DOES ANYONE HAVE ALL THE LIGHT OF GOD?

Does Anyone Have All the Light of God?

By Ron McGatlin www.openheaven.com



Brethren, we know little of what we ought to know.
We stand on the brink of the destiny of the ages.
The bright light of the kingdom of God is upon us.
Yet we stumble for lack of the pure whole light of God in a season when the bright light of the revelation of God is being poured out (Isa 59:10).
Why should we still be at the place of immaturity that Paul spoke of in First Corinthians 13 verse 9 when He wrote, “For we know in part and we prophesy in part?”
We stumble in a time of bright light because we have been divided from those who have other parts of the light that we do not have. We walk in only a portion of the available light.
We have gathered in groups around the part of the light that we have. We have not connected to our brothers who have other spectrums of the light of God that we do not have.
Does anyone have all the light of God?
Only Jesus has all the whole light of God. Father in His infinite wisdom has chosen to reveal portions of the light to different individuals and groups.
We can never reach beyond a part or portion of the whole light of God without receiving from our brothers who have other parts of the light that we do not have.
A number of years ago I was discussing a doctrinal issue with a friend. In the discussion, two positions of spiritual truth became evident. My friend strongly held to a certain position. I was trying to explain my position that there was perhaps greater truth and room for some balanced understanding. The discussion had become a bit intense, and it seemed a good time for me to excuse myself for a bathroom break. As I left the room, my friend almost shouted to me, “Well, it’s either black or its white.”

I remember being alone in the other room and thinking that if it was not black or white, then it must be gray, and that did not sound good to me. I began to pray and ask God “Is it really black or white?” Instantly the reply to my question burst into my heart; my heart was flooded with light as God simply and profoundly spoke as only He can do and said, “NO, ITS A RAINBOW.”
The scripture about God is light and in Him is no darkness (black) at all, came to my mind. With God it is not black or white; it is all perfectly clear.
Like the light of the sun, the whole clear light of God can be divided into all the colors of the rainbow. Yet when the whole light is together, it is perfectly clear light; but when broken down through drops of water in the sky or through a prism, the clear light is diffused into colors of light.
Black and white is a term that relates well to religion and natural-mind legal interpretations of scripture. Bright clear light and beautiful colors of the rainbow relate well to the light of scripture revealed by the Spirit God.
Considering the parable of sunlight, if we have a part of the light but not the whole light, then we become as a color or colors of the divided light.
We probably all have seen a color wheel with the three pie shaped primary colors of red, yellow and blue equally spaced within the circle and the many blended shades in between each. The absence of all color is black or darkness. The presence of all the colors in balance produces white or clear light.
Think of the color wheel as the revealed light of God. Each of us who have received revelation from God but have not received all the light of God has one or more sections of color. We may have red or blue and not yellow and so on.
Revelation of the light of God comes by the Spirit.
Revelation of God is truth that is alive in us by the Spirit of God. A truth revealed by the Spirit is beyond believing, it becomes absolute knowing.
We may believe a lot of things, but we really KNOW only the part or portion that has been revealed to us by Spirit God into our spirit and soul. The revelation may have begun with hearing or seeing with the natural senses, but until it becomes Spirit revelation it is only belief at best. However, when the Spirit reveals it and makes it light from heaven, it becomes alive within our spirit.
There is also direct revelation that is often in response to prayer or waiting in God’s manifest presence. Direct revelation does not begin with a natural input but is planted in our spirit by the Spirit of God. The directly revealed input will not disagree with an accurate understanding of scripture. However, it probably will not agree with our intellectually discerned interpretations of scripture.
Great problems have arisen causing much disorder and separation among believers because we have not connected with and received from brethren with other colors.
As ministers in our color group we have light in our area of revelation. However, people come with questions and needs in other areas of spiritual life experience. We need answers and are not good at saying I don’t know. Rather than come together with those who have the needed color of light to provide the answer, we turn back to the black and white understanding from the tree of knowledge.
Men of the past have gone to the scripture seeking to discover truth of God with their natural-mind intellect and reason without revelation from the Spirit. Intellectual discernment of the scriptures without the revelation of the Spirit is darkness. It will never agree with true revelation by the Spirit.
In this way we have filled in portions of our color wheel with darkness instead of the true revealed color from God. Every gifted person or group who is not spiritually connected laterally with others with revelation is probably a mixture of light and darkness.
Thus gifted men and women of God continue to live in and proclaim mixture. Only when we come together in love by the Spirit can the light in one shine upon the darkness in another bringing us nearer to the whole clear light of God. We do well to proclaim only the part revealed to us and not fill in our color wheel with teachings derived from intellectual interpretation of scripture.
We need true discernment that comes from intimate relationship with God. We need to hear God by His Spirit within us to discern light and darkness. With true discernment we need not fear the darkness in our brothers while we receive their color of light and perhaps remove some of their darkness with our revealed color.
God is Spirit. Father God is Spirit. Christ Jesus is Spirit that became a man. Before He became a man, Christ Jesus was Spirit with Father in heaven. They were Spirit, and they were Holy. Actually, they were as one Spirit. Is it then not correct to say Father and Son were Holy Spirit?
How many God’s do we have? In the white Spirit fire of the heart of God they are one. Jesus made it clear that He and the Father are one. Only as Spirit God flows outward toward man and creation are the manifestations of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit evident.
Christ now dwells in His body (temple) on earth as a “live-giving Spirit.” While at the same time He is seated at the right hand of the Father. In First Corinthians 15, verse 45 it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. First Corinthians 6, verse 19 reads “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
Knowing in part and prophesying in part will be done away when maturity has come. The pure real love of God by the Spirit is the maturity of Christ in us. The subject of First Corinthians 13 is love, the God kind of love that only comes by the Spirit. Verse 10 says “But when that which is perfect (mature) has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
Love is the progressive reality of maturity (perfection) in the kingdom of God.
God’s love is only available by the Spirit of God.
Love is the greatest foundational reality of the kingdom of God. God is love.
The kingdom is held together by love.
Faith works by love. Wisdom and power flow through love.
God’s love produces unity.
God’s love flowing by His Spirit can re-join all the colors of the rainbow back together into the whole clear light of God as brethren with the different colors of God’s light become one together.

GOD, GIVE US PROPHETS!!

GOD, GIVE Us PROPHETS!!
-by Paul Holdren.

The simultaneous use of the words "prophet" and "ministry" almost
seem like a veiled attempt to tame the untamable nature of the
prophet. The word "prophet" speaks of unconventional methods
and means. In this context the word "ministry" seems to imply the
use of conventional methods and means.

Prophets are unpredictable, while ministries have become very
predictable. Ministries are typically planned by men, while
prophets are ordered by God. Prophets have thrown themselves
prostrate before God in order to be stood up by God to forever be
set apart for God's purposes.

Prophets hear only from God. Therefore, they can speak for God.
Prophets have been touched by the hand of God. Therefore, they
know the power of God. Prophets have been positioned to see from
God's perspective, observing the world's system as it really is. For
it is corrupt in nature with nothing of eternal value to offer. Prophets have seen the glory of God. Therefore, they know the call to be holy.

Prophets have trembled before the holiness of God. Therefore, they
will not tremble before men. To revere God is to fear no man - be it individuals or institutions. Prophets walk differently, as they hear a heavenly music. Prophets talk differently, as they hear a heavenly voice. Prophets act differently, as they desire the clear and effective communication of the word of the Lord.

Peer pressure has no appeal to or influence upon the prophet.
The prophet is more concerned about God's reputation than social
acceptability. Prophets have sacrificially thrown themselves on the
altar of God as an offering. There to be consumed by the fire of God
as a sacrifice and filled with the Spirit of God as a sanctified
vessel. Prophets have been consumed by the Holy in order to be
empowered by the Holy.

The scripture states that Christians are to be "kings and priests"
(Revelation 1:6). However, the contemporary Christian is more like
the traditionalist of Ezekiel's time than like the New Testament
descript. Contemporary Christians tend to be predictable
traditionalists merely tweaking the methods and means that they
have been taught and trained to use. Typically speaking, the
contemporary Christian is too busy to spend time with God in order
to bask in His glorious presence, too busy to study the word of God
in order to know the mind of God, too busy to have altar time with
God to be consumed by holy fire, and too busy running from the
demands of God to be running with God, knowing the miraculous
will of God. Many contemporary Christians lack the vision and
passion to build the Kingdom of God. Rather, they build the
"Chapel of Self".....

Leonard Ravenhill, 20th Century Revivalist - "Oh God sends us
prophetic preaching that searches and scorches! Send us a race
of Martyr-preachers - men burdened, bent, bowed and broken
under the vision of impending judgment and the unending hell of
the impenitent..."
"Preachers make pulpits famous; prophets make prisons famous.
May the Lord send us prophets - terrible men, who cry aloud and
spare not, who sprinkle nations with unction zed woes- men too hot
to hold, to hard to be heard, to merciless to spare…"
"We are tired of men in soft raiment and softer in speech who use
rivers of words with but a smidgen of unction. These know more
about competition than consecration, about promotion than prayer.
They substitute propaganda for propagation and care more for their
church's happiness than holiness..." (-From 'Why Revival Tarries').

Ezekiel was the priest who became a prophet. His call from God
to prophetic office is worthy of our examination, as our place in
history cries out that God send prophets. His vantage point as
a prophet is worth taking note of, for the conditions of the nation
require the prophet's insight and perspective. His methods of
communication should be studied, as the world needs to hear
and understand its destitute rebellious nature and the impending
judgment of all unrighteousness. His calling of the nation to
repentance is worth remembering, for it is a fearful thing to not
have grace cover the nation's sin. His promise of restoration is
worth remembering, as it was given by Jehovah the covenant-
keeping God.

-From "The Wedding of Purity and Power" by Paul Holdren.

YAWNING OUR WAY TO OUR JOURNEY'S END?

Yawning Our Way to Our Journey's End?

By James Ryle www.truthworks.org


"If you knew that I was after the best, then why did you do less than the least?" (Matthew 25:26, The Message).

Sooner or later we each will have to face the moment of truth -- when our lives are measured in the light of eternity. There is an abiding reality within the depths of our souls that stirs us to pursue that which is good and true, that which is virtuous and noble. By divine instinct we shun death, disease, and destruction -- for we were not made for these things.

And though this fallen world is marred with the ever-encroaching presence of evil, our hearts are up-linked to more heavenly pursuits. We were not made for failure, but success. We were not designed to malfunction, but to excel. We are not at ease settling for that which we know is less than our best. But, then, why do so many seem so ready to surrender to mediocrity?

Maybe we've lost our vision -- our view of nobler things. Maybe our leaders have failed us, and thereby granted us license to sell our own selves short. Or maybe the friends with which we converse have inadvertently coaxed us into joining them in living a somewhat diminished life. After all, one of the easiest things in life to do is go along with the crowd.

Maybe we've become content to yawn our way to our journey's end.

Still, this doesn't change the sobering reality that one day we will stand in the Presence of Love Himself to answer for the loveless choices we have made along the way. "If you knew that I was after the best, then why did you do less than the least?"

Perhaps you are not in a place where you can give your best just yet -- but can't you at least do more than the least? It's a place to start.

And after all is said and done, you might end up not only surprising yourself with just how far and how high you go -- but, who knows, along the way you just also inspire the rest of us snozzing lugs.

JOHN FENN – WORD 3

JOHN FENN – WORD 3

Hi all,
This last of the series installment is coming to you early due to travels to a conference Labor Day weekend. I shared last week how a self-oriented Christian makes emotional decisions rather than spiritual ones.

My examples included the children of Israel who saw the same lack of water and food Moses did, but they complained and griped while Moses made a spiritual decision to look for supernatural provision in God.

Today I had promised to share results of emotional decisions, and then how to get out of the pattern of emotional decisions and back to spiritual decisions. I'm trying to teach and perhaps provoke towards healthy introspection for us all, so take it in the humble spirit intended, realizing that time and space prevent the full development of thought. There are 4 results listed below.

First result: Stop/start spiritually
Emotionally made or soulish decisions are not based on the bedrock of destiny in Christ. But Christ lives in us so he is continually stirring us to grow in him, causing a tug of war within.

Peter comes to mind as the gospels present him as the master of the stop/start. On the one hand he boldly proclaimed "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!", but then denied him 3 times. He would alternate between the brilliantly bold; "Lord, if you are, tell me to walk to you on the water" in Matthew 14, to over the top; "Let's build tents for you and Elijah and Moses" on the Mt. of Transfiguration.

Like Peter, these people are their own worst enemies, often alternating between self-loathing and 'feeling good' about their life and where they are - until another crisis happens and down they go again.

Second result: Socially alone/lonely
The stop/start ramification of one's spiritual life gets to be just too much for people they know. The unpredictability is fatiguing to those around, and all too often friends move on or potential friends back away.

It leads to social isolation or at least loneliness even when surrounded by people. The Bible is full of people like this. Lot, Abraham's nephew, made the emotional decision in Genesis 13: 5-9 to move to the well watered plain around Sodom so he could make more money, rather than a spiritual decision to stay away from the place. We find him in Genesis 19 all alone with no friends to help, locked in his house in Sodom, his front door being attacked by the mob wanting to rape the 2 men (angels) in his house.

II Peter 2: 7-8 tells us that Lot was righteous, he had a walk with God, but that his soul was 'vexed', literally 'tortured' in the Greek, by the lifestyles of those around him. Yet he chose to place himself there.

I often find those who have made emotional decisions have their walk with God but are emotionally and spiritual 'tortured'. Yet they are either clueless that they have done it to themselves, or they know it but choose to stay there because it's familiar and 'safer' than launching into the unknown new territory with God.

Samson also comes to mind as an emotional decision maker who was all alone. He chose to love Delilah (Judges 14:3), the Philistine girl who was outside the covenant of Israel rather than an Israelite girl. He went back and forth between emotional and spiritual decisions, ending up all alone, powerless with his eyes punched out in a metaphor illustrating how emotional decisions weaken and blind us. Ironically his final spiritual decision resulted in the collapse of a building on himself, and the death of himself and those within.

Another example is from Luke 15, the prodigal son. He made an emotional decision to take the money and run, and when he came to the full ramifications of that decision - all alone, hungry, feeding (unclean) pigs, the text says in verse 17 that he "came to himself", and saw his situation stripped of the imaginings that led him to make the original emotional decision. He sized up his situation rightly, and returned home.

Third result; Inconsistent life
People who habitually make emotional decisions have some area(s) of their life that are very inconsistent.

We should be moving from inconsistency towards consistency, as 'self control' or 'patience' depending on the translation, is one of the fruits of the spirit/Spirit in Galatians 5:22 and one of the character traits of a growing Christian listed by Peter in II Peter 1:5-8.

Consider Paul's teaching in Ephesians 4:14 on, about how inconsistency, or being 'tossed to and fro' is childlike. If you examine the rest of the chapter within the context we are talking about here, you'll see he is talking about leaving emotional and self-oriented decisions in favor of spiritual and outwardly oriented decisions, bound together within the glue of relationships with others.

Put on the new man in Christ not living like you used to - put away lying by telling the truth, put away explosive anger and holding grudges by loving, let him that stole get a job so he has money to give to others, clean up your language so you speak praises and grace, walk in forgiveness, are just a few examples.

Fourth result; Not a giver
When Jesus comes back and separates the sheep from the goats, he says in Matthew 25 the giving he is looking for is the giving of self, time, and practical things as well as things which involve money: I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me water, sick and you visited me, in prison and you visited me, naked and you clothed me. All involve money, but also time and resources, the larger issue being the relationships which promote giving in any form.

Many believers, even well grounded spiritually, still make emotional decisions in the subject of financial giving. If you consider that traditional church has largely replaced emotion for anointing, and brow beating and guilt trips to motivate people instead of teaching them how to establish internal motivation and discipline, is it any wonder most Christians give out of emotions rather than a spiritual decision to discipline oneself to write a check consistently month in and month out?

Barb and I have always held a principle close to our hearts that David understood and lived his life by. It's found in II Samuel 24 when an angel appears to him at the threshing floor of Araunah. David wants to buy the property to build a temple on it (today's Temple Mount), but Araunah offers to give it to the king.

But David wants to pay for it, saying in verse 24: "I will not give to the Lord that which costs me nothing."

That concept is lost on so much of the body of Christ, and as I said, I think this is one area the whole body needs to mature in because so few understand it. I will not give to the Lord that which cost me nothing.

A self-oriented believer became that way through emotional decisions, and because of their stop/start spirituality, loneliness, and inconsistency, have proven they shy away from anything that may cause pain or discomfort. Therefore they won't "give to the Lord that which costs me nothing."

I can only speak through the grace given to me, so lets bring this down to the nitty gritty of our lives. Barb and I support an orphanage in China and missionaries in Panama, $75 each per month, on top of our regular giving. So many times we've eaten out of the freezer rather than buy groceries for ourselves just so we could have the money to keep our commitment to them. That's spiritual decision making. Giving up fresh food or a meal or two out so an orphan has their needs met. I want it to cost me SOMETHING to give to God - and that seems so small compare to what it cost Jesus to give to us, doesn't it?

We have delayed paying our bills because we are used to trusting the Lord for our living and given to someone who freaks when they have to dip into their savings, giving that money to them so they may be comforted while we await more money to enable us to buy groceries or get the car fixed. We've lived this way since we were teens, like giving to a fellow teen $10 who had run out of gasoline while my own car was on 'R', but I knew I'd have it when I needed it for he had none at all.

I can't count the number of times in over 30+ years of ministry people that we've poured our lives into never give an offering, talking about how tight things are for them or how in debt they are, and then turn to someone else and talk about the restaurant they just went to and the upcoming trip they're going to take, or things for their house they bought at the store.

Time after time I just look at them with pity, praying they grow up.

Others are givers, but emotional ones. They'll give when they have extra. They'll give a percentage of a bonus or when they have some spare cash around. They will give when it costs them nothing. But they have a hard time making the spiritual decision of regular as clock work giving.

Remember the poor widow who gave all she had in Mark 12:41-44? Her 2 mites cost her, but she would not give to the Lord merely out of her extra. It's based on the fact we owe God, we love God, therefore we want to give something of ourselves, something we sacrifice to him because he sacrificed so much for us.

We could imagine the Father and Jesus saying "We will not give to mankind that which costs us nothing".

Thank God Jesus didn't say at the decision making Garden of Gethsemane, "Oh, this is going to cost me? Oh, I can't give that much! I need to go out to Zeb's Bar and Grill tonight with Peter and James, and when I feel like it I'll go to the cross."

It hurts
And this brings me full circle, for perhaps you've perceived when I mentioned David's heart and my own lifestyle that I was talking of larger things than mere money. Growing in Christ hurts. When it comes to changing from emotion based faith to spiritual based faith, you MUST give to the Lord that which costs you. Period.

We have repeated teachings in the New Testament about taking up the cross, dying to self, mortifying the flesh, "I'm crucified with Christ". It's going to cost you to move from emotional decisions to spiritual ones.

Remember Lot, Samson and the Prodigal son. They each 'came to themselves' at some point. They sized up their respective situations accurately, and made a decision not based on emotion, but something that would cost them. Lot lost his home & business. Samson lost his life. The Prodigal had to humble himself before his father and family. It will cost you. It doesn't feel good until after you've grown, and then it's WONDERFUL, because you have just that much more Christ formed within, and He feels like peace. (Galatians 4:19)

I will not give to the Lord that which costs me nothing. Welcome to discipleship.

New subject next week!
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.iFaithhome.org

WORD 2 -JOHN FENN

JOHN FENN WORD 2

Hi all,
Last week I shared about self-oriented Christians, meaning believers who are inwardly focused. This week I'd like to share some thoughts on what leads a person to become an inwardly focused Christian.

The reasons aren't the usual suspects you'd think, like believers hurt in or by ministry, or even the world. And I'm not talking about the masses of exhausted church workers, students, volunteers and employees who are worn or burned out, or even those bored with church. I'm not even talking about believers who have been to hell and back in terms of life experience.

These things are merely outcomes; but they all have 1 core reason people who have gone through the above (and more) become self-oriented believers.

Here it is:
Somewhere along the line they made and continue to make emotional decision(s) instead of spiritual decisions. By using the word "emotional" I'm not talking about some sort of melt down, rather a decision made out of the soul rather than the spirit. And I'm not talking about always feeling "up" about life and the Lord. But rather a determination for destiny in the heart that is stronger than mere emotions of the moment.

Example from scripture to better define what I mean
Moses was called to make spiritual decisions and hoped the new nation of Israel would also make spiritual decisions. A spiritual decision is based on your future, your destiny, on God's unfolding plan for where he wants you to be 1, 3, 5 or more years from now. It is also based on having in your heart the #1 priority that will not be denied, the burning desire to know Christ and to be like him no matter what the devil, other Christians, or the world throws at you.

By contrast, emotional decisions look back at what used to be, what is now, and looks at the future as uncomfortable, scary, or maybe not high on the priority list right now. It values what "I" want more than what God wants. That's what Israel did, to the point they were longing to go back to the familiarity of slavery!

The generation that came out of Egypt died in the wilderness because of emotional decisions: We have no water, we have no food, we are trapped against the sea, we are going to die in this wilderness. 10 times their emotional decision making came against Moses' spiritually based decision making.

Moses made his emotions submit to the spiritual and made plans. Israel on the other hand, let their emotions make their decisions for them.

And remember that both Moses and the children of Israel saw the same crisis points. Moses too saw they were backed against the sea. He too saw the poison water of Mara. He too was hungry, and on it went.

A person who thinks of self instead of their destiny in Christ and being more Christ like looks at the lack of water and thinks they are going to die of thirst. A person right next to them who burns for God's plan in their life, who yearns to become more Christ like at every opportunity, looks at their thirst and says "Father, reveal your provision in my life, thank you for this opportunity to grow in you!" One witnesses miracles, the other just hears about them and wonders why they don't happen to them.

Do you want to be a disciple or merely a believer?
Jesus put people in a position where they had to make either emotional or spiritual decisions. In Luke 5 he asked Peter to leave his partners in the fishing business and be a disciple. Not only did Peter leave the business, but so did his partners, James and John! Those were spiritual decisions based on destiny. You cannot hold onto the past or present while trying to grasp your future.

Of course the greatest decision in which spiritual priorities triumphed over the emotional was Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

There were others who told Jesus they wanted to be disciples, but they wanted to be disciples that made emotional decisions: "I'll follow you anywhere...but you have no where to lay your head...I'll follow you anywhere, but first let me go and bury my father...I'll follow you anywhere, but let me tell everyone goodbye first." The rich young ruler is another example, who because of his love of things made an emotional decision rather than a spiritual one, hanging onto his possessions but losing the opportunity to become a disciple.

Jesus never changes, which means he is still asking people to make emotional or spiritual decisions. He didn't run after any of these people and He won't run after us either. He won't leave you, but he won't run after you trying to get you to make spiritual decisions. He will be as gracious as he can be with where you are.

In the here and now
Spiritual decisions are often void of "the presence" because they must be made alone, with God watching silently on the sidelines. He puts it out there like his invitation to the rich young ruler, then steps back and lets us decide which way we'll go. He will go with the flow of our decision though the invitation is to higher ground.

When you make spiritual decisions the natural realm will eventually fall in line behind that decision. It may take some time, and finances in particular seem to come up last in that line, but natural things will begin submitting to your spiritual decisions if you stay with it. It took Joshua and Caleb 40 years of waiting, 40 years of watching their neighbors and friends die in the wilderness before they entered into their piece of real estate in the Promised Land. At any time during those 40 years they could have gone with their friend's emotions, but they had their eyes on the Promise. Their emotions were lined up with their spiritual decision.

Paul said in Romans 12:3 that he was speaking according to the grace given to him. In other words, he couldn't speak from someone else's grace, just how the Lord had dealt with him. Same here today. Sometimes people ask me about our lives and where we are in the Lord, and when Barb and I reflect on things we can say that when we nailed God's will for our lives it was because we made spiritual decisions, and when we missed it, it was because of emotional decisions. But the spiritual far outweigh the emotional.

When we first moved to southeast Colorado we became pastors of a church in which the founding pastor had killed a member of the congregation in self defense. The church was in debt and falling further behind, but that's where the Lord said "Go", so we did.

Emotionally - GET US OUTA HERE! Spiritually - "I have many people in this city." (Sounds like another spiritual decision made in Acts 18 by Paul at Corinth)

We first lived in the parsonage, a square, 4 room house collapsing in the middle so that our son's bottle when dropped on the floor rolled to the middle of the house. A young mother came to Barb and strongly pressed her to get on the government welfare program for free milk and cheese products - we qualified by income and having a baby. But Barb perceived it correctly when she told me something to the effect of: "Poverty is a way of thinking not a lack of money, and it is a spirit in this town and with these people, and I'm not going to submit to it. God's brought us here so He must have provision for our children that is larger than welfare, so we'll just believe him for milk and cheese and things like that."

That was a spiritual decision. I don't think the lady that suggested the welfare program got it. Her attitude was 'use the system' while you could. For us, it would have tied God's hands and kept us trapped in a system.(I understand that may be God's provision for some, but I am speaking of the grace given to us.)

Soon a couple came to our church that owned a dairy. Weekly they brought fresh milk, cream, and often much more. Another couple had cattle and quarterly brought us 200 pounds of meat at a time. Barb could not have seen any of that when the simple and tempting question was posed that provoked such powerful emotional desires for her children, "Do you want to sign up for the free government milk and cheese program?" Emotional decisions are SO easy, but spiritual ones are based on a higher principle, and as I said, often have no emotion attached, just determination to see God's highest and best in your life.

So you can see, going back to last week, how this type of Christian will be hurt in the future. If the world is in turmoil, and Christians are used to making emotional decisions instead of spiritual ones, and they are not in relationship with others who could provide balance and guidance, they are going to be as confused as the world. If we won't live for him, how will we ever die for him?

Next week I'll share and what emotional instead of spiritual decisions mean to one's lifestyle, and how to move from emotional to spiritual decisions, .

Until next week,
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.iFaithhome.org

JOHN FENN –PROPHETIC WORD 1

JOHN FENN –PROPHETIC WORD 1

Hi all,
The last 3 weeks I've shared in very practical terms some of the events prophesied in scripture about the end times. While there are things the Father has told me about events in the natural realm in our future like hurricanes and earthquakes, today I have a prophetic word from a different perspective to share.

Please allow me to lay some ground work first - I may make some generalizations to make a point, but it's to put a visitation I had in context, so bear with me:

Relationships
Christianity is a relationship based faith, revolving around the family and extending outward to friends, neighbors, co-workers and the unsaved. After all, the first command is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as our self.

I'm born again because I raised my hand
A person can say they are born again, but righteousness is unproven all by itself. Unless you link 'loving your neighbor' in your life with loving God with your whole being, you're only applying 1/2 the command. God designed righteousness to be revealed in relationships with people of like faith, so the evidence of a person's walk with God is the relationships they have with other believers.

In the NT we see closely networked home based churches sending people, resources, and money back and forth to each other as there were needs. They got to know each other, depended on each other, and were in constant communication. This is most directly seen in Acts and within and at the ends of Paul's letters - look at all the people and travel and resources mentioned!

In the 300's AD, when Christianity was pulled out of homes and into the auditoriums of what has become the traditional church, the importance of keeping close relationships with other believers fell by the way side.

"The church" went from being a group of believers to a building of brick and mortar, and the relationships likewise shifted from people, to programs and buildings. Loyalty to people ceased, loyalty to 'church' began.

Being involved in each other's lives was replaced by spiritual busy-ness in church programs. Spiritual busy-ness has the appearance of spirituality, but it lacks the close relationships our faith was designed to be expressed in. Loving your neighbor as yourself came to mean 'let me give money to the church program', and let that take care of them, rather than me having to get personally involved in someone's messy life.

People become "spiritual islands" as a result, surrounded by a sea of no one. Volunteers stand side by side working together for a good program, but don't know each other nor are they involved in each other's lives past 'hello' and 'see you next week'. Surrounded by people, many are lonely and alone.

In the mean time, 1700 years have passed
When you combine 1700 years of that culture with the economic prosperity and independent thinking of today, you end up with a culture of the self-oriented believer in Jesus.

By self-oriented I'm not talking about outwardly selfish people that no one wants to be around, but rather Christians who are oriented to themselves first and foremost, content with not being in relationships with other believers, content to not have anyone speak into their lives nor do they desire to speak into other's lives. They are wrapped up in their lives and their little world and don't have the time nor inclination to be involved outside themselves. They don't want to be put upon or expected to do anything or have any responsibility (or accountability to others), so they remain detached.

Some examples of self-oriented faith
A married couple with no children, both professionals, decide to back away from church so they can concentrate on their work. While claiming they are so exhausted nights and weekends they can't possibly be involved in church, they often get out of town weekends in recreational pursuits. They give little if anything of their time, money, skills, or themselves to others. But they declare how they love God!

The young family that treats church as a 'We'll make it if we can' sort of thing - they can't get going for a morning service, but Sunday afternoon will find them out and about to stores and family. They can't even put $5 in the offering because things are so tight, but have the money to drive across town or for a meal out and the occasional movie or other recreation. But they love God and x church or minister!

The person that picks and chooses which church they will attend based on the guest speaker or maybe the worship. They appear to be a serious believer, even a disciple, but they enjoy floating too much to give up their 'freedom'. But they received so much when x minister was in town, and wasn't that worship team anointed at 'First Church' last week?

The young family that attends church to drop the kids off in the nursery and children's church so they can have some adult time in the service, never mind that strangers are doing mom and dad's job of telling their kids about Jesus, they just need a break and to 'sit under the anointing'. Church becomes their babysitter.

The person who says they just can't take the traditional structure of church anymore and so go to house church, but the reality is they carry the same expectations into house church they had in the traditional: How does this serve ME? How will this get ME excited? I'm so empty, how does this fill ME? Rather than wanting to be part of a solution to effect change, they are still thinking the church exists to serve them.

All these examples are people who have lost sight of, or perhaps never understood, that Christianity is relationship based faith rather than program or pastor based. It's not glamorous, though we see miracles, healings, and true growth, but it involves getting to know others closely over time, being committed to them, and having them speak into your life as you speak into theirs.

These 'spiritual islands' live in a pretend world, yet are so wrapped in their comfortable blanket of self centeredness they have no idea where God is really moving, which is in relationships. They are what James called self-deceived, being hearers only of the Word and not doers.

All these examples and so many more, are simply people who don't have close Christian relationships high in their list of priorities of life, if at all. Yet that is exactly opposite everything in the New Testament!

They value free weekends more than meeting with others of like faith, sleeping in more than meeting with others, freedom of choice rather than committing to others, content in their lazy motive of using a church as a free babysitter, or yearning for spiritual goose bumps instead of making the effort to get to know people. It is self-oriented faith, inwardly focused and directed.

Where is this prophetic word you mentioned?
The danger my friends for "island Christians" is when the economy goes really bad, or they have a personal crisis, or a tragedy strikes, or Christians are being persecuted, or that island believer doesn't have enough food to eat, they have no one to turn to for help.

If they aren't in close relationships with other believers they will find just how all alone they really are.

Already I'm hearing stories of people who have gone to their traditional church for help to pay bills, but have been turned away. Folks, when it comes to paying the mortgage on the church auditorium or paying your mortgage, which do you think gets paid?

During a recent visitation the Lord told me "You will begin to see an economy 'below the radar' of the larger economy, just as in the book of Acts and the New Testament when they took care of each other. It's already happening in other parts of the world, so see what I see, people giving of themselves and their possessions to help each other, networking together in love with pure motives, seeking only the betterment of their brother or sister in Me. You will hear of giving, sharing, bartering, trading, so that my people who are part of this economy will suffer no lack, and many will advance and prosper even in the economy of the world, even in uncertain times. You will also hear of supernatural provision including the multiplication of food, for as those who are in this flow, are flowing with what I have said about how true faith is expressed, for the Spirit and Word are one. They will be flowing with the Spirit and as such see many miraculous things..."

He went on about other things, but that's not to share now. This isn't doom and gloom friends, for he also said that the (US) economy would appear to level out a bit, but the overall trend will be downward.

This isn't a word about lack in the world's economy, but rather a word about how the body of Christ is (finally) rising up and actually BEING the body of Christ, doing what scripture says we are to do, caring for each other and looking for each other's best interest no matter whether the economy of the world is red hot or sliding backwards. Matthew 25, which depicts how Jesus at his return will separate the sheep from the goats, says of his sheep: I was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you visited me...enter into the kingdom prepared for you.

When you see this behavior happening on the personal level as it was practiced in scripture and intended, it means the body of Christ is rising to the level of the first church once again!

I have more to share next week, but I can tell you it is the spiritual islands, the self-oriented Christians who stand to be hurt the most because they are in relationships with no one. The cure of course is to grow up, but with sins of pride (which is what this is), not even God can move on them, the proud person must humble himself and choose to grow in Christ as He intended, expressing the righteousness of God through and within relationships.

I need to close this for now, but will pick it up next week. For those who have ears to hear, this is a prophetic word. Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Until next week,
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.iFaithhome.org