Tuesday, September 21, 2021:
Following is a Summary of Thoughts from my Solitude Journal September 1-Septmeber 5
Today, (September 1) as I was reading John Chapter 5, beginning with verse 17, I had some very strong thoughts. Over the course of my journey, and especially in the last six to nine months, I believe The Spirit has given me some strong direction regarding Scripture (namely relating to power, signs and miracles). If what I have come to believe is true, I (and the Church) should be doing all the things that Jesus did, and the fact that I am not is a problem-i (we) am the problem.
This is either true, or it is not true-no in between. I believe most Christians accept or believe that it is not true. However, I believe it to be truth because I believe my eyes have been opened by The Spirit to reveal it as truth based on what Scripture is saying. I think those that don't believe this have a belief based on what we have seen in the Church since the first century rather than what Scripture is truly saying.
In John 5:17, Jesus says, "My Father is always at His work." Jesus is telling us that His work is His Father's work. Not only is Jesus stating His authority, His Sonship, His Godship, even His equality with His father, but He is stating His purpose and His Father's desires. This part seems to be largely missed in today's preaching.
Jesus is perfectly implementing His Father's will, and then transferring that responsibility to continue this work to us (through the formation of Jesus within us by The Holy Spirit).
A great deal of what Jesus is sharing with us through His ministry is simply the will of His ( and because of Him-our) Father.. The mission of the Church is to take the torch-from Jesus-and continue exactly the same work that He did Himself. We are not doing this-and it seems that in large part we have not done this throughout the centuries. However, we know that the Apostles did this work-including Paul.
I (we) must struggle with the fact that I am not doing all that Jesus did. Even if I see it in part, I know it is certainly not in full. No matter the reason, this is a problem. Interpreting Scripture any other way is simply diminishing the Gospel! Is this not what Jesus was explaining to us in the teaching of the Vine and the branches?
September 2:
In John 5:19-23, Jesus is saying, "I do all of these things on behalf of My Father. Then, as a result of the completion My work, I now send you to do-continue the work (seeking and saving the lost-reconciliation) on My behalf."-Continuation of the same work.
To me, all of this is describing Discipleship. Chambers' writes, "at all cost, a person must have the right relationship with God." I want to expand this to say that this relationship will yield fruit-the fruit that Scripture outlines-the fruit that Jesus Himself produced.
What has happened in the Church today (and perhaps throughout the centuries) is that we have a relationship, but it is not with the Person of Jesus Christ-it is with religion, tradition, activities, Church membership-even Scripture-the list goes on and on-but not Jesus!
What Jesus describes in the Gospels is His (Jesus') relationship with His Father, and then Jesus tells us (even prays in John 17) to have that relationship with Him.
Until we recognize and acknowledge this as the case, and diligently seek (desire) the relationship (through Repentance), we cannot begin the journey that He desires. It is through Holiness-perfection of our Faith-complete Sanctification-that this is attained (reference Chambers' writing September 1). This is UNITY-Oneness.
We must remember that HE is the Author and Perfecter of our Faith (Hebrews). The Lord told me in solitude, "At some point, My people began to settle, and this has continued to this day."
How does The Lord see the Church?
The Church is not meant to be an institution. It was instituted by Jesus, but that does not make it an institution. We (man) have made it an institution. Rather, it is meant to be an assembly-a collection- a gathering of like-minded (Christ minded) individuals.
In man's nature, man desires (even strives) to rule man. We are seeing this in its most disastrous form trying to take hold in America. Man wants to have a "ruling class." Oddly, there is even a part of man's nature that wants to be ruled.
The same is also true within religion. This is what Denominations consist of-Government and Governed. Some-Scholars and Intellects-study, research, and ultimately set themselves up as a hierarchy and say, "we know best, and we will teach (legislate?) you."
I believe this is the basis of how The Holy Spirit has essentially been eliminated from the religious realm of Christianity.
The Church is actually the physical representation of "The Kingdom of Heaven." Man's nature does not rule-in any capacity- in The Kingdom. Jesus-and Him alone-rules this Kingdom. He rules the collective group by ruling the individuals within that group-not vise-versa. This is why we are indwelt with The Spirit-God Himself.
In The Old Testament, when God established Israel, He was meant to be their King. They resisted. The same is true today-within the Church.
September 3-Quiet Time and Solitude:
(1) There is an unbreakable link between Redemption and Reconciliation.
(2) Devotion-Not to religion or anything else, but rather Devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ.
Abraham KNEW God-not knew about God. His Faith was built on this knowledge. Faith is KNOWING God. It is not Doctrine. I don't even think it proper to call it belief. God wants us to know Him (and Trust Him). The Holy Spirit makes this so. The Cross makes it possible for every Christian.
Our Oneness with God is only possible through the formation of Jesus nature within us. This is "Christ in me." This Nature is birthed, nurtured, and matured by The Holy Spirit.
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
I want to share something The Lord shared with me last week (on September 23).
Over the course of my journey, I have been troubled over many things I hear regarding "Religion." It seems that Religion has taken on a bad connotation, that I don't accept. I've always kind of thought that religion (like many things) is what you make of it. We can-and do-make anything an idol. Quite simply, we are idol factories. The Lord finally gave me clarity on the matter. The Dictionary definition of Religion is: "Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power recognized as the Creator and Governor of the Universe."
During the night, The Spirit conveyed something to me, and The Lord followed up on it with some things the following morning. I want to provide a note of clarification here:
I received everything in this writing as Revelation from The Lord and through The Holy Spirit. I have no basis to validate the truth and accuracy of what I am writing other than that. He shared them with me for reasons that are not really clear to me. I have sought answers along these lines for several years, and for reasons only He understands, I believe He has provided them now. I encourage you to use discernment as you evaluate for yourself. Because I write it does not make it true-if it is from The Lord, then it is TRUE.
During the night, The Spirit conveyed to me, "Religion has not failed man; man's religion has failed man." (This includes man's version of Christianity). The Scripture 2 Timothy 3:5 clearly comes to mind: A form of godliness (religion), but denying its power.
God has allowed man's apathy to inhibit the miracles throughout the centuries. He allowed for the power to be prominent at the beginning of the Church Age, and will be again at the close of the Church Age. We would have become de-sensitized to the power due to our fallen nature. The miracles would have lost their significance due to being so common. God has allowed us to be deceived in this regard so this would not happen-in order that the End Time Harvest would explode as a result of the return of the power.
I realize that my writings have contained a theme relating to miracles of late. I am simply conveying what The Lord conveys to me. It is my belief that He is conveying this to me because it is important that we understand that His Church looks nothing like it should look, but that He is going to return Her to the Church of His intent.
As I read John 7:31, I noticed that the Jews encountering Jesus pointed out that they had an expectation for The Messiah to prove Himself through signs and miracles. The miraculous signs would be the evidence of The Messiah. Some believed as a result of what Jesus was doing, but it seems that all linked proof of The Messiah to the miracles.
I conclude ((through The Spirit's revelation) that it is still God's intent to link signs and miracles to be the evidence of Jesus as Messiah-through His Church. These works showed some very important truths:
1.) Revealed Jesus as Messiah
2.) Demonstrated His Father's will
3.) Showed Oneness with His Father
4.) Revealed that He was sent by His Father to perfectly implement His Father's will
I encourage you to read John 17 in its entirety.
Obviously, this list is not conclusive.
The question that has plagued me throughout my Christian life is: Why would this change?
Many scholars have concluded that these works are no longer God's will, and that they are no longer necessary because of the full Revelation of the Bible as Testament to Jesus as Messiah. However, what is the Scriptural support for this?
Today (9/23), I received through revelation that early in Church history the miracles, signs and wonders had disappeared from the activity of the Church. Therefore, it was deduced that because Scripture was being, or had been fully assembled as the complete Canon, that this (must be) God's will. A line of de-markation was drawn between the Apostles and the rest of the Church. This was the beginning of man's religion vs. God's religion, and set the stage for the quenching of The Holy Spirit, which has consequently grown more severe throughout the Age.
God Himself is the only one that can restore what was meant to be, and we MUST PRAY diligently for Him to do so.
While all of this explains a very weak corporate Church-which we can easily see is the case-perhaps the most detrimental thing that has happened is that we seem to have lost the understanding of the relationship we are meant to have with Jesus through His Spirit. In many-or even most- cases, it seems that we have a relationship with the idea of Jesus or a relationship with service to Jesus rather than a personal-intimate relationship with Jesus. As we pray for restoration of the Church, I beg every one of you to seek this relationship with our Lord. I assure you -IT IS REAL!
Wednesday, September 1, 2021-Solitude August 25, 2021
The Lord talked to me about the essence of a Christian journey-explaining my Christian journey. At its heart, He told me that what I have learned to believe is that waiting on Him-doing it His way-being patient-is better than anything I could do on my own. I know this because He (and Scripture) have told me so-not because circumstances have necessarily confirmed this. He-alone-is trustworthy-no matter what I see.
Circumstances, rational thought, logic, common sense, and natural desires all work against this faithful following of His guidance through His Spirit. These are all "worldly" influences that work to peel us from the journey with Him. We must battle all of them and steadfastly pursue Jesus-and Him alone.
This is the self-sacrifice that the New Testament teaches as "Discipleship."
Sunday, July 11, 2021
This morning, as I consider salvation, it occurs to me that within Christianity perhaps we are meant to wrestle with salvation. Am I really saved? As I look back, it was this very question that triggered the beginning of my journey into relationship with Jesus.
We have developed doctrine within denominations to address this issue, but the reality is that our only guarantee of salvation is The Holy Spirit. The matter cannot be settled intellectually.
The reason, I believe, is that the guarantee from The Spirit comes when we are on the journey with Him (the Pilgrimage). If not, we are meant to wrestle with it. God wants us in relationship-period.
The unanswerable question is, "If I am not on the path of relationship. am I still saved?" Perhaps the same question asked more directly is, :Can Jesus be my Saviour and not my Lord?"
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
I just want to provide an update. I began teaching a class on The Holy Spirit at Church on March 7, and almost immediately that week, The Lord began pouring into me. I soon realized that He was giving me far more than I could share in a single class-even weekly. Last week, The Lord conveyed to me that it was time to begin posting on my website again. Over the next couple of weeks, I intend to post these writings to supplement the class. Thank you for your patience.
Monday, October 25, 2021 (Solitude Journal October 12, 2021)
During my Bible study and Quiet time today (John ch. 9), I learned something in relation to signs and wonders and their importance.
While the display of signs and wonders is very important-as Scripture outlines-The Lord revealed a different aspect today. When we come to salvation initially, we very quickly derive assumptions regarding our journey and our Christian life. In sound Bible Churches, we are taught terms such as transformation, regeneration, sanctification, and so-on. Often, we are even taught that we have entered into a "relationship."
This is where the deception began within Christianity. As human beings, we then must decide-if we accept all of the above as true-we must determine what this relationship looks like.
The Lord has taught me a great deal about the human condition. In fact, He has spent a great deal of time on two contrasting areas in this life. First, the flawed human nature that is a derivative of the fall. Second, the contrasting nature of our Lord that is to become our nature as Christians.
Part of the human condition is that as finite beings, we seek plateaus. We desire contentment, comfort. We look to reach a place where we can be satisfied.
Our examples in Scripture-namely Paul (my example as designated by The Lord) don't seem to seek contentment. In short, I have learned that being satisfied, content, and comfortable are the enemy of Christianity (Discipleship).
How does all of this relate to where I started-to signs, wonders, and miracles? It is really quite simple. While these acts and gifts are never to be our pursuit, we have been lulled and deceived into a watered down relationship that is exceedingly less than the relationship Scripture outlines us to pursue. The depth of the relationship described in Scripture includes signs and wonders "following those that believe." (On a side note, I encourage you to investigate Scripture and see how many times Jesus discussed "believe." Today, it is not necessarily that we don't believe, but it is a question of what we believe, and how deeply we believe. The Holy Spirit is the only One that can teach us to believe ALL THAT JESUS TAUGHT).
It is truly not absence of signs and wonders that is the problem existing in the Church today, but rather it is the lack of depth in our relationship with Jesus that is the problem.
It seems that almost from the very beginning of the Church Age, we have been deceived into believing that pursuit of something less than Scripture describes (in John particularly) is acceptable. We must change our mindset in this regard, and let The Holy Spirit have free reign in us to produce the kind of relationship Scripture explains-the same kind of relationship the early Christians, including the Apostles, had with Jesus. The entirety of this relationship is built on a word that is commonly used, but not commonly understood in its fullness-SURRENDER.
The acts and works that flow from a Church with that kind of relationship will be nothing short of World changing. In fact, it will turn the World upside down.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
When The Lord gave me firm direction to begin posting my solitude journal writings as much as possible, He gave me some other things to share as well, but He did not direct me to share them until this morning.
On March 3, He outlined the importance of these writings as a means of feeding His sheep as He feeds me. He told me that most of what I write in the journal is because it comes to life in me as He conveys it to me. It comes to life through revelation. He told me that if I am vigilant to convey it from Him to the website as accurately as possible (basically the best I can do), through His Spirit, it will come to life for others as they read it. The best I can describe it is as dehydrated and then rehydrated food (manna).
On March 7, The Lord asked me a series of questions as qualifiers.
1.) Do you believe the Words spoken to you in solitude are The Lord?
2.) Do you do your best to write them down as accurately as possible?
3.) Doesn't the time in solitude always have value to you?
4.) How can the writing not have value to others?
He called it extended solitude. He also reminded me of the value Chambers writings have had to me everyday. On March 2, He told me something that really registered with me. He told me He will teach others through the writings He gives me under the following conditions:
****If they are fully committed and sincere in their seeking of Him
****If they are diligent to read them consistently
He said He will teach them through the writings as He teaches me.
LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT THERE IS NO OTHER TEACHING IN THE WORLD LIKE WHEN OUR LORD TEACHES!!!
Friday, April 9, 2021(From The Night - April 8 and Quiet Time)
I was reading a Bible Study Commentary from a prominent author this morning, and a revelation came to me. It seemed quite important to share. Additionally, I hope to be posting an extensive portion of my solitude journal from the past few weeks in the next few days.
There exists within Christianity a dilemma between Salvation and Discipleship. I believe Paul is referring to this when he talks of "working out your salvation."
It is important to our journey that we understand that sanctification does not happen automatically. We have a role to play. However, understanding the role we play is extremely important. In simple terms, our responsibility is COOPERATION WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. He does everything in us. Anything of value relating to us is done by God Himself. However, The Spirit does nothing without our permission and cooperation. Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him (do our part).
As almost everything seems to be, our understanding of the work of The Spirit is our stumbling block here. I am reminded of Jesus words to Nicodemus in John Chapter 3 relating to The Spirit (the wind blows as it wishes).
Many believe we receive The Spirit in fullness at rebirth. I don't believe this to be true. I believe we receive an initial indwelling or portion to confirm our being born again. As God is infinite, I'm not even sure what it would mean to receive Him completely. Regardless, I believe He grows in us as we continue to seek Jesus (Whom The Spirit is revealing to us) and be obedient to Him. Maybe it is not so much that we receive more of Him, but that He gains more and more control as we submit more fully, and as we grow. I see this as semantics, which we must not get stuck on. We must not allow the semantics to cause us to miss the point or lose focus.
In reality, everything available to us was made available on the Cross. Jesus said "IT IS FINISHED." I know that "death to self" is a process that takes time. I know that surrender is a day by day-even moment by moment- lifelong battle. I know that "Christ in me" is inversely proportional to death to self.
All of these things grow with maturity, and so I believe does our portion of The Holy Spirit, and I believe this encompasses a great deal of the teachings of Paul.
As will be revealed in my journal entries to come later, The Lord is calling His people deeper. This has been a theme He has been conveying to me in earnest for a couple of weeks. In reality, He has been conveying this theme to me regarding His Church for a very long time.
Monday, November 1, 2021 (Solitude Journal Writing October 20, 2021)
Throughout the Church Age, within Christianity, we have forged a model of what Christianity should look like. In fact, we have established a number of models-varying by denomination (including Catholicism).
I learned this morning that The Lord, over these past eight plus years has been establishing for me an entirely new model-His model. This model, while based entirely on Scripture, is not aligned with typical understanding of Scripture.
The Lord has been, and continues teaching me what His Church should look like. The main problem seems to be the idea that because Jesus is the Son of God, He could do certain things that are not to be done in the church today. While Jesus could certainly do things that we cannot do, the concept eliminates "Christ in me." The Jesus that is formed in me is the same Jesus that lived on earth. The problem is not that we "cannot do," but rather that we will not SURRENDER.
The Lord then told me in solitude, "Doctrine has been adopted to reconcile Scripture with what is seen. This does not mean it is what Scripture is saying. The standard of Scripture is very lofty." We must understand that we have absolutely no ability to live up to the standard of Scripture without The Holy Spirit working unhindered within us. In fact, the reality that is seldom understood is that we cannot even understand what Scripture is truly saying without revelation from The Spirit.
Tuesday, April 20. 2020-(Solitude Journal Revelation April 18, 2021)
We need more of The Holy Spirit-I need more of The Holy Spirit.
What if the very One that we should be seeking has been hidden from us-largely by tradition from generation to generation?
Everything that we learn bout Jesus-all truth-is revealed to us by The Spirit. He forms Jesus in us. Everything about our faith comes through Jesus.
All power comes from The Holy Spirit. One thing I think we can mostly agree upon is that we don't see the power of The Spirit throughout the Church today. We don't need to agree as to why.
If The Spirit does not delegate the power, but rather He IS THE POWER (Chambers), we need more of Him to have more power.
However, we must not seek the power, but rather seek Him. The power comes from Him according to His discretion, and for the Glory of God (as the wind blows)!
Monday, December 20, 2021
Beginning in January, I will be teaching a Bible Study class at my local Church. As I was writing the outline for an introduction to the class, I felt compelled to share this outline on the website. Fillowing is the outline of that introduction.
I. Teaching a Class on what it means to Walk with The Spirit beginning in January
A. I want to draw a correlation between two things that Paul wrote. This is a correlation that you may or may not have previously considered.
B. In Galatians 5:16-17, Paul wrote “But I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against The Spirit, and The Spirit against the flesh.”
C. In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who live in me.”
II. What is the correlation you may ask? One directly leads to the other. The Holy Spirit teaches and makes real to us the things of God-The very things of God that Jesus manifested in the flesh.
A. Jesus said of The Spirit (in John), “He will testify of Me.” The reality of this testimony is that everything that Jesus accomplished for mankind on the Cross, The Holy Spirit implements into our lives-including the very Nature of Jesus.
III. This is what I want us to explore together. Everything I am talking about here is Discipleship. There is no higher aspiration going into the New Year than a desire to deepen our relationship with our Lord.
I hope to post notes from the class over the next several weeks.
We ask that you seek God's guidance as to whether or not to support us and share in our travel expenses. Basically, we are looking for seventy seven (77) people who are willing to contribute $50.00 per month as possible.
Saturday, September 11, 2021(From Quiet Time August 31)
We are in an interesting time-within Christianity. Something that has really troubled me is the response and attitude of the Church over the last year-really year and a half.
The last year-in the midst of all that is going on-we largely see Church activity (preaching, etc). as "business as usual." This morning, I think The Spirit revealed why. We have detached ourselves from the evil we see. We don't want to bare any responsibility -we don't see that we are to blame.
The reality is that during this Age, the responsibility for the condition and direction of this nation sits squarely on the Church in America. Even within the prophecy that I hear, I don't believe I am hearing this (at least not enough).
The American Church-both collectively and individually- needs to REPENT! I believe God is asking us to accept the responsibility for what we have allowed.to happen in America, and turn to Him to repair the damage that has been done-allowed by us. Both steps-in that order.
We have ignored God by quenching His Spirit, and we must own this, REPENT and turn to God and His Holy Spirit for help.
Solitude
The Lord said, "The Spirit has been quenched, and The Spirit must now be given free reign."
He told me that His people must acknowledge that they have not been good stewards of that which has been entrusted to them, and they must repent for this. They must understand that only He can fix what has been done-they (we) cannot turn things around by their (our) own efforts, but rather must turn and cry out to Him.
Tuesday, September 14, 2021 (From September 13)
After being very moved by Chambers' writing this morning, The Lord spoke to me about the influence Chambers' book has had on me. He told me that the book has influenced what I accept as truth. He told me that it is an interpretation of Biblical truth that differs from most of what is preached today. He told me that while it influences me as to truth, it cannot change me. The Lord said the same is true of the Bible.
The Bible is absolute, unerring truth that influences me, but cannot change me.
Two things can change me. Both are expressions of my will-the only mechanism for change.
First, I can will myself to apply what I read-once I accept it as truth. There are two problems here. First, on my own, I cannot obtain God's truth-no matter what. (He opens our eyes to Scripture). Second, on my own, I am simply polishing up my old (fallen-sinful) nature. The Lord likened it to operating outside the fence. The fence is The Kingdom of Heaven. We enter the fence through surrender.
The second avenue for change is God's method. It is the only change that is real, that lasts and that leads to holiness through sanctification. It is through true surrender that we yield to The Holy spirit. If we do so, and stay the course, He will change us.
Two things are different. First, The Spirit teaches us truth. He opens our eyes to truth-from Scripture and otherwise. Second, He applies that truth as He-through our willful cooperation-goes about the death to our nature and the formation of Jesus nature within us.
This is Discipleship. For every Christian, it is not a matter of having Jesus nature: if we have been born again, we have received His nature. If we have not received His nature, we have not been born again and are not saved. We are not Christians. So again, for Christians, it is not about receiving His nature, but rather is about nurturing that nature to maturity. Only The Holy Spirit can do this work!
I call this Discipleship. The reality is that this is New Testament Christianity.
November 2, 2021-(Solitude Journal October 25, 2021)
Over these last several years, The Lord has talked to me so much about what the Church should look like-as in what Christianity should look like-namely Christian life, the Christian journey, the Christian walk.
However, throughout His teaching, I have had a disturbed feeling relating to the Church itself-about the way we "do Church" and what it should look like. Last night and this morning that feeling has really intensified.
What should Church look like (overall)?
What should Churches look like-how should they function?
In solitude, The Lord told me that within His Church there is going to be a part that will step forward and reflect His view of the way His Church should be (in the way they live) and the way they operate (function).
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
On Saturday (August 28), The Holy Spirit conveyed something very strong to me regarding the Church. "You cannot put new wine into old wineskins." As we consider what is coming to the Church, and to America, this is very important. The Lord has shared some things with me ensuing from this that I hope to share in the coming days. For now, I ask you to meditate upon this and make it personal. On Sunday, The Lord shared with me, "What is being taught, and how it si being taught is the problem."
Thursday, April 29, 2021
The post today is fairly brief, but The Lord conveyed to me that it is of GREAT importance. Yesterday, a passage of Scripture came to my attention that I believe The Lord is highlighting for this moment. The passage of Scripture is Isaiah 29 through the first several verses of chapter 30. I encourage you to read this passage on your own.
After reading the passage this morning prior to my quiet time, The Holy Spirit gave me the following:
"Wait for it.
The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The corrupt will fall."
In my solitude time, The Lord highlighted the following line in verse 13: "based merely on human rules they have been taught" as particularly concerning.
The Lord then tied this in with Chambers' writing today. I encourage you to read that as well.
I am not going to expound on any of this. I encourage you to seek the guidance of The Spirit on your own as you consider these things.
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
There has just been so much that The Lord has been conveying to me over these last couple of months. I have a considerable backlog of things to post that I'm hoping I will someday be able to catch up. The Lord has conveyed to me that the next couple of months are going to be "lively." I urge all of you to be attentive and-as He has been conveying to me for some months now-"continue to press on-waiting and trusting."
Today, however, I felt the strong Hand of The Lord on this simple section in Chambers' writing.
Chambers wrote, "We look at life through the eyes of reason and say that if a person will control his instincts, and educate himself, he can produce a life that will slowly evolve into the life of God."
I ask you to examine yourself in light of this philosophy. This struck me this morning as a great description of the Church in America today.
The Lord told me in solitude that while this describes His Church today, it does not account for the sinful nature that exists within man that must die through the Atonement by the Cross at the Hand of God. (Just in case it is not clear, this is the activity of The Holy Spirit within me).
Chambers writes later in today's entry, "The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue--if sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed."
Wednesday, November 3, 2021-(Solitude Journal October 26, 2021)
This morning, between my Bible study (John 11-Lazarus) and my Quiet time, I received revelation of a very general overall view regarding the function of the Church.
The Church should serve the Community. It should be where people in the Community go to have their NEEDS met certainly spiritually, but physically as well. They should go there to see Jesus at work-through His people. This includes meals, healing, instruction, counseling, etc.
We must take a step back and look at all that Government is doing for the people and begin to se these things as the duty of the Church-not the Government.
If we look spiritually, it is quite simple. As Christians, we are to be independent upon our Lord Our Father is our Provider. The ambition of the Government is to make citizens dependent upon itself. At this point in our society, we can see this clearly.
For the sake of simplicity, The Spirit directed me to consider a true utopian society-to consider the Millenial reign of Jesus. What would that look like? His people will be the Government, and He will be the King.
We should use this model as we re-evaluate the role of the physical Church in our society.
We must not continue to squander Hisresources and let the enemy and his world system create more and more dependence (and dependants) on him and his system.
This is how we become the Body of Jesus and how we take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth by making the Gospel real to our neighbor(s).
This may seem somewhat radical in concept because we have gotten so accustomed to so many Government services. As you consider this, i urge you not to get caught up in the logistics of implementation. The Lord Himself is going to lead His people into re-forming the Church into the Church He desires.
As we think about the founding of this nation, including the founders and the documentation they generated, consider their Constitutional concept of Government-especially Federally speaking-and one can easily see that their premise was limited Government. God's concept is also small Government-but BIG CHURCH!
Wouldn't we rather have a society dependent upon the Church than dependent upon Government? One is the system established by Jesus (Ekklesia), and the other is the world system-led by His enemy.
Which approach seems to align with Matthew 28:19-"Go and make Disciples?"
Post Solitude Consideration: The American Church has been perfectly content to allow Government to provide such that the Church(es) could do as they wish with God's resources. This should be a very SOBERING thought.
Friday, July 9, 2021
As I finished reading John 17 this morning, and then went into my quiet time with The Spirit, I was slightly overwhelmed by our Lord's last Words in His prayer. I was moved to look at them in conjunction with His Words at the beginning of the chapter. I want to share what The Spirit revealed to me, and then some of what The Lord shared with me during my solitude.
Jesus began John 17 with, "Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You."
John 17 closes with Jesus Words, :...that I, Myself may be in them."
This is the Gospel. This is Christianity. This is what is new to mankind-new to creation. We even get distracted by The Holy Spirit and Pentecost in this regard. But the indwelling of The Holy Spirit is not completely new. (This confusion has unsettled me for some time). The indwelling and formation of The Son of God within man is NEW. It is only because of the Cross.
We should be obsessed with The Holy Spirit and His indwelling at Pentecost. I am in no way trying to diminish Him in ANY way. Throughout my writings and throughout my journey it has been clear, and seems to become more so everyday, that the problem with the Church today (namely in
America) is the suppression of The Holy Spirit. The reality is that The Spirit is the One-the only One- that performs this work. He is the One that forms "Christ in me."
We must understand that everything else is our journey is peripheral to this.
In solitude, The Lord told me that this is His mission-the Gospel of Reconciliation. He said it is the reconciliation of a human race to His Father-to glorify His (and our) Father.
This glorification happens through the creation (re-creation) of a race of people that truly are made in the likeness and bare the Nature of His Son.
Post Solitude Revelation
We grow-truly grow-to bare His likeness. This is not because we answer an alter call, or are baptized, or join a church, or even take the name "Christian." This becomes so because of the work of The Spirit in the formation of Jesus Christ within us. This is all part of "believe also in Me."
Some or all of this may not seem groundbreaking in that "Christ in me" is not a new concept. It is not even a new writing on this website. However, I encourage you to press in-to dig deeper. This is our focus issue that I have been discussing since 2016 for The Lord's Church. IF WE ARE NOT ON THE PATHWAY THAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT FORMING JESUS CHRIST WITHIN US, WE ARE ON THE WRONG PATH.
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
I want to share some things The Lord has conveyed to me over the last week or so regarding the Church today. I am just going to write them as He gave it to me with as little editing as possible.
1.) Man is not meant to dictate doctrine to man.
2.) The current system is set up such that men (or women) interpret Scripture for others, and tell them what to believe and how to live. This FLAW is further exemplified and magnified in the denominational setup that exists.
"We learn, (the religious/intellects/scholars), we become the religious elite, we tell you."
3.) Through the Cross, God established personal, direct communication and relationship with each man (woman). The two are contradictory.
4.) The systems philosophy is essentially; "Get into a church and everything flows from there." God's intent is that we get into relationship with Jesus (through The Holy Spirit), and everything flows into community where "iron sharpens iron."
5.)The mission statements vary, but they should not. Our mission is The Great Commission. In its simplest form: "Go and make Disciples."
From this Morning-Quiet Time and Solitude
The Lord gave us a very simple instruction (Commission)-" Make Disciples." He did not tell us how to do this. He left that to us to figure out. But NOT ON OUR OWN. He said, "Wait" for power which came at Pentecost in the form of the indwelling of The Holy Spirit.
Yet, throughout much of the history of the Church, we have for the most part done it as we see best (especially aside from the Apostles-including Paul's time). It is time that we do it His way.
This is really what we await in the outpouring that we pray for.
In Solitude, The Lord talked of "power." The power displayed-the "works" done-does not change every heart (He referred me to His Ministry). But today, people are making decisions about belief based on the limited (or lack of) power displayed within the Church. The power does not persuade everyone, but it moves the bar toward belief. People are making decisions based on a watered down message.
The Lord said, "The Spirit is not limited by this in bringing people to Redemption, but the depth of belief has been limited by the teaching of the Church."
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Wednesday, August 18, 2021
I just want to share that I preached a sermon that The Lord very powerfully placed on my heart this past Sunday (8/15/21). I preached at Celebration Worship Center in Georgetown, Indiana. If desired, the sermon should be available for viewing on their you-tube channel or facebook page.
Thursday, July 22, 2021
The Lord has conveyed to me a certain urgency with this post, so please consider that when reading.
I recently watched a sermon that was given last Sunday at Georgetown Christian Church. I urge you to watch it online (GeorgetownChristian.org). The subject was very pertinent for this time - for the Church and for our nation. I believe this writing was inspired as a result of this sermon.
During the night (Tuesday night), I received something very strong from The Holy Spirit. The passage in Isaiah chapter 6 came to me-namely verses 1 through 5. REPENTANCE was the word given to me. Individual repentance and repentance for this nation-a nation that we have allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy.
This nation (of America) belongs to Jesus Christ It has been delegated to His Church for the purpose of The Gospel and taking The Gospel to the world. Through apathy, complacency, contentment, confusion, and a desire for comfort, we have given this nation over to the enemy-both in the spiritual realm and the natural realm.
The Lord can take it back. However, are we willing to recognize and admit our wrongdoing as Isaiah did in verse 5 of chapter 6? This applies to every single Christian in America, as well as the Church corporately. Will we repent for the role we have played?
Our problem is focus. We must assess our focus. We must look deep into ourselves with sincere self-examination, I believe if we allow The Spirit to be involved in this examination we will find a great deal of self-focus rather than Jesus focus. We are pursuing our interests (even to a large degree in the pursuit of Revival) rather than the interests and concerns of our Lord.
As I close, I want to clarify the repentance that I am speaking of. I am not talking about the repentance of the sins that Paul speaks of (this repentance goes without saying), but rather I am speaking of the more subtle sin of walking a path that is not led by the Holy Spirit (completely). Repentance means to turn and go the other way. As a collective Church, we must recognize that we have been and continue to follow a path that is not The Lord's. We must repent and ask Him to help us follow His path-not partially, but completely. The Holy Spirit can make it so if our hearts are sincere-IF WE WILL ALLOW HIM AUTHORITY. The over-arching problem in America-including the Church-is self-focus. We have gone down a path of doing things on our own, according to our own self interests, and under our own power. This must change, and the time is NOW. It is time that we completely put our interests aside, and go a different direction-His direction.
Once again, 2 Chronicles 7:14 provides our answer. However, we must not look to the other person. This repentance begins with me and you. When reading this passage, or others like it, I always wonder, "How many, Lord?" Only He knows the answer. My question to you is simple, "Will you be one?" If so, pray for The Holy Spirit to make it so, and determine to be unshakeable in allegiance. Proclaim as Joshua di, "as for me and my house, we WILL serve The Lord!
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