Senin, 16 November 2015

FALSE SHEPHERDS

FALSE SHEPHERDS
by David Wilkerson

The problem with the church in Thyatira was a flirtation with
seductive, devilish ministries. Imagine the pastor's reaction when
he read these words: "Unto the angel of the church in Thyatira
write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like
unto a flame of fire" (Revelation 2:18).

The letter continues with a commendation: "I know thy works, and
charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works;
and the last to be more than the first" (2:19). Once again, Christ
is saying, "I know your deeds. Your love, faith, service and
perseverance are greater now than when you began." Best of all,
the Lord tells them, "I know you love Me." He doesn't reprimand
them for a loss of intimacy with Him.

But then we read these piercing words: "Notwithstanding I have
a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman
Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to
seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things
sacrificed unto idols" (2:20).

Who, exactly, is the Jezebel mentioned here? Jesus is speaking
of false shepherds. He's reproving the pastor in Thyatira for
tolerating covetous ministers who seduce His people. The Jezebel
reference here indicates more than just ministers who are covetous.
These false shepherds actually invent schemes to carry out and
fulfill their lusts. Simply put, the name Jezebel is a byword for all
that's evil and detestable in the eyes of the Lord.

What a perplexing picture we're given. These are people who love
the Lord, devoted men and women of God. They've persevered,
they've given faithfully, and they love Jesus. How could these
believers be attracted to false prophets? How could they ever be
seduced by wicked ministers whom God despises?

All through the gospels, Jesus warns of false shepherds who
come seeking to devour, deceiving many. Yet I'm shocked by the
lack of discernment in multitudes who abide their false gospels.
Has this happened to you? Does your soul feed on some TV
gospel that's actually demonic? Do you drink in a message from
prosperity preachers that appeals to your lusts and takes the last
dimes of the elderly?

Jesus admonishes those who've faithfully stood against Jezebel
ministers: "That which ye have already hold fast till I come" (2:25).
He's saying, "You've learned true discernment. You won't let
yourself be twisted by every wind and wave of doctrine. So, for
now, just keep holding on. Don't allow yourself to be deceived.
That's all I ask. I won't put any other burden on you until I come
back" (see 2:24)

-Source-

http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.co.nz/2015/10/false-shepherds.html

GREAT QUOTES on REVIVAL

GREAT QUOTES on REVIVAL

"I see no hope for a revival among God´s people today. They are
so enamored and so cluttered up with Hollywood and newspapers
and magazines and parties and bowling alleys and camping trips
and everything else. How in the world are they going to get still
long enough to see anything from God?"
~Lester Roloff.

"When Holy God draws near in true revival, people come under
terrible conviction of sin. The outstanding feature of spiritual
awakening has been the profound consciousness of the Presence
and holiness of God."
-Henry Blackaby

"All revival begins, and continues, in the prayer meeting. Some
have also called prayer the "great fruit of revival." In times of revival,
thousands may be found on their knees for hours, lifting up their
heartfelt cries, with thanksgiving, to heaven."
-Henry Blackaby

"Revival is not just an emotional touch; it´s a complete takeover!"
-Nancy Leigh DeMoss

"Revival comes from heaven when heroic souls enter the conflict
determined to win or die - or if need be, to win and die! The kingdom
of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."
-Charles Finney.

When the Crop Permits

The Ministries of Francis Frangipane
When the Crop Permits
(En Español)
Certainly, the period prior to Christ's return will be both difficult and perilous. Scripture warns that God's voice will shake all things, things in the heavens and things on the earth. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and then removed (Heb. 12:26-27).
Yet there is more on the calendar of God than increasing judgments and the Rapture. Between now and the Second Coming, there will also be a significant, though still partial, re-establishing of God's kingdom in the earth (Dan. 2:44; Matt. 24:14; Matt. 13). A spiritually mature people will serve as the vanguard of His return. Before the Lord is glorified in the earth, He shall be glorified in the church (Isa. 60:1-3; Eph. 5:27). Indeed, the attainment of Christlike maturity in those who pursue the Lord shall not be a mere sidebar on the list of end-time events; it will be the main attraction.
Listen carefully to what Jesus taught. He said,
"The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows -- how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come" (Mark 4:26-29).
Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a farmer waiting for the maturing of His crops. During the harvest season, farmers are concerned about two primary things: the quantity and quality of the harvest. For over 30 years I lived in eastern Iowa. Some corn and soybean fields, which may have started strong, fail or were stunted due to unusually high or low temperatures or lack of rain. As a result, farmers plow under their fields because their crops did not reach maturity. There was no "mature grain in the head."
Just as the farmer will not harvest without the grain becoming mature, so God is seeking a crop of Christ-followers that have reached spiritual maturity. God is after full stature not just full numbers. Take note: Jesus said, "when the crop permits," God puts in the sickle. The return of Christ isn't tied to a certain "day or hour"; it is about the spiritual stature of the harvest that triggers the great unfolding of end-time events. You see, God is not looking at His watch; He's looking at His crop.
What does spiritual maturity look like? It looks like Christians taking "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). Again, God is looking for Christlikeness to ripen within us as we approach the end of the age.
"Man...in the image of God" is the seed-idea purposed by the Almighty from before time began (Gen. 1:27). The release of divine wrath is not the Father's highest priority. It does not in any way mean we think we are gods or that we take Christ's place; it means Christ has truly taken our place (Gal. 2:20). This is what the "mature head in the grain" looks like: mature Christlikeness.
For too long we have assumed that only the numeric size of the harvest was the focus of the Father. Certainly the number of people saved is pivotal: "the fullness of the gentiles" must come into the kingdom (Rom. 11:25). However, the Almighty does not just want numbers; He wants spiritual maturity.
Thus, the Lord is not looking at a calendar thinking, "Oh, it's the year 2015 (or 2020, etc.). I have to destroy the world on that date." No. A farmer does not reap his crops without first walking his fields, testing samples of the grain, and studying the moisture and integrity of the seed head. Only then does he begin his harvest. Again, the maturity of the crop determines the day of the harvest.
So many Christians are frozen in spiritual immaturity. They are easily offended, often distracted and without prayer or spiritual discipline. We think God is requiring of us simply to hang on, yet the Lord is looking for more. Paul says the goal of God in the church is that "we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13, italics mine).
Even now, believers around the world are becoming increasingly more Christlike. Many are dying for their faith. Yet "with unveiled face," they are "beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord" and "are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Cor. 3:18). When this crop permits, the Father shall put in His sickle, for the harvest has truly come.
Let's pray: Lord Jesus, as You continue looking for spiritual completeness in the harvest, help me to grow to full stature, that I may truly represent a planting which has grown up into Your likeness.
~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~
Adapted from Francis Frangipane's In Christ's Image Training course - www.icitc.org.

CLEANSING MY MOUTH, EARS and EYES

CLEANSING MY MOUTH, EARS and EYES
by David Wilkerson

Recently, I met a minister I´ve known for a number of years. Every
time I had encountered him in the past, I had said to my wife
afterward, "That man is so shallow. Such a boastful show-off. I
don´t know how God could ever bless him." Then I met this same
man after the Holy Ghost had dealt with me about judging others.
This time, the Spirit told me, "Love him. Be quiet and listen to him.
Then pray with him."

I obeyed. I loved the man, listened to him talk, and afterward took
his hand and prayed. As soon as we parted ways, a strange thing
happened to me: I was stricken with grief. A terror swept over me-
the terror of what I´d done to this man over the years. I saw the
exceeding sinfulness of my defiling sin.

David exhorts, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation
of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength,
and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14). The apostle Paul adds this
perspective: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all
malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ´s sake hath forgiven you"
(Ephesians 4:31-32).

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but
that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister
grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God" (4: 29-30).

Dear saint, not a person reading this message is too holy to
heed it and make a change. For my part, I feel God´s grief over
all the ways I´ve misjudged people through the years, whether
knowingly or unknowingly. I urge you to cry out as my heart does:

"Oh, Lord, why wasn´t I ready to hear this sooner? Why haven´t
I dealt with this before now? I want to proclaim Your gospel,
declare Your generation. Please, Jesus, forgive me. Cleanse
my defiled mouth, my defiled ears, my defiled eyes. And give
me a renewed heart. I want nothing to hinder my life from being
a full manifestation of who You are."

May the Lord hear our cry and move quickly to remake us. He
will give us strength to put away all evil speaking, evil listening
and mental judging. Then we´ll be better able to prolong the
days of our Lord.

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/34422

GREAT QUOTES from RAVENHILL

GREAT QUOTES from RAVENHILL

"My goal is GOD HIMSELF. Not joy, not peace, not even blessing
but HIMSELF... my GOD."
- Leonard Ravenhill

"LORD strengthen me where I am too weak and weaken me where
I am too strong!"
- Leonard Ravenhill

"Is the world crucified to you or does it fascinate you?"
- Leonard Ravenhill

"One thing and one thing alone keeps us from complete decay in
this hour - the church, the true Church."
- Leonard Ravenhill

"The Church right now has more fashion than passion, is more
pathetic than prophetic, is more superficial than supernatural."
- Leonard Ravenhill

The Lord Whose Sword Is Drawn

The Lord Whose Sword Is Drawn
(En Español)
There is something about the time just prior to a move of God that causes many to wonder if the Lord is for them or against them. He seems confrontational -- too intense, too "different" from the gentle, patient Shepherd we have learned to trust. Yet to lead His people into the future, we need not only be "saved;" we need to be trained for spiritual warfare.
Perhaps you have been through a time when the tip of Christ's sword seemed aimed straight at your heart. Let me reassure you: God is for you. In fact, it is His expressed purpose to release this same "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17), through your words and prayers. But before the Lord's sword will come through your mouth, it must first pass through your heart.
Do not withdraw or be terrified at this new unveiling of the Son of God, for He is, in fact, fitting us for battle. By the time we are fully trained, we will be fearless warriors in His army.

Yet we must be realistic about our current state: many of us have been pampered and undisciplined. We have not understood the day of warfare that looms before us. Nor are we prepared for the final raging of Satan as his time shortens (Rev. 12:12).
Isaiah tells us,
"The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies" (Isa. 42:13).
We have known the Lord as our Savior and our Shepherd. These revelations of our beloved Master are no less true because a new aspect of His nature is revealed. It is simply that this new dimension is so startlingly different from how we have known Him. Be of good cheer. This frightening Warrior King, with His sword drawn, with the shout of war upon His lips, is the same blessed Savior who died on the cross for our sins.
Yet we cannot soften the shock of this great unveiling of Christ. Our immediate dismay shall be in no way less dramatic than that which was revealed to Joshua on the plains of Jericho. Our concepts will be shaken and fears confronted.
"Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us or for our adversaries?'" (Josh. 5:13).
Joshua already knew the Lord in the wilderness tabernacle. But here standing before him was a new revelation of the Son of God. Now He appeared as Captain of the Host to lead His people into war.
Ultimately, these refugees from Egypt and their wilderness children would defeat many nations stronger and more numerous than themselves (Deut. 9:1). They would do the impossible through the power of the Lord.
Though initially Joshua was taken aback, both Joshua and the people with him were more prepared for this battle than they realized. Their time in the wilderness had conditioned them for war!
Likewise, the wilderness for you has not been a time of punishment but a season of preparation and of learning obedience. You have learned from the struggles. Today you walk in the fear of God and are not blinded by the sin of presumption.Before Jesus returns, those who have passed the wilderness tests will receive another revelation: Christ will be revealed to them as Captain of the Host. We will be ready to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
"And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, 'What has my lord to say to his servant?' The captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, 'Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so" (Josh. 5:14-15).
This new unveiling of the Lord is holy. Just as the Lord brought down atheistic communism in the former Soviet Union, so we will see additional hundreds of millions find salvation in the Son of God. Nations are being touched and prepared. Let us not gainsay nor criticize what we may not fully understand. God will shake everything that can be shaken, even while we receive His kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:27-28).
The promise of the Lord, which we read earlier, is that He "will go forth like a warrior. . . . He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies" (Isa. 42:13). Within the ranks of the advancing church, Jesus is raising a war cry. Can you hear His shout? A new authority is being raised up. Yes, they will be tested, but leaders will arise with the voice of prophetic prayer. Christ Himself will prevail against His enemies. Indeed, the gates of hell shall not stand against the church Jesus is building (Matt. 16:18).
~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~
Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, The Three Battlegrounds, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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Rabu, 11 November 2015

POLITICS is RUINING CHRISTIANITY

POLITICS is RUINING CHRISTIANITY
by Andrew Strom

In recent years, particularly in the USA, but also in other countries,
Christians have become more and more drawn into politics and
political issues. I believe this is making the Christian faith more
and more hated - not for the gospel's sake, but rather for taking
political stands that Jesus never asks us to take.

Christians are now known for all the things they bitterly "rail"
against. They rail angrily against taxes, against the president,
against immigrants, against the Democrats, against refugees.
They launch into bitter tirades on issues such as health care
and gun control - as though they would gladly blow away anyone
who disagrees. They portray themselves as the biggest supporters
of armies and killing and big business in the entire country. Just
listen to them talk. It is about as far from Jesus as you can
possibly imagine. Once you start playing on this field you need
to remember that politics is the devil's arena. It is dirty, ugly
and divisive - and we are called to keep out.

It used to be that liberal journalists would at least tolerate the
Christian faith - even if begrudgingly. Now they tend to see
Christianity as the "enemy" - because we have taken political
stances against them on multiple worldly issues. Christianity
as a faith is no longer renowned for "healing the broken-hearted
and setting the captives free" - nor for the gospel that we
proclaim. We are now known for the angry political issues and
causes that we agitate about.

Jesus refused to have anything to do with political power. He said,
"My kingdom is not of this world." And the early church was the
same. Can you imagine them starting a "letter-writing" campaign
against Herod or Caesar? Never! They were too busy preaching
the gospel.

But today's believers are inviting widespread hatred of the Christian
faith - not for spiritual reasons but rather political ones. And that
hatred is getting worse and worse every year. We have needlessly
made ourselves the "enemies" of so many that we are called to reach.

These Christians have wrapped the Bible in the flag so tight that
no-one can tell the difference any more. They are actually
preaching "another gospel". It is the gospel of politics and
nationalism - where Christianity embroils itself in the partisan
issues of the day - and angrily snarls at any who dare disagree.
It is the gospel of the "flag mixed with Jesus".

What has all this fighting, railing, crusading and bitterness
actually produced? Tons of bad fruit, tons of hatred for Christianity,
and very little actual change. That is because Christians are not
supposed to change the world through politics. We are supposed
to change men's hearts through the gospel. That is the only thing
that will actually do the job. We have abandoned our calling. We
have become utterly distracted from our mission in the earth.
And we are reaping nothing but hatred from the very people we
are called to reach. The modern "politicized" church of flag-
waving uber-patriots is the very opposite of all Jesus stood for.
We are preaching another gospel - another Christianity altogether.

I believe the American church stands under the judgment of
God for this false gospel. It is just as bad as the 'prosperity'
gospel which also came out of America and infected the whole
world. And I call on all U.S. Christians to STOP IT NOW.

True Christians are supposed to be "sojourners" and pilgrims in
the earth, giving their allegiance to no particular country but the
kingdom of heaven. It is high time we left all this agitating to the
rabble-rousers - and simply do our job. Preaching the gospel to
the poor. Healing the sick. Binding up the broken-hearted.
Proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord.

No more Fox News. No more right-wing talk radio. All that stuff
exists only to rile people up, make them mad, and drive the
ratings higher. There is nothing "Christian" about it at all.

To every believer I say: REPENT of this "political" gospel -
this "political" Christianity - and never return to it again.

-Please COMMENT on this topic at our website below-

http://www.revivalschool.com/


God bless you all.

Andrew Strom.