us, ushering in the Prince of Peace to come and rule over us (Isaiah 9:6). It is here that we find the power of the double-edged sword.
 
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
 
In this place with Him, we are no longer just quoting Scriptures. The Word of God is now activated within our spirits because we have entered into a unity dynamic with the Lord. Our hearts become one with Him in this place. This is where authority and dominion over all spiritual opposition is made manifest in us.
 
With this light, the double-edged sword of the Word of God now cuts through the darkness, releasing a binding execution on the enemy. This is an honor that all of His saints have access to!
 
Faith & Patience
It is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises of God (Hebrews 6:12). This is our destiny. And faith with patience is the means by which His promises are obtained. The characteristics that embody faith and patience are required to see promises manifested in our lives. These characteristics are expressed and released through our mouths and our actions. Complaining is not one of these characteristics, but rather thanksgiving.
 
"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7
 
Doubt is not one either, but rather believing to the saving of the soul (Hebrews 10:39). If a man can be wise in his words, he is like a perfect man and the body will fall in line with our words. Our faith comes into the equation (James 3:2).
 
As Jesus said so many times, "Your faith has made you well, whole, and etc" (Matthew 15:28, Mark 10:52, Luke 8:25).
 
Jesus did not recognize confession as much as a spiritual reality that was manifesting from the hearts of men and women who were desperate for His touch.
 
Faith being released from the heart and by the spoken word is an asset that God has given to us, having been created in the image of God. We should wisely speak so that none of our words fall to the ground (I Samuel 3:19).
 
It is not that our faith needs to be increased as much as we need to use what we already have, even though we continue to sow these seeds of faith in our hearts. Return will come as we use what we have already received.
 
Our faith is also not to be lifeless confession without any depth of intimate communion with God. The Lord does not want robots. He desires people who are intimately connected to the life stream of His heart.
 
Cities of Light
The City of Light is made up of the people of the Light. As we learn to walk in the Light, we shall see spiritual houses and cities raised up in every place and region of the earth. As we follow the Lamb wherever He goes, not man, we will see His Kingdom established in the earth and His Name made known.
 
"These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb." Revelation 14:4
 
Our unity will be established before His Throne. Unity is never because we agree on everything but because we have sought after God, have found Him, and have lost sight of ourselves in the glory of His Presence (Psalm 133:1).
 
Of course, the foundations of what we believe are intact. But when we are before Him, seeing His face, we forget about trivial matters and opinions. He becomes magnified over everything else. This is where we are one in Him. It is only as we abide in His words and are caught up before Him that He is found in us and we discover His love in our hearts for one another (John 15:5-8).
 
It is here that we discover the destiny, our place in the glorious shining city of Light, that He is raising up in this time.

ANGELS, DECEPTION AND A CRY FOR BIBLICAL TRUTH

Angels, Deception and a Cry for Biblical Truth
by Lee Grady (Charisma Editor) www.themordecaiproject.com

Weird teachings about angels have become the norm in some charismatic circles today. It’s time to demand sanity on the subject.
At a growing Brazilian church in Boston, a pastor told his congregation he was having regular conversations with an angel. Weeks later he set a chair on the stage for the heavenly visitor, whom he said was attending Sunday services even though no one could see him. The pastor eventually wrote a book containing messages he had supposedly received from the angel. The man’s teachings became so bizarre that he was eventually removed from his denomination for promoting heresy.
That scenario may seem extreme, but it is one example of widespread emphasis on angels and angelic encounters in the charismatic movement today. In the case of the Brazilian church, the pastor went off the theological deep end and his church became a cult. It remains to be seen what will happen in other sectors of our movement as leaders promote teachings about angels that range from the mildly weird to downright wacky:
 
“It remains to be seen what will happen in other sectors of our movement as leaders promote teachings about angels that range from the mildly weird to downright wacky.”
 
* Evangelist Todd Bentley, leader of the Lakeland Revival, stirred up interest in angels when he wrote about Emma, a female angel he said wears a long white dress, floats above the floor and resembles Kathryn Kuhlman.
* A young evangelist who was preaching in Canada last spring held up a jar with a feather in it and told the congregation it belonged to an angel who visits him. He said the angel was coming to the service to release riches and healing to those who wanted prayer.
* Leaders of the prophetic movement often speak of angels that bring healing, wealth or special anointings. Some have described angels as tall as skyscrapers while others say they have seen tiny angels the size of insects. One prophet spoke of angels who are sleeping inside the walls of churches. Another segment of believers claim that the glowing circles of light that often show up on photographs are angels in the form of “orbs.”
With such exotic teachings on the rise, we desperately need some biblical guidelines. If you believe everything you hear these days, angels can be huge, tiny, spherical, male, female, feathered or non-feathered. What’s next? Yipping dog angels? Mermaid angels with fins? Court jester angels with bells on their hats?
Since my earliest days in the charismatic movement I was always taught that the Bible is our guidebook for doctrine and practice, and that the early church's experience in the Book of Acts should be a pattern for us. This would direct us to assume that if a spiritual experience is not in the Bible, then it should not be considered normative for us today.
When I look at what the New Testament teaches us about angels, and specifically what the book of Acts shows us about them, here’s what I find:
Angels who looked like men told the early disciples that Jesus would return one day (see Acts 1:11)
Angels are actively working behind the scenes to minister to the saints, especially to offer protection (see Acts 12:7-11)
In one case an angel directed Philip where to preach (see Acts 8:26)
Angels sometimes appeared in visions to give instructions, as one did for Cornelius (see Acts 10:3,7,22)
An angel came to Paul to strengthen him and to assure him that he would preach to Caesar (see Acts 27:23-24).
If we look at Paul’s epistles, we find only a few references to angels—and most are actually warnings to the early church about a wrong emphasis on angels:
Paul warned the Galatians that false angels can bring deception (see Gal. 1:8)
Paul warned the Corinthians about "angels of light" that are messengers of Satan (see 2 Cor. 11:14)
Paul warned the Colossians about misguided people who worship angels and deceive people with their emphasis on mystical experiences that are rooted in their hyperinflated egos (see Col. 2:18).
The book of Hebrews was written to a group of Christians who were considering going back to Old Covenant worship. In the first chapter the author makes it clear that angels have a lower place in God's economy when compared to Jesus Christ.
Many Bible scholars believe the readers of this epistle were being tempted to go back to an Old Covenant paradigm in which angels played a more significant role. The author of Hebrews warns these believers to focus their attention instead on the Son of God, who is more glorious than angels. We can make some basic assumptions about angels in the New Covenant era:
1. Angels help the church fulfill its mission, and they protect and guide the saints. Every one of us has probably experienced the activity of angels in our lives—often without knowing it because they are usually invisible.
2. Angels sometimes intervene with directive messages. But there is no case in the New Testament church in which an angel gave his name or brought attention to himself.
3. Angels don’t teach or explain doctrine. In our movement today, some leaders have suggested that certain angels (such as “Winds of Change”) have arrived to usher in new movements. Emma has been described as a "nurturing angel" who brings a prophetic movement. But nowhere does the Bible suggest that angels bring moves of God. Jesus commissioned the church to advance the kingdom by preaching the gospel. Angels know this and they are expecting us to do our job.
4. Angels don’t bring healing. The New Testament church was commissioned to bring healing “through the name of Jesus,” and Jesus was always the focus for anyone who was healed miraculously. The story of the Pool of Siloam falls under the Old Covenant system, since this phenomenon occurred before the ministry of Jesus. And when Jesus came to that pool He proved to be a better solution to those who waited for the stirring of the waters.
5. Angels look like people, and in every case in Scripture they appeared to be male. However, in some cases their appearance was frightening because they carry with them the glory of heaven and the fear of God.
6. False angels preach a different gospel. One of the devil's strategies is to send counterfeit angelic messengers who bring teaching that is contrary to biblical truth.
There are many flaky, weird and foolish concepts being circulated in our movement today that must be corrected. If we don't hold tightly to Scripture, we might unknowingly give birth to a cult that could bring great damage and division to churches worldwide. It’s time to get back to the Bible!

MINISTRY SUCKS LIFE OUT, JESUS GIVES LIFE!

Ministry Sucks Life Out, Jesus Gives Life!
by Joni Ames www.joniames.org


There is a lot of talk lately about a "civil war" of sorts in the church. I don't know what that means to anyone else, but to me, that is good news. It is a call to contend for freedom from the bondage and slavery of religion. - Truly, it is time for us to GET REAL, in the way JESUS tells us in His Word to get real, and stop embracing some fanatical, crazy, mentally retarded, mentally ill version of Christianity. "His yoke is easy, and His burden is light." (Matt. 11:30)Have you given yourself to ministry all your life, yet felt as though you have been left high and dry? Have you lost interest in "church?" Are you left wondering why there are 'prophetic words' you could never reconcile yourself to, which have never come to pass? Are you asking, "What was that all about?!"  
 
The bottom line is, we are in a time when we NEED to GET REAL - with God, ourselves, our families, the Body of Christ, and the "world." - I believe that as we "GET REAL," the church will actually get saved enough that the "world" will truly come into the Kingdom.
 
We all have to read the Word, interpret It's use for our lives for ourselves, and engage JESUS - not what we may have been taught that 'ministry' is. Enough people are getting tired of jumping other's hurdles, trying to fulfill other's visions, and fulfilling and performing and conforming to others' 'performance' mentality, that we are beginning to experience a "Boston Tea Party" in the Spirit, and to "wake up and smell the coffee!" -YAY GOD!
 
The fact is, many burned out pastors are even leaving the 'church' to go into the Marketplace so that they can do TRUE ministry! - And not have to be "owned" by those who want to try to "puppeteer" them. Many are now pressing more into a Marketplace/Harvest Field anointing than the old picture of "ministry." - And in the process, they will accomplish more of TRUE ministry than ever! The Marketplace is truly a great Harvest Field in this day.
 
I've seen a lot of destroyed lives because of so-called 'ministry.' - 'Ministry' which was actually being slaves to men, rather than God. They would slave endlessly, for little or no pay, which left them and their families without relationship, not having time for each other, busy being servants to a big name ministry machine, rather than being a Friend of God, and having true relationship with Him and with their family. What has paraded itself as real, often was not. Running to and fro from meeting to meeting takes you into "sugar highs" that crash you to a major "sugar lows." - And leaves you with no true sense of the 'reality' of Jesus Christ. In fact, many times I've seen families who have given their "all" into such situations, yet are dropped like a hot potato once they are spiritually, emotionally, physically, or financially tapped out and end up with needs of their own. Rarely would they even get a parting "pat on the back" when it was over, and they would be quickly forgotten and replaced by the next one who was enamored by feeling that they were a part of the show.
 
Gal. 2:6 says: "But from those who seemed to be something--whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man--for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me."
 
Gal. 4:17 says: "They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them."
 
TRUE MINISTRY is not a building, a book, a ministry machine, or a conference. - Those are all good tools, when used properly and not set up as idols. - TRUE MINISTRY is not focusing on the 'latest new thing' going on, or on some sort of manifestations. Focusing on manifestations or trying to live up to the 'elitist' demands of a 'ministry' of any kind is very shallow and hollow, at best.
 
Some who read this may be way beyond this point - "been there, done that, got the T-Shirt" and are now flourishing in what is 'true ministry." - But if we are at a place where we are uncomfortable and our 'ministry' nest is being un-feathered, maybe it is so that we can really 'soar' in the truth of the Lord and do TRUE MINISTRY! - So, if this describes what you have been going through, get "over" feeling 'unsaved' about it all! What you are experiencing is the reality of a true walk with Jesus Christ and what He is all about.
 
I'm NOT saying to hate, disengage from, or be condescending to what you consider to be the church. You can't help what you hate. But I am saying it is time for each of us to personally disengage ourselves from the bondage of "Zombie" Christianity.
 
I'm NOT denying Jesus Christ. Rather, I'm denying being controlled by demanding religious garbage. Instead, I'm embracing Jesus more than ever by doing my best to put my personal focus on HIM and what HE says in His Word, rather than what 'people' think or say. - And believe it or not, some would call going back to the Word "religious." - The truth is, when we do that, we have a religious spirit about not having a religious spirit!
 
Thank God for the real peace and real joy there is in allowing the simplicity of Jesus Christ to override all of the other 'chatter.'
 
We are to be mentors, not tormentors! - Operating in the anointing, not the 'annoying!' - Launching others into TRUE ministry, not misery!
 
If I were to put it on a bumper sticker, it would read like this: "'MINISTRY' SUCKS LIFE OUT; JESUS GIVES LIFE." I'm not trying to be crude, but the truth is, ministry as we have known it truly sucks the life right out of you. But Jesus gives life! More abundantly than we can imagine! It's time for TRUE MINISTRY.
 
What does JESUS describe as TRUE MINISTRY?
 
(31) "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. (32) All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. (33) And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. (34) Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (35) for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; (36) I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' (37) Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? (38) When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? (39) Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' (40) And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' (41) Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: (42) for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; (43) I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' (44) Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' (45) Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' (46) And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matt. 25:31-46 )
 
It is time to serve God, not man. We are NOT for sale! We were bought with a price! - The Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God! - The Word tells us, "You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men." (1 Cor. 7:23)
 
This article is not meant to "slam" the Church, or any ministry. I love the Church, and I love, respect, and appreciate the ministries I've worked for and with throughout my lifetime. What I'm describing here is where I've been personally, where I'm at personally, and what I feel the Lord has shown me through it. I believe I'm in a time of "personal revival," closer relationship with Him, and of coming into a season of fulfilling more of my purpose, call, and destiny than ever. In that, it's my desire to help encourage and cheer others on into being birthed into theirs. Not a clone of mine or anyone else's, but to walk in what they are called to do. And it is my prayer that, if you are walking through a similar time, this will be encouragement to you.
 
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PRAYER
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Lord, I pray for all who read this that you would love on them real good today! Please seal them with the seal of your Holy Spirit and cover them in the protection of the name and blood of Jesus, that they would not pass through this earth without walking in the fullness of all you have called them to. In Jesus' name, amen.

LAKELAND, DEAD SAINTS, ANGELS, APOSTOLIC OVERSIGHT

Lakeland, Dead Saints, Angels, Apostolic Oversight
by Joseph Mattera www.josephmaterra.org

Lakeland, Speaking to Departed Saints, Angelic Ministry, and Apostolic Oversight
The following article was written three weeks ago, before it was reported that Todd Bentley is separating from his wife. Because I write in clusters, in which I plan ahead of time when to release material, other writings have recently been released to coincide with the Beijing Olympics. Thus this article was delayed until this week.
I am praying for Todd and his wife’s reconciliation, and want nothing but the best for his ministry. I know firsthand the kind of strain that public ministry can have on a marriage, and my heart goes out to both of them.
That being said, for the past three months I have been inundated with questions from leaders regarding my thoughts on the current meetings in Lakeland, Florida and about some of Todd Bentley’s teachings and other-worldly experiences. Some in my sphere of influence have even demanded a response from me because of my role as a bishop.
Because I never went to Lakeland, I refuse to comment on the actual meetings and validity of the presence of God and healings. However, many have been confused by some of Bentley’s teachings regarding divine revelation, third heaven experiences and angelic ministry. These are topics I can write about based on Bentley’s writings.
After examining his website and other teachings, it is my opinion that Bentley’s teachings, doctrinal statement, and preaching regarding the cardinal doctrines of the faith seem to be sound. However, it is in some secondary matters he preaches that is causing controversy, and it is regarding these secondary doctrines and experiences that I will comment. (Note: By “cardinal doctrines of the faith” I mean the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, salvation by faith in Christ alone, water baptism, Holy Communion, etc.)
Regarding Todd Bentley: As a bishop and spiritual father in the Body of Christ, I endeavor to first and foremost appreciate the passion and love for Jesus of this present young generation to press in and use their faith to see God’s power in the same way the Gospels and Book of Acts illustrate. I believe the United States is long overdue for a mighty move of the Spirit that includes signs and wonders. I never want to be accused of putting cold water on a young generation of Christ seekers because I would rather have some wild fire than no fire at all!
The following are some controversial beliefs and practices of Todd Bentley:

1. Divine Revelation
The statement of faith on Bentley’s website (www.freshfire.ca) lists 12 points, the last of which is:
“FURTHER REVELATION: We recognize that God is continually restoring truth and light to His Church. Therefore, we place no limit on further revelation; however, each must be substantiated according to the Scriptures.” (Accessed from http://www.freshfire.ca/index.php?Id=106&pid=8 on July 15, 2008)
My Comments:
I do not find this kind of doctrinal statement regarding revelation in other established Pentecostal or mainline churches.
Regarding the statement “we place no limit on further revelation; however, each must be substantiated according to the Scriptures”: The ambiguity of this doctrinal statement coupled with the mystical experiences of Todd Bentley as stated by him can easily open up a door for extra-biblical revelation to be considered as equally inspired as the Scriptures. Biblical, historic Christianity never puts preaching or prophecy on an equal level with Scripture, which is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). After the New Testament was written, all inspired utterances are to be judged as being on a lower level than the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 14:29; 2 Peter 1:19-21). Putting present revelation as equal with Scripture is falling into the old error of the second century Montanists, who went around constantly prophesying the imminent return of the Lord and considered their utterances as equal or above the authority of Scripture. (For information on Montanism view this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montanism)
While I think I understand what Bentley is saying, the logical conclusion to the statement “no limit on further revelation” can open up a Pandora’s Box with unstable people having strange visions and revelations leading to erroneous doctrines that some will try to back up by the prooftexting of Scripture, like the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses have done.
Another hypothetical problem is the potential open door for heresy, or teachings that do not comport with the historical, orthodox teachings of the church. For example, what happens if one day a person following this particular doctrinal point receives a revelation that comports with the cardinal doctrine of the lordship of Christ and that He is the only way for salvation, but a “third heaven revelation” results in someone teaching that the unconverted will get a second chance after death to give their hearts to Christ, or something silly like every person who receives Christ must have a certain personality trait or a certain hidden human temperament combination? The first example of a second chance after death can and has already been hermeneutically distorted utilizing the prooftexting of Scripture, while the second example has no biblical reference at all. At the same time, both of these hypothetical teachings do not directly compromise the lordship and the redeeming ministry of Christ, yet they would cause chaos and division in the church because of their heresy!

2. Angelology (the Study of Angels)
The following is based on an article by Bentley entitled “Angelic Hosts: Part 1 of 3” (from http://www.etpv.org/2003/angho.html accessed July 15, 2008). This article details numerous encounters with various angels that appear to Bentley in different forms, with some of them revealing their names to him. The article shows how Bentley’s life is surrounded by angelic activity, and gives the sense that everything Bentley does in ministry is done by angels, or involves angels in a direct way. Several times in the article he says things such as “worship is for God alone,” yet almost all of the activity in the article is directed by angels. The angels mentioned by name are: Revelation, Emma, Healing Revival, and Promise. There are healing angels and financial angels. Financial angels release finances to people. Also, Bentley instructs his readers to ask God for angelic encounters, angelic protection, angelic financial help, and angelic healing.
(Also you can view the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uoT12vvj-k Please note: this video obviously has a very strong bias against Todd Bentley and exhibits a very critical spirit, but it adequately shows the emphasis Bentley makes regarding angels coming down to minister to the congregation in one particular meeting.)
My Comments:
Regarding Bentley’s emphasis on angelic visitations, Scripture does verify the ministry of angels and possible angelic visitations involving God’s messengers. Also, because this is based on Bentley’s testimony, no one can verify whether or not these experiences really happened, or if they did happen, no one can verify the nature of these extraterrestrial encounters (i.e. were they angels or demons?). A person is left with judging these experiences based solely on taking Bentley’s ministry, teaching, and life into contextual scrutiny before determining their opinion. (In Matthew 7:20 Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit.”)
Regarding the frequency of the angelic visitations Bentley has, with the exception of Jesus (John 1:51) a reading of Scripture does not seem to indicate that any of the apostles experienced such frequent angelic encounters. Although, to be fair, Scripture does not explicitly detail the personal and spiritual lives of Paul, Peter, and the other apostolic leaders of the early church.
Regarding the emphasis on commanding or utilizing angels to minister for us or to bring healing (with the exception of Matthew 26:53 in which Jesus said that He could pray to the Father for legions of angels to deliver Him), there is no biblical examples that I am aware of that illustrate any of the apostles or Old Testament prophets calling on angels to come down and minister to them or for them.
This teaching can subtly shift the focal point from Christ to spiritual beings, which sound more like New Age mysticism than biblical Christianity. While the presence of angels during healing services is certainly implied (e.g. in Luke 5:17 the power of the Lord being present can also indicate not only the presence of the Holy Spirit but also the presence of many angelic beings) I do not believe this is something a Christian is responsible to make happen by calling on angels to come and perform. As in other words, the numerous example of prayer we find in both the Old and New Testaments have no record of any person calling down an angel; they called upon the Lord and then He sent angels to deliver them. (Read 2 Kings 19:20-37 which shows how King Hezekiah of Judah prayed to the Lord for deliverance from the King of Assyria and the Lord answered by sending an angel to destroy the Assyrian armies encamped against Judah.)
Bentley also teaches that God sends healing angels to minister to the church. One passage that can be used as a proof text to teach that we need to intentionally involve angels for divine healing is John 5:1-4, which says people were healed after entering a pool of water after an angel entered into it. A few things need to be noted here: 1) Verse 4 is not universally recognized as being authentic because it is not found in the earliest biblical manuscripts; 2) You can also make a case that the angel went into the water by God’s decree, without any person intentionally commanding him; 3) If you choose to use this verse as proof that we need angels to minister healing, then you also must say we need water for healing as well; 4) This is the only passage in the New Testament that directly connects angels and healing, thus, it is not conclusive enough to make a doctrine out of it.
Although Hebrews 1:14 says that angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for the sake of those inheriting salvation, Scripture indicates that the proper protocol regarding the release of the power of God for miracles and answers to prayer comes from approaching God the Father in the name of Jesus (John 16:23-24), then God will decide whether or not angels will be released to war on our part to ensure the answer of our prayers. Even when Daniel prayed (Daniel 10:12-21) for Israel to be delivered from her 70 year exile and warring angels were sent by God in answer to his prayers and fasting, they were not commanded to come down by Daniel himself. Furthermore, when the apostle Peter was in jail awaiting execution, there is no biblical record of him commanding an angel to release him. In Peter’s own words: “Now I know that the Lord has sent his angel, and has delivered me out of the hand of Herod” (Acts 12:11). Hence, it seems as though the angel was sent in answer to the prayers of the saints gathered in the home of John Mark’s mother (Acts 12:12) rather than because Peter commanded angels to deliver him. Also, the Bible says that God sent the angel to deliver Peter (Acts 12:11).
Furthermore, in Old Testament instances when “the Angel of the Lord” appeared and performed a miracle (Judges 6:11-24; 13:1-20) many theologians believe that “the angel” refers to a theophany, which is a physical appearance of God in the form of a man. Genesis 18 illustrates this, when the Lord appeared to Abraham as three men (Genesis 18:1-2) and then, in Genesis 19:2, two of the men were called “angels” who went to Sodom to give word to the “Lord out of heaven” regarding when to destroy Sodom. One of the three went back to heaven and rained fire and brimstone on the nation (Genesis 19:24).
Finally, many proponents of utilizing healing angels attempt to cite the ministry of evangelist William Branham, whose ministry went from 1941 to 1965, as an example of someone who utilized a healing angel. I have read much about Branham and have viewed videos of him ministering, but to my knowledge he only knew he was anointed to heal the sick when the angel of God was with him. I do not believe he taught that the angel actually did the healings. (Because I am not a Branham expert I could be mistaken with this assertion.) Furthermore, because Branham strayed from orthodoxy regarding his doctrine and teachings, he should not be looked upon as a model for sound doctrine or ministry, especially in his later years when he claimed to be Elijah the Prophet.

3. What Bentley Teaches Regarding Entering into the Various Realms of Heaven and Speaking to Departed Saints
An article by Bentley entitled “Encounter With Heaven - Part 3: Conclusion” (from http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=4B007C5J&GroupID=VB006FHZ&label=&paging=all accessed July 15, 2008) gives a window into what Bentley means by the point in his statement of faith concerning “further revelation” (see #1 above). The article’s summary reads as follows: “In the final segment of Encounter with Heaven Todd shares about his visit with the apostle Paul in the third heaven. As Abraham and David came forward from the cloud of witnesses and looked on, Paul explained to Todd crucial revelatory information about different scriptures in the Bible. You’ll learn (among other things) just how Paul received the revelation of the gospel as it was revealed to him by the Lord Jesus Christ in the third heaven. Then you’ll discover an amazing piece of the puzzle concerning how the Book of Hebrews was written. As well, Paul reveals what the most important passage of scripture is for the church in this hour. Then, after Todd describes the seven heavenly realms that he saw, he’ll bring you back to the most important place, which is your own heart and your personal love relationship with Jesus Christ.”
My Comments:
Bentley’s story of speaking to saints like Paul the Apostle goes even further than what Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 12:1-7, in which Paul says he heard inexpressible things, but never that he spoke to a saint that passed into glory. In Galatians 1:12, Paul indicates that it was during this time that he learned the Gospel from Jesus directly. Thus, the inexpressible things he heard were not from Abraham or another saint of old, but his encounter was with Jesus Himself. In 1 Corinthians 9:1 he says he saw Jesus our Lord, which can also be taken to be the experience he had on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:3, but we cannot be certain since this passage only says Paul saw a flash of light and heard the voice of the Lord.
This narrative from Bentley can embolden other people to take this to another level and say they are walking in the third heaven and having conversations with saints in heaven. This can lead either to demonic deception, and/or even praying to the saints, thus falling back into the old Roman Catholic error! (When you define the word “prayer” as talking to God, then you could call this encounter praying to the saints.)
There may be some who say that because we are surrounded by a “cloud of many witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) that means the church in heaven is involved with what is happening on the earth, to the point of being able to bear witness (give advice, encouragement, etc.) to the present-day church regarding our mission in Christ. This erroneous interpretation can easily be disputed simply by understanding the writer in Hebrews was only referring to the excellent lives lived by the people of faith in the previous chapter (Hebrews 11) whose written exploits serve as a model and even as standard-bearers on how we are to live by faith . This word “witness” is where we get the word “martyr,” which eventually referred to a person who died for their faith in Christ.
The Greek word for “witness” also bears this out, and translates as “witness” 29 times, “martyr” three times, and “record” twice in the King James Version. The definition of the word is: “1) a witness, 1a) in a legal sense, 1b) an historical sense, 1b1) one who is a spectator of anything, e.g. of a contest, 1c) in an ethical sense, 1c1) those who after his example have proved the strength and genuineness of their faith in Christ by undergoing a violent death” (from Thayer’s Greek Definitions).
Some can try to proof text the notion of being able to speak to the departed saints by using 1 Samuel 28:6-15, in which King Saul consults a medium in order to have a conversation with Samuel the prophet, who died earlier:
And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.
Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.”
And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”
So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”
Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”
And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, “As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”
And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”
And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”
So he said to her, “What is his form?”
And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.
Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” (1 Samuel 28:6-15)

A few things to consider about this passage: 1) God would not answer Saul (verse 6), 2) Saul did not go to a prophet of the Lord to attempt to consult with the dead because he knew it was unlawful, 3) Saul enquired of someone who had familiar spirits. Thus, it seemed to be a spirit that had great knowledge and even the appearance of Samuel, 4) This story actually teaches against the use of attempting to converse with departed saints because only those into witchcraft practiced such in the Old Testament.
Another passage that can be cited is when Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus while He was praying on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13):
Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, din whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”
And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:1-13).
Things to consider about this passage: 1) This was an appearance of two of the most important saints in the Old Covenant to Jesus, the God-man before He was going to accomplish the redemption these old saints prophesied about thousands of years ago; 2) Moses as the lawgiver and writer of the Pentateuch, and Elijah, whose anointing manifest in John the Baptist and prepared the way for Jesus, had to appear representing the Old Covenant, to further validate that Jesus was indeed the Messiah; the Bible teaches that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter shall be established (2 Corinthians 13:1); 3) This instance showed Jesus speaking to departed saints, not his disciples speaking to these saints. There is no record of Peter, James, or John speaking with Moses or Elijah; 4) There is no record of any of the apostles having conversations with the departed saints.
What about Saint John’s conversation with a heavenly elder in the book of Revelation:
So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:4-5)
In Revelation 5:5, John the Apostle converses with an elder about Jesus being able to open the scroll that would unfold the seven seals. Things to consider about this experience:
1) This elder was one of the 24 elders seated around the throne of God (Revelation 4:4). Some believe that these 24 elders were the 12 heads of Israel and the original 12 apostles. Thus, because John was one of the original 12 apostles and was still living on earth, this could have been a vision of an experience he was going to have in the future while in heaven, when the seal was actually broken. If it was not an actual real-time experience it still comports with Revelation 1:19 in which some of what John was seeing was going to take place in the future. (Note: the actual breaking of the seven seals is something many believe has since taken place.)
2) Even if John had a real time conversational experience with an elder in heaven, one has to remember that this was a special instance in which Scripture was being written, mediated by Jesus Himself as shown in Revelation 1:12, who was the primary person speaking to John.
3) If Bentley and others think they can have conversations in heaven with departed saints like John the Revelator, then what is to stop present-day saints from saying departed saints have dictated a new letter to the church that should be added to the 66 books of the Bible?
Also, in this article one can get the impression Bentley is encouraging all saints to have a third heaven experience, even though Paul the Apostle in describing this same experience in 2 Corinthians 12:1-7 and in his other epistles never actually encourages saints to seek or do this. What Paul does encourage believers to do is pursue love, desire spiritual gifts but rather that they may prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1), but never does he encourage the saints to have third heaven experiences like Bentley does. Paul probably knew that not all saints are called to have this experience, and that encouraging the saints to have these out-of-body experiences or physical visions as part of the normal Christian life could result in extra-biblical revelation possibly unraveling the cohesion of the church and dissipate the importance of the final biblical revelation regarding salvation (Revelation 22:18:19).
Contrary to encouraging other saints to go to the third heaven, Paul speaks about God sending him a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from being puffed up because of the surpassing revelations given to him during this third heaven experience (2 Corinthians 12:1-7). He also says that what he learned was “unlawful to speak.” It seems as though much of what he learned in paradise he never spoke about in public ministry.
Having these kind of third heaven experiences can also serve to subtly prop up Todd Bentley as an authority above most respected apostolic fathers and Evangelical theologians because, after all, as he says of this experience as noted in this article, revelation releases authority. Thus, this type of experience would give Bentley either the final say concerning his teaching as a result of these encounters, or would show that he has superior authority since he has direct teaching from Paul and other departed saints. This can also hinder his ability to receive counsel or correction from apostolic leaders.
To quote from the article:
“So I jumped onto the ladder and began to climb up into another realm. I saw around me that it was all clouds so I began to pull those clouds back. As I did, a hole opened up in the heavens. Immediately then, out of heaven, flowed the color green, not just a light; it was like a green liquid and it was pouring onto my eyes! When I asked God about this, He said, “You are coming into the throne room; you are beneath the sea of glass; there is a rainbow around the throne. It’s not just above the throne; it’s a circle around the throne, a rainbow, and emerald, green in color.” [“And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald” (Rev. 4:3).] I had just climbed into the fourth realm of heaven which is the throne room, (with more realms to follow). [You can read Revelation Chapter Four for a good description of the throne room.]
Although I was aware that there were other colors in the rainbow, I focused mainly on three colors—blue, purple, and pink. Therefore, before I share about the other realms I saw, I want to speak about these three colors because I received notable revelation about what each color symbolizes.
Do you know what green represents, besides prosperity? It’s growth, new things, life, growth in the Lord, what you grow into. Blue is revelation, and when you grow into revelation, what does it release? Purple! This color represents authority and kingship. [Revelation and counsel bring might and revelation releases the true authority which brings the kingdom.] What happens after purple? Pink! Remember, last week I said that pink prophetically represents love and emotions. These two attributes are crucial because faith works by love! So, here’s the download: You grow in revelation; revelation releases authority, and the kingdom comes and rules; and it operates out of emotion and love” (From http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=4B007C5J&GroupID=VB006FHZ&label=&paging=all Accessed July 15, 2008).
Finally, it has been my experience as a committed Christ follower since 1978 that most of the profound leadings from the Lord I and other key leaders have discerned did not come in the form of a dramatic visitation or experience. I have had quite a few dramatic supernatural encounters, have ministered healing and deliverance to many, but as the Scriptures teach in 1 Kings 19:11-13, God does not always speak profound things with extraordinary experiences. Most of the time, He leads with a still small voice that is enough for those that are mature in the Lord to move out in faith and do great exploits. As a matter of fact, Israel experienced more miracles for sustenance when they were slaves in Egypt and while wandering in the desert for 40 years than they did after entering the land of Canaan. Having to depend on extraordinary supernatural experiences does not always equate to walking in biblical maturity and wisdom. Joshua 5:12 teaches that the manna ceased after the children of Israel entered into the land of promise. Thus, they had fewer miracles because they were expected to steward the land and receive their food by principle, not always by supernatural interventions.
“Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave” (1 Kings 19:11-13).
4. Bentley Teaches that Abraham Helped Author the Book of Hebrews
In this same article, Bentley also teaches that Abraham actually taught Paul the Apostle the book of Hebrews. (This is supposedly why Paul did not sign his name and/or claim authorship of the book.) In the article Bentley says: “Back to Paul! I discovered while conversing with Paul that it wasn’t only Jesus Christ who taught him in heaven. I say this because Paul told me: ‘Abraham taught me, in heaven, and that’s how and why I wrote the book of Hebrews. What I heard was from the lips of Abraham himself’”

To further quote Bentley:
“I know I’m stepping out on theology now; however, I want you to understand that Paul always made it clear when he authored an epistle—“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ” or “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ.” Always! Yet, for the Book of Hebrews, although most Bible scholars believe that it was authored by Paul, there are those that really can’t say it was him because the authorship is never clear. Paul told me why. Here is what he said to me. “Do you know why I know so much about Abraham?” [So much of Hebrews is based on other things that you just can’t pull from in other scriptures.] He said, “Abraham himself shared (information) with me and I simply wrote it” (in the Book of Hebrews). “The authorship isn’t clear because it was Abraham and I; Abraham shared with me.” [Much of Hebrews is about Abraham; i.e. Hebrews Chapter 11.] Paul said, “When I was in the third heaven, Abraham was with me like you are with me now” (From http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=4B007C5J&GroupID=VB006FHZ&label=&paging=all Accessed July 15, 2008).
Although saying Abraham helped Paul write the book of Hebrews seems harmless and does not alter any of the concepts and teachings of this important biblical book, I believe that speaking about how any book of the Bible came about is dangerous since it opens up a door for judging, based on these kind of revelations, the canonical place each of the 66 books of the Bible should have. For example, what if someone says they had an encounter in the third heaven in which Paul the Apostle confided in them that he did not like James, the Lord’s brother, and that he did not believe the book of James was inspired of God because (as Martin Luther once erroneously taught) he emphasized the role of works in our salvation (James 2:24).
I do hope and pray that those who go to Lakeland and/or observe Todd Bentley on television do not think they are all called to have these heavenly visions, out-of-body experiences with Paul, and angelic visitations in order for them to do great things for God. This can result in mass confusion and even delusion. All leaders need to make sure that we promote a balanced approach that allows for supernatural experience, divine revelation, with an even higher view of the Scriptures as our final authority. We also need to understand that God can lead us through even some of the most mundane things of life.
5. Bentley Claims Over 30 People Have Been Raised from the Dead
Regarding Bentley’s claims of over 30 resurrections from the dead, made on July 17, 2008 (view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5M0WnDIpA&eurl):
I have no problem with someone that preaches the church should be resurrecting the dead. T he commission of preaching the Gospel originally included this command (read Matthew 10:8). I also applaud any minister who believes they can get a word to raise the dead in their meetings. (One of my ministry models is Smith Wigglesworth, who allegedly raised about 13 from the dead in his ministry.)
However, I also believe that there should be a methodology that matches claims of resurrections with verification. In Mark 1:44 Jesus told the leper who was healed to go show himself to the priest as a testimony of his healing. (Note: He did not tell the leper to show himself to the Roman magistrate; the witness of healing was only for those in covenant with God. Hence, because of their anti-Christian bias, I do not put much credence in secular news exposes like Nightline’s recent investigation on Todd Bentley, in which they concluded that Todd Bentley could not show even three verifiable miracles of healing. Although I doubt credibility of such reporting, I wrote about Nightline’s expose regarding Bentley so the church could know how the world is viewing these meetings; to read the article click here.
Jesus Himself intentionally demonstrated Lazarus’ resurrection by having a public dinner with him so that the world could see and believe in Him (John 12:9-11). Consequently, I believe the biblical methodology Todd Bentley should employ should include not announcing a resurrection from the dead until or unless his ministry is prepared to document the resurrection in some believable way. Out of the 32 resurrections purported to have taken place, is it too much to ask that at least a few of these resurrected folks come on the platform and give their testimony, in some cases with other family members or a doctor to verify the story? Email or cell phone testimonies are not enough, especially in light of all the scrutiny and controversy surrounding him by both the secular media and the church.
Regarding the commissioning and endorsement of Bentley by the Lakewood Apostolic Team
A few weeks ago, Dr. C. Peter Wagner gathered an apostolic team and went to Lakeland to help bring apostolic alignment to both Todd Bentley and the burgeoning renewal movement. Although many were upset by this action taken by Wagner and other leaders (a few that are my good friends), I believe their intention was not so much endorsing everything Todd Bentley is preaching or doing but rather functioning apostolically as fathers in reaching out to this young man so that he can have more accountability. I applaud the motive behind this and pray that Bentley does receive input from these seasoned leaders of the church. Too many fathers neglect younger ministers and leave them on their own, to the hurt of the Kingdom of God! I must admit, when I was 32 years old, I preached some things that I would never preach today! With seasoned men around me, I grew in ministerial maturity much faster than if I were to be left alone.

Also, in light of the recent revelation that Bentley wants to divorce his wife, the real test of whether or not he receives the apostolic covering designated over him (three apostolic leaders, Dr. Wagner not being one of them) will now surface. True apostolic oversight also includes a minister’s personal life which, in this case, should also involve attempting a process of reconciliation between Todd and his wife.
Should Lakeland be Classified as a Revival?
I appreciate the fact that most folks involved with Lakeland are referring to these meetings as an outpouring rather than a revival. Regarding these meetings, I can only say that some of my close friends have attended and reported the worship experience was tremendous, because there was a very strong sense of the presence of God. Others I know did not have such a glowing report. My observation regarding this is the same as what I said about Toronto and Pensacola in the 1990’s: that we must be careful not to label something a revival (based on the historical reference to Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards, and Finney) unless it results in multitudes of people converting to Christ and the surrounding communities being transformed. As far as I can see with Lakeland (as well as Toronto and Pensacola) it should probably not be classified as a true revival but more of a renewal movement, because a large percentage of attendees are Christians either looking for a healing, a deeper experience with God, or an impartation so they can also move in signs and wonders.
To understand how amazing true revival is, Whitefield’s meetings often had at least between twenty and fifty thousand people--mostly unconverted people--during a time without amplification, phones, television, or computers. His preaching and ministry (as well as Wesley’s) helped prevent England’s destruction due to the cultural prevalence of gross immorality and religious indifference. It also aided in the cohesion and unifying of the thirteen original colonies, thus paving the way for the American Revolution and birth of the United States. (It is for this reason some historians call George Whitefield, not George Washington, the father of our nation). Also, Finney’s ministry not only brought whole communities under the glory of God (many communities saw all of their inhabitants come to salvation in Christ), but also became a major impetus for the start of the abolitionist and women’s rights movements.
Even at its zenith, the Lakeland meetings did not attract crowds even comparable to Whitefield’s eighteenth century meetings, although one can make the case that even more people are being impacted by these meetings because of the millions viewing on television. Hence, based on my historical references, I would not be quick to label Lakeland a revival.
Conclusion
In spite of all the possible concerns I have alliterated in this article, I pray that the true revival fires of God spread to every part of the world, with accompanying demonstrations of God’s power that attest to the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and that this present young generation of leaders would remain on fire for God, stepping out in faith to demonstrate the power of the resurrection of Christ with signs, wonders, and miracles!
Also, in spite of our foibles or even suspect secondary doctrinal beliefs and teachings, God can still use us to minister for His glory. All we need to do is look in the books of Kings and see how God used numerous kings, even though they never removed the high places that caused Israel to fall into idolatry.