1. The Shield of Faith by DN Hoets

Habbakuk ends with "He will make my feet like hind's feet and He will make me walk on my high hills."  In other words, faith can lead you to high places in God like a hind scaling the heights above. 
However, unbalanced faith will not lead you to high places in God. On the contrary it will lead you to shipwreck.

The Shield of Faith
- understanding faith   

by DN Hoets

HABAKKUK 2: 2-4

Write the vision.
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed
time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will
not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,It will not tarry.

Behold the proud,His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith.

 We see the revelation "the just shall live by faith" examined by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

Romans emphasises the 'just' in  "the JUST shall live by faith."
Galations emphasises 'live' in  "the just shall LIVE by faith." Hebrews emphasises 'faith' in "the just shall live by FAITH." 

This truth was central in the Reformation - Martin Luther. This truth comes from Habbakuk in the Old Testament. Habbakuk ends with "He will make my feet like hind's feet and He will make me walk on my high hills."  In other words, faith can lead you to high places in God like a hind scaling the heights above. 

 However, unbalanced faith will not lead you to high places in God. On the contrary it will lead you to shipwreck. The route into His Presence, "Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Guyon and then into the unveiling of Song of Solomon is truly the path to the heights above.

 HAGGAI 1:8

Go up into the mountains and bring wood  and build the temple, that I may take  pleasure in it and be glorified.

This is SOLID wood; not the melamine or veneer which is used to make low-cost furniture. The veneer has a solid wood finish; yet is not SOLID wood. Discernment is needed to see the difference. The SOLID wood is manifested through His Presence as we scale the heights of God. The veneer speaks of the unbalanced faith of the Charismatic move.

The shield speaks of the walls that are raised when one lives in His Presence. The shield is not only in doctrine but experienced in His Presence by those who are walking in true faith. The shield is not experienced by those with unbalanced faith.

PSALM 91: 1-2

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.

The Lord is SHAKING all things in this hour (HAGGAI 2). Faith, praise and worship and every other doctrine is being weighed and shaken. This shaking will bring forth PURE gold and refine the church of today. Today there is a mixture of gold and brass. Brass looks like gold and unless is seen in the light of His revelation will be taken together as being of God. However, the shaking is dividing and is shining His light on this mixture so that the separation can occur. He is bring forth pure gold in this late hour.

 It seems that the wilderness experience is a prerequisite to understanding the shaking.  Some have entered the wilderness but have not progressed any further. Others have entered the wilderness and sought the Lord to reveal His glory and the depths of Jesus Christ. Those who have sought and found the depths of knowing Him will clearly understand the shaking.

 Those who have a mixture may have entered the wilderness but without a deep revelation of Jesus CHrist Himself.

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  A DANGER TO THE REMNANT

EZRA 4: 1-3    

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of  the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel,  they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them, 'Let  us build  with you,  for we seek your God as  you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since  the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who  brought us here.  But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest  of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel  said to them, ' You may do nothing with us to  build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

The remnant from the wilderness can be likened unto the remnant from Babylon. The Samaritans and other Jews in Israel had not been through the wilderness and were not pure. They were of a mixture. Gold and brass. Many from the churches will seek to come in and build with the remnant but will not be permitted lest they damage and pollute the work of God with brass. 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

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Faith is a multifaceted diamond with many aspects to it. However, faith as taught today is often unbalanced and will cause shipwreck to your relationship with Jesus. I speak from experience as this happened to me many years ago.  I took the path of the Faith Movement including ministries like Kenneth Copeland. It was at this point that I entered the wilderness. Since then, I have been taken on a historical journey from some Roman Catholics such as John of the Cross and Jeanne Guyon to the Denominations including Watchman Nee, Andrew Murray, Charles Wesley and such. I have realised that faith in Jesus which is seen as worship and abiding in Him has been central in the past. However, during this century this emphasis has taken the back seat. Many can't see this and I suppose that unless you have been through the deep wilderness experience, you will be blind to this revelation.

Some such as Dave Hunt and other critics have seen this to a measure. However, there is room for the promises of God but in its place and the emphasis must be placed on our relationship with Jesus. The danger lies with seed faith where we take the LOGOS and speak it. Faith only applies to RHEMA and rhema comes from His Presence as He wills. Some erroneously see RHEMA as taking LOGOS and speaking it. This is error. 

 Unfortunately the unbalanced faith has affected the entire Charismatic move and generally those who have discerned this error have left the church and entered the wilderness. Those in churches today are - in the vast majority - are blind to the state of the church.               

  JOHN 7:37b-38

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.He who believes ( FAITH noun, BELIEVE verb)  in Me AS THE SCRIPTURE HAS SAID, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 

  He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church.

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 LOGOS VS. RHEMA

RHEMA  = a word that is spoken

ROM 10:17 faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (rhema)

The Holy Spirit took the very words that met my need at that moment and imparted His life into them. They became a rhema – something that I could hear -  a living voice speaking to my heart. It was God Himself speaking directly and personally to me. As I heard His words, faith came to me through them.

2 Cor 3:6 ..the Spirit gives life.  Apart from the Holy Spirit, there can be no rhema.

LOGOS = total counsel of God. It is God’s counsel, settled in eternity before time began, due to continue on into eternity long after time has run its course. ETERNAL  Ps 119:89

RHEMA is that portion of the total LOGOS that applies at a certain point in time to my particular situation.

In this transaction between God and man by which faith comes, THE INITIATIVE IS WITH GOD. This leaves no room for ARROGANCE or PRESUMPTION on our part. Rom 3:27

It is God who knows – better than we do – just that part of the total LOGOS which will meet our need at any given time. By His Holy Spirit He directs us to the very words that are appropriate and then imparts life to them, so that they become a rhema - a living voice. As God’s rhema comes to us, it is both SPECIFIC and PERSONAL.

 

Rhema takes the ETERNAL – logos – and injects it into TIME.
Rhema takes the HEAVENLY – logos – and brings it down to EARTH.
Rhema takes the POTENTIAL – logos – and makes it ACTUAL.
Rhema takes the GENERAL – logos – and makes it SPECIFIC.
From HEAVEN to EARTH ISA 55:8-13  relationship between LOGOS (heavenly) and RHEMA (earthly).

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The error that is prevalent today in the charismatic move,  is taking the LOGOS and speaking the LOGOS word instead of being sensitive to Jesus and the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself through  the true rhema word that He initiates. As we move away from ARMINIAN to CALVINIST – the emphasis on the Sovereignty of God and reverence toward Him, waiting for His initiative -  true rhema and pure faith will be restored to the body of Christ.

Our needs and desires should not be central to our faith but Jesus Himself – the Author and the  Finisher of our faith – should always be central and we seek His rhema in His Presence – His will for us – and to be obedient to that which He reveals to us.

DANGER: PRINCIPLES apart from the impartation of the HOLY SPIRIT bring death and not life.

  Another common error is to equate the Word of God with Jesus. Looking to Jesus is not the same as putting the Word of God before us. The Word of God points us to the worship of our Lord Jesus – but we are not to worship the Word of God!

     

DANGER: The Charismatic move has been influenced by the FAITH MOVEMENT of the 70’s and 80’s which has brought many extremes and unhealthy tendencies the body of Christ – which tend to influence ALL OF LIFE.  Read the opening paragraph – above – carefully to understand and avoid these pitfalls. What is the error in POSITIVE CONFESSION?

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2. Moving the Mountain by DN Hoets

There are two pictures of moving mountains in the Scriptures. Often the picture in Zechariah 4 is overlooked. To be true to Scripture, we need to look at both accounts before forming any doctrinal emphasis. If we do not do this, our perception of the truth will be distorted and we transgress and lead others into error.

Moving the Mountain

By DN Hoets

There are two pictures of moving mountains in the Scriptures. Often the picture in Zechariah 4 is overlooked. To be true to Scripture, we need to look at both accounts before forming any doctrinal emphasis. If we do not do this, our perception of the truth will be distorted and we transgress and lead others into error.

Let us first consider Zechariah 4: 6-7

This is the word of the Lord to
Zerubbabel:
'Not by might not by power, but by My
Spirit,'
Says the Lord of hosts.
'Who are you, O GREAT MOUNTAIN?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a
plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'"

Also verse 2-3, 14:

And he said to me, "What do you see?"
So I said, "I am looking, and there is a
lamp stand of solid gold with a bowl on top of
it, and on the seven lamp stands with seven
pipes to the seven lamps.
Two OLIVE TREES are by it, one at the
right of the bowl and the other at its left."

So he said, "These are the two anointed
ones, who stand beside the Lord of the
whole earth."

Here the emphasis is on "Not by might not by power, but by My Spirit." It is not a soulish command to the mountain. Sometimes we have - and especially those in the faith branch - have taken the words of our precious Lord wrongly. We ignore the rest of the Bible and instead of throwing our view back into the Scriptures and letting the Word give true balance, we prematurely form doctrine.

We need to be careful speaking to our mountain! Unless it is done in the Spirit and initiated by the Holy Spirit, we err. Some even teach others to err in this.

Mark 11: 22-23

So Jesus answered and said to them,
"Have faith in God.
"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever
says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be
cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his
heart, but believes that those things that he says
will come to pass, he will have whatever he
says.
Therefore I say to you, whatever things
you ask when you pray, believe that you
receive them, and you will have them.

Those in the Third Wave understand this and tend to lean on the Zechariah emphasis as this approach is more Christ-centred. When we lean on the Holy Spirit and the anointing of God in all things, we rely more on Jesus and His life. This is the correction needed in the charismatic church today. Let us not fall into the trap by becoming soulish Christians!

 

3. Elements of True Living Faith

John of the Cross

16th Century, Spain: John of the Cross was involved in Reformation. He was imprisoned by some from his own brethren. Nine months in very small cell - six feet by ten feet - with a small high window. He was beaten three times a week. In that dark, cold cell John received revelation from God - spiritual poems - that would be central to his life's work. After 9 months, he escaped by unscrewing the lock on his door, sneaking past the guard and letting himself down through a window by a rope made from strips of a blanket.

For born-again Christians, these spiritual truths are not merely concepts or metaphors. They are directly experienced. Similarly, Psalm 23 is also experienced by those who truly know Him, and can only be truly understood if you have a deep inward walk with Jesus Christ living in the Presence of God. Faith, as it is often taught today especially in Word-Faith circles, is often merely a confidence in the Scriptures; not a living faith that should be central in the life of every Christian.

Three Spiritual Poems illustrate the elements of True Living Faith:
(ponder on how this compares to the faith as taught today)

Death of self - the 'I' becomes less frequent

Dark Night of the Soul

(Songs of the soul delighted at having reached the high state of perfection, the union with God, by way of spiritual negation.)

On a darkened night,
Anxious, by love inflamed,
-- O happy chance! --
Unnoticed, I took flight,
My house at last at peace and quiet.

Safe, disguised by the night,
By the secret ladder I took flight,
-- O happy chance! --
Cloaked by darkness, I scaled the height,
My house at last at peace and quiet.

On that blessed night,
In secret, and seen by none,
None in sight,
I saw with no other guide or light,
But the one burning in my heart bright.

This guide, this light,
Brighter than the midday sun,
Led me to the waiting One
I knew so well -- my delight!
To a place with none in sight.

O night! O guide!
O night more loving than the dawn!
O night that joined
The lover with the Beloved;
Transformed, the lover into the Beloved drawn!

Upon my flowered breast,
For him alone kept fair,
There he slept
There I caressed,
There the cedars gave us air.

I drank the turret's cool air
Spreading playfully his hair.
And his hand, so serene,
Cut my throat.
Drained of senses, I dropped unaware.

Dark Night of the Soul - dryness - absence of Presence of God - always a season of growth for the Christian - when self is being dealt with by the Holy Spirit.

As one is brought into a deeper union with Jesus and grows to a place where self dies, even the darkness has illumination.

Remember: There are Stages of Spiritual Growth:

Babyhood
Childhood
Manhood

Lost to myself and yet remaining,
Inclined so only the Beloved I spy.
All has ceased, all rests,
Even my cares, even I;
Lost among the lilies, there I die.

 

Living Flame of Love

(Songs that the soul sings in her intimate union with God, her beloved Bridegroom.)


O Love's living flame,
Tenderly you wound
My soul's deepest centre!
Since you no longer evade me,
Will you, please, at last conclude:
Rend the veil of this sweet encounter!

O cautery so tender!
O pampered wound!
O soft hand! O touch so delicately strange,
Tasting of eternal life
And canceling all debts!
Killing, death into life you change!

O lamps of fiery lure,
In whose shining transparence
The deep cavern of the senses,
Blind and obscure,
Warmth and light, with strange flares,
Gives with the lover's caresses!

How tame and loving
Your memory rises in my breast,
Where secretly only you live,
And in your fragrant breathing,
Full of goodness and grace,
How delicately in love you make me feel!

 

Song of the Soul that Delights in Knowing God by Faith

Well I know the fountain that runs and flows,
though it is night!

This eternal fountain is hidden deep.
Well I know where it has its spring,
Though it is night!

In this life's dark night,
Faith has taught where this cold fountain lies,
Though it is night!

Its origin I cannot know, it has none,
And I know all origins come from it,
Though it is night!

And I know there can be nothing more fair,
The heavens and earth drink there,
Though it is night!

And I know it has no bed,
And I know no one can cross its depths,
Though it is night!

Its clarity is never clouded,
And I know all light shines from it,
Though it is night!

I know her streams swell so abundantly,
They water people, heaven and even hell,
Though it is night!

The current born of this fountain
I know to be wide and mighty,
Though it is night!

And from these two another stream flows,
And I know neither comes before,
Though it is night!

I know Three in only one water live,
And each the other feeds,
Though it is night!

This eternal fountain is hiding from sight
Within this living bread to give us life,
Though it is night!

He calls all creatures to this light,
And of this water they drink, though in the dark,
Though it is night!

This living fountain I desire,
I see it here within this living bread,
Though it is night!

1. Praise and Worship by DN Hoets
The central focus of the coming move of God  and that which is - the move which has begun as the call into the wilderness and is at present like an iceberg which is has been formed and which is submerged and which emerges here and there breaking the surface - Jesus Christ and knowing Him deeply and as a consequence of this deeper relationship, the Presence of God. Thus, WORSHIP, which is the entering into His Presence,  will play a central role in the coming move. 

Praise and Worship

By DN Hoets

A new song will come
A new anointing will come
To those who truly look unto Me.'

  AMOS 9:13

'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord,
'When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
And all the hills shall flow with it.

Vision of Summer Fruit 

- like a basket of overripe fruit - looked fine outwardly yet rotting inwardly. Often this manifests in some outward sin such as adultery. Many Charismatic leaders have fallen in recent times and yet often we can't discern the iceberg  - the spiritual condition - which lies mainly beneath the surface.

AMOS 8: 1- 3

Thus the Lord God showed me:
Behold, a basket of summer fruit.
And he said, ' Amos, what do you see?' So I said, 'A basket of summer fruit.'

Then the Lord said to me:

'The end has come upon My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. And the songs of the temple shall be wailing in that day,' Says the Lord God - 
'Many dead bodies everywhere, They throw them out in silence.'

AMOS 8: 10a

I will turn your feasts into mourning,
And all your songs into lamentation.

  Today we are seeing a shift from the Charismatic move to the fresh, anointed, deeper and more balanced move of the Spirit. It has been largely birthed by the Spirit in the wilderness. However, He has also been at work where He is permitted to do so  in the established church.  Examples include Benny Hinn and Pastor Ed Roebert. Notice how the worship changed when Benny Hinn and Pastor Ed Roebert entered into the new anointing. Observe how worship changed at Hatfield and the season of revival which they entered.

 Many throughout the world entered the wilderness in the 80's and after. This occurred after the Faith movement of the 70's. The extent of this wilderness movement is staggering and I have personally encountered many who have been taken by the Lord into the wilderness.

 The central focus of the coming move of God  and that which is - the move which has begun as the call into the wilderness and is at present like an iceberg which is has been formed and which is submerged and which emerges here and there breaking the surface - Jesus Christ and knowing Him deeply and as a consequence of this deeper relationship, the Presence of God. Thus, WORSHIP, which is the entering into His Presence,  will play a central role in the coming move. 

  Thanksgiving and PRAISE also play a central role, as it is the FOUNDATION from which one enters into the Presence of God through WORSHIP – one progresses from THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE to WORSHIP. Satan’s chief end – of which he has had much experience having been the worship leader of heaven before his fall – is to dilute or erode the FOUNDATION and hence stop the people of God from FULLY entering into the Presence of God. That is why BRASS appears mainly in THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE.  

 We have been taught that we enter the tabernacle first through the outer court - our soul - mind, will and emotions. However, those who have been through the wilderness and have experienced the depths of Jesus Christ have become spiritual and will struggle to begin in a soulish realm before entering into deeper worship as they live only in the spiritual realm. We need to change our theology!

  Those who have not been through the wilderness and have not experienced the depths of Jesus Christ will not understand this article and may even oppose this revelation. Only those who have been through the wilderness and those such as Benny Hinn who have responded to the Laodicean call will have understanding in this matter. 

In Christian rock and rap, Satan brazenly reveals himself and very little discernment is needed. In the Charismatic move, Satan masquerades as an angel of light and a greater discernment is needed.

Hype is of the flesh; it is unacceptable in the church of the living God. So also is the worldly beat and spirit of modern music entering the praise and worship of the Charismatic move. 

     

A DANGER TO THE REMNANT

EZRA 4: 1-3

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them, 'Let us build  with you,  for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.

     But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel said to them, ' You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

The remnant from the wilderness can be likened unto the remnant from Babylon. The Samaritans and other Jews in Israel had not been through the wilderness and were not pure. They were of a mixture. Gold and brass. Many from the churches will seek to come in and build with the remnant but will not be permitted lest they damage and pollute the work of God with brass. 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

We sing many songs, but we no longer know the meaning of worship. We no longer understand the 'Selah' of the Psalms. Madame Guyon helps us in her book 'Experiencing the depths of Jesus Christ' to be quiet before Him and how to worship in spirit and in truth.

  Some churches have much brass and little gold. Others have much gold and little brass. Generally, the Charismatic move has much brass and little gold. 

  As the BRASS is removed, there will be a deeper and stronger corporate anointing in churches who respond to the Spirit’s call. So we see that the CORRECTION concerns the BRASS and this surfaces mainly in the area of THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE.  

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 KENNETH HAGIN’S VISITATION

  Many years ago Jesus appeared to Kenneth Hagin, a respected charismatic leader of renown in the body of Christ and Jesus said this to him,

  In the Charismatic move, Christians have brought the brass of the world into the temple of the Lord as a substitute for pure gold. What they have is a mixture; it is not pure. Therefore, I can only bless My people so far, because they have substituted brass for gold. They’ve brought the CLAPPING and DANCING of the world into the temple.

 I was in the Spirit on the morning of July 16, 1987 -… I saw one of the services unfold before us. Jesus narrated as I looked on. I saw all of us in the auditorium as we were taking part in the service. As I looked down upon us we were all clapping like we do in Charismatic circles. Jesus said something that astounded me…He said to me; Clapping is neither praise nor worship. To clap is to applaud. I had never heard anyone say that. …. Well, if it isn’t praise and it isn’t worship, where does it fit in at all in our services?

  In the visitation, Jesus discussed clapping with me from the Scriptures. He said, There is not one Scripture in the New Testament about clapping. The Bible says in Psalm 47:1: O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. Clapping in this verse denotes an attitude of victory; it was not a form of praise. That is the only time clapping before the Lord is mentioned, and that is in the Old Testament. There are also some occurrences in the Old Testament where people clapped their hands for other reasons, but it had no connection with the worship of God. Then there are also scriptures about the waves and the floods clapping their hands, but you understand, that is figurative language.

  There is not one single scripture, Jesus said to me, in the New Covenant about anyone clapping their hands. We do, however, have New Testament scripture for lifting our hands in worship to the Lord. In fact, the only instruction we have in the New Testament about what we are to do with our hands is to lift them up.   [1 TIM 2:8 Praise is the highest form of prayer]

 You see, the world claps or applauds, but you do not see them lifting their hands to praise or celebrate.

  The world claps, Jesus said to me. Saints praise.

Sports event…Political rally… they will clap their hands. But in none of these places do you see the crowd lift their hands.

Clapping causes the anointing to lift and destroys that sweet closeness of His Presence that we all sense.

You can see how this could happen even in a natural relationship such as the relationship between a man and a woman. What if the man and the woman were sitting together talking for some time, exchanging words of endearment, and suddenly on of them began to clap? Wouldn’t that seem inappropriate? Friends, when we are praising and worshipping the Lord, He is present!

During His visitation with me, the main thing that the Lord was trying to say about clapping was to correct the excessive clapping that is taking place in our churches today. It should be at a minimum in services – if at all – and not at a maximum.

But when people begin to demonstrate in the flesh, the anointing lifts – it flies away like a bird taking flight because it grieves the Spirit.

The Lord went on to say to me, Some of the old-time Pentecostals knew something about that deeper move of the Spirit. The modern-day Pentecostals – this new generation of Charismatics – know little or nothing about it. Charismatics know little or nothing about the move of My Spirit. Charismatics know a little about praising Me, but they know nothing at all about true worship.

 You see, when you talk about worship, there is a spirit of reverence that goes along with it. We haven’t really experienced that in the Charismatic Movement. There’s been a lightness in Charismatic services; a hip-hip-hooray type of atmosphere.

   

THE WORLD CLAPS.  SAINTS PRAISE.

Clapping is not wrong in itself. But we do need to distinguish between clapping which is a natural expression of this world, and the raising of our hands which is a scriptural expression of the realm to which we as believers belong.

X Let’s all give God a hand or give God a clap-offering

I don’t think we can give God a hand like we would the President of a country. Reverence – an awareness of the awesomeness of God.
Don’t bring Him down on a level with man. He is high and holy.

A glimpse into the mind of Jesus concerning His people. Indeed, worship is a measure of where we are spiritually. However, are we discerning correctly – according to the church of today or the church of tomorrow? The discernment is remarkably different.

It seems that the Spirit of God is pointing to CLAPPING as one of the main areas that He desires to change. Only those who have a acute sensitivity to the Holy Spirit will understand this. Those from the wilderness all have this sensitivity.

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  THE SEAL of the COMING MOVE OF GOD – SHALOM – THE PEACE OF GOD

And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” V9b

  Today, everything is acceptable in the church of God as long as it is done to the glory of God. This is no longer acceptable in the sight of God. The walls are being raised by Me, says the Lord, walls which separate what is done IN THE FLESH and IN THE SPIRIT. I am raising a standard and that standard is My peace.

 All that violates the Peace of God is of the FLESH. The person also understands that one cannot begin in the FLESH and then enter into the Presence of God fully – that which is birthed in the flesh must be maintained by the flesh.

COL 3:15  

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts (as an UMPIRE - AMP)

AMPLIFIED:

And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].

This person may be accused of breaking the UNITY amongst the people of God, but is this true? Is it not a UNITY OF THE SPIRIT that I require? That which is IN THE FLESH violates the UNITY OF THE SPIRIT – whether it is one person or the entire local church praising IN THE FLESH instead of IN THE SPIRIT.

  Much of that in Charismatic churches – clapping in the flesh – dancing in the flesh – outward display in the flesh – smile [true joy comes as we abide in His Presence] – be happy – hyper faith – hype - carnival  atmosphere. Veer from one extreme 

[ religion ] to the other extreme [ in the flesh ] – instead of in the Spirit.

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God’s PLAN is PROGRESSIVE – God is always moving forward. As we study the Bible, we see God’s plan gradually UNVEILED – increasing in CLARITY and FULLNESS.
E.G. TYPES and SHADOWS of  a promised Redeemer
NT – Jesus unveiled
Epistles – fullest understanding of His DEATH and RESURRECTION

PROGRESSION OF WORSHIP     
JOHN 4:23-24
They worshipped in different places
SAMARITANS = Mount Gerazim = a mt significant in the worship of God in FIRST 5 BOOKS JEWS = Jerusalem – after the TEMPLE was built and the Shekinah Glory of God appeared in the Temple.
CHURCH – to worship in Spirit and truth
WHERE IS THE PROPER PLACE OF WORSHIP?
ANS: The ORDER OF WORSHIP WAS CHANGING.

The OT saints COULDN’T worship God in Spirit because they didn’t know the Spirit of God as we do.
OT – the prophet, priest and king had an anointing from God that came UPON them to stand in those offices - TEMPORARY.
NT – born again – have the Spirit of God dwelling on the INSIDE of us - CONTINUALLY
That is why they had to present themselves in Jerusalem where God’s Presence was.    There comes a time for change, both in the NATURAL realm and in the SPIRITUAL realm.  

Certainly a change as DRAMATIC as the change between the OLD COVENANT and the NEW COVENANT would affect the way man related to and worshipped God.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OT AND NT WORSHIP

OT – their worship was IN THE FLESH ONLY
Expressions – worshipped BEFORE the Lord (‘David danced BEFORE the Lord’)
Worshipped with all THEIR might (‘David danced with all HIS might 2 SAM 6:14)  

NT – everything we do in worship must be IN THE SPIRIT
Unless the anointing is there, I don’t do it.
Same as trying to give a message in tongues with no anointing.
It is dead and it deadens the service.

WE MUST NOT GO BACK AND WORSHIP AS THEY DID

Though the PRINCIPLES and EXAMPLES in the OT may be the same as in the NT, the PRACTISES are not the same.

DANCING    

IT IS UNSCRIPTURAL IN THE NT TO DANCE BEFORE THE LORD.
IT IS SCRIPTURAL TO DANCE IN THE SPIRIT.      
Dancing BEFORE the Lord is done in the flesh. Dancing WITHOUT THE ANOINTING OF THE SPIRIT.  

Jesus in a vision said to Brother Kenneth Hagin:    

‘In this Charismatic move, Christians have brought the brass of the WORLD into the temple of the Lord as a substitute for pure gold. What they have is a mixture; it’s not pure. Therefore, I can only bless My people so far, because they have substituted brass for gold. They’ve brought the CLAPPING and DANCING of the world into the Temple.   

Brass looks like gold; you have to examine it closely to tell the difference.  

CLAPPING  

Clapping is neither praise nor worship. To clap is to applaud.

NT
THERE IS NOT ONE SCRIPTURE IN THE NT ABOUT CLAPPING.  

OT
PS 47:1 O clap your hands, all ye people: shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
Attitude of victory  X a form of praise  

This is the only time clapping before the Lord is mentioned , and that is in the OT.

There are also some occurrences in the OT where people clapped their hands for other reasons, but it has no connection with the worship of God. Waves and floods clapping their hands – figurative language.

 

LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS  

The ONLY instruction that we have in the NT about what we are to do with our hands, is to LIFT them up.
1 TIM 2:8 I will therefore that men pray [praise] every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

PRAISE is the highest form of PRAYER.  

THE WORLD CLAPS. SAINTS PRAISE.  

Clapping is not wrong in itself. But we do need to distinguish between clapping which is a natural expression of this world, and the raising of our hands which is a scriptural expression of the realm to which we as believers belong.  

CLAPPING CAUSES THE ANOINTING TO LIFT.

X clapping in the middle of a prophecy  

CLAPPING DISTRACTS ONE MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO HEAR WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SAYING.

X Clapping in response to something said   -     there should be enough respect – reverence -  for the Holy Spirit  not to interrupt Him when He is moving.
X clapping after every song – disrupts the flow of worship 

CORRECT THE EXCESSIVE CLAPPING THAT IS TAKING PLACE IN OUR CHURCHES – IT SHOULD BE AT A MINIMUM IN SERVICES AND NOT AT A MAXIMUM.  

X applauding singers – they are not putting on a performance!
X Let’s all give God a hand or give God a clap-offering  
I don’t think we can give God a hand like we would the President of a country.
Reverence – an awareness of the awesomeness of God
Bring Him down on a level with man  

Be QUIET and REVERENT when the Holy Spirit is in manifestation.

 

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DEREK PRINCE:  

"Most of what is called worship in the Charismatic movement is not worship at all...... it is soulish...... Much of the music that we have in church today appeals to the soul, stimulates the soul, It is very much the same kind of music as is used in the world to stimulate the soul........ Having lived five years in Africa, I am aware that certain repetitive themes and rhythms can deaden your sensitivity. If you sit under that long enough, especially when it is very loud, you lose the capacity to discern. And in Africa those rhythms are used to call up demons."

Quotation from Derek Prince to his coworkers - "Protection from Deception" - March 1996

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KENNETH HAGIN:

"In the Charismatic move, Christians have brought the brass of the world into the temple of the Lord as a substitute for pure gold. What they have is a mixture; it is not pure. Therefore, I can only bless My people so far, because they have substituted brass for gold. They’ve brought the CLAPPING and DANCING of the world into the temple."

Quotation from a visitation of Jesus to Kenneth Hagin in the book "Plans, Purposes and Pursuits."

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Church Structure and Leadership

Church Structure and Leadership

By DN Hoets   

"Many people assume that the main reasons for people leaving the churches must be that they have had a run-in with leadership. They have been "hurt" or wounded in some way, and that is why they leave. This is one of the few reasons that church people can understand - so they assume (often wrongly) that ALL leavers are bitter or "hurt".

But this is often NOT THE CASE AT ALL. As we have seen, there are a whole raft of much deeper reasons for people leaving churches than just "problems with the leadership". However it is a factor for some leavers, especially those who have come from more "controlling" environments. Sadly, particularly amongst Pentecostals in recent years, control and spiritual abuse seem to have become more and more prevalent. It is the mis-use of terms like covering, submission and authority that have often led to these problems.
   A large number of the people who wrote to me mentioned how tired they had become of all the programs, church-growth techniques, building-funds and systems found in today's churches. "Where is God in all of this?" was a common cry. To them, it is almost as though the church has become a kind of 'machine' that grinds on and on, whether God is present or not. For many, this was a significant factor in their decision to pull out of the churches. In fact, quite a few of those who wrote had been former leaders who had fully participated in this "machine" themselves.

   A number of Out-of-church people who wrote to me highlighted the fact that leadership in the Bible often seemed quite different to much of what we see today. They also noted that some of the teachings found in today's churches were making the problem worse." [By Andrew Strom]

  Many of the prophets sense a change from today's church system. In other words, it is a move from the exclusiveness of local churches today. The system and way things are done are going to change.

  A shift from the one-man emphasis in  leadership to team leadership seems to one of the changes. This limits the abuse and brings stability to a church. However, team leadership also has its dangers and is dependant on the spiritual depth and condition of the individual leaders. 

I believe that there needs to be a shift from accountability to man to accountability to Jesus Christ. At the end of the day, we do not give an account to any man but only to Jesus Christ. Leadership need to move away from this worldly spirit of 'lording it over' and to allow the people of God to exercise their God-given ministries. The spirit of control must go.

There is a spiritual principle: internal to external. Changing the external structure of a church does little if there has been no internal change.

And If the leaders have not been through the wilderness and have experienced the depths of Jesus Christ,  the control and other problems will still be there.

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"The church is NOT passing away - the systems are passing away.

In the confusion of the transition some think that anarchy and rebellion are coming against the church and attempting to throw off the leadership of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher. If there are any such people out there I personally have not come into contact with them and they are definitely wrong. Let me assure you that the new paradigm will bring forth many times more gifted leaders than we ever had in the passing systems. The Holy Spirit will have freedom to bring forth multitudes of gifted men and women who have in the passing systems been relegated to pew sitting, or limited jobs within the system.

In recent decades many have become discouraged and have left religious systems in search of more reality of God. Often these pilgrims have spent years in a wilderness type experiences. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before joining with others to fulfill his purposes. Moses spent 40 years in the desert before joining with others and moving toward the fulfillment of His life ministry. Paul also endured a wilderness season. Many scattered wilderness dwellers who had left the old are beginning to re connect and find their place in the ekklesia. For the most part they never wanted to leave God but had to leave the life limiting traditional clergy/laity structure. It is not the way of God to remain isolated from the rest of the body forever though the wilderness experience may have served a purpose and seasons of separation alone with God are often significantly used of God.

We are now coming to understand the difference between leadership and headship.

There is one head of the ekklesia. There are no people to stand as head over the ekklesia or to represent the head to the mature believers. The head is Christ Jesus flowing through the Holy Spirit and living in all his people. " From Viewing The Shift - By Ron McGatlin

We see apostolic teams emerging as the coming tidal wave brings with it the restoration of the the apostolic office to the body of Christ. The prophetic office has been restored by the emergence of the Prophetic movement and the final restoration is that of the apostolic office.

Note that this apostolic authority comes from God and not man.It is based on revelation in the wilderness years.This apostolic authority and anointing of the 'nobody's from the wilderness' will bring correction to the leadership of today's church. They will effectively expose the whitewash and the end-time deception which is necessary before restoration and revival in the lukewarm churches can begin. Once restored, churches will become effective in the end-time harvest.

The book 'Megashift' brings balance. Although there will be emergence of apostolic teams and five-fold leaders in the coming tidal wave, the general trend or emphasis in the end-time church is a shift away from clergy to the laity. There is leadership but headship belongs to Jesus Chrtist. This is summarised by Jim Rutz in 'Megashift':

JIM RUTZ: The MEGASHIFT of the World-wide Church

For 40 years Jim has been documenting an astounding phenomenon – the underreported explosive growth of the church worldwide.

“The world is changing hands – for the last time,” he says. “It is not a mere shift in power, but a total transformation in how things happen.”

For centuries tyrants and generals swept across the earth, crushing and raising empires. Jim believes 2003 probably saw the last war of massed armies. For the church, the 1700-year nightmare is over, and we are launching the final transformation of the Earth.

“Predominant power has suddenly shifted into the hands of us nobodies,” Jim says.

The Lord is working quietly, continually, and spectacularly. God has brought people back from the dead in 52 countries, mostly in the last 10 years. All documented – many through people Jim personally knows. Scores of cities plagued with crime and poverty are being transformed. Millions of miracles are happening through ordinary people.

God has many ways of resurrecting the dead: At a Reinhard Bonnke meeting in Nigeria, Daniel Ekechukwu, dead for two days, was brought to the lower level of the meeting in his casket. He’d already been injected with preservatives when his wife brought him there. Cameras were rolling when life came back into his body, and he rose up. This miracle was featured on The 700 Club in May 2002.

In Duad-India, Manu and other church members of the Indian Pentecostal Church in Dunger, Northern India, simply prayed in Jesus’ name and placed their Bibles on the body of a six-year-old boy who was near to being buried -- whereupon he opened his eyes.

One missionary in Guatemala read all of Isaiah 53 over and over to a circle of Indians silently mourning the death of a boy until he came back.

Arjun Dass of Delhi, India, was electrocuted in April 2001. A team of five led by Savitri prayed for him, and God resurrected him 10 hours after his death.

One Chinese church leader Wang Xin Cai, who’d been imprisoned for 13 years for his faith, was meeting with seven other leaders to unify the Chinese church. Just prior to leaving for the meeting, his three-year-old daughter fell three stories and cracked her skull. He picked up her remains and laid her on the couch. Brokenhearted and weary, he told God that if this unity meeting was of Him, He had to heal his daughter. It was too tough otherwise. He returned home the first day and her skull was back together; the second day she was breathing; the third day when church unity was reached, he arrived home to a healthy, bubbling baby girl.

THE POWER HAS SHIFTED
Jim says time is up; God is taking over. In 1960 there were 24 nonbelievers for every believer in the world. Now there are only six. There are many testimonies of the Lord Himself appearing to Muslims in visions and dreams. In 1960, even the strongest part of the church was growing slowly as the rest of the world. Now we are growing almost seven times as fast. “When I was a kid in Sunday School, I was really impressed that 3,000 people were saved on the Day of Pentecost,” he says. Now that happens around the globe every 25 minutes. That adds up fast. By tomorrow, there will be 175,000 more Christians than there are today in 238 nations around the world. At a 2000 Reinhard Bonnke meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, 3,400,000 registered decisions for Christ of the six million that came. Campus Crusade for Christ estimates we’ll see a billion new converts in the next 10 years.

Any way you look at it, the Kingdom is expanding at a heart-pounding rate. From 1970 to 2000, core apostolics doubled every nine years. From our vantage point in Europe and North America, where church membership is going nowhere, these numbers sound fantastical. This is the biggest megashift in history. But as national strongholds of sin are dismantled and pits of misery cleaned up, the true purpose of God for many nations will be revealed. We are in the early stages of a total transformation of our planet.

A 30-year-old farmer lives in the flat part of China – all the better to see the police coming from a long way off. This gives him ample time to take his prayer list off the wall and hide his cell phone – his gift of technology. When asked, the interpreter thought he’d misunderstood the farmer when he said he had 30,000 Christian workers in his church network. Through this missionaries he ministered to an astounding eight million believers. This number pales in comparison to those of “The Heavenly Man,” known as Brother Yun, who provides leadership for China’s largest network of house churches, totaling 60 million. In his best conservative estimate, Jim says we are looking at a dedicated Spiritual Army of 707 million missionaries. How is the enemy going to stop that Army?

THE OPEN CHURCH
In His takeover of the Earth, the Lord has many avenues to work from. Jim says the Open Church or Open Fellowship is a viable, vital option. The “open church,” like the early church, is characterized by three freedoms – pure worship, true sharing, and free ministry. In open worship, everyone presents at a service can participate whether it is singing a song, or offering prayers of praise or adoration to the Lord. Open sharing includes testifying to God moving in one’s life, briefly expounding on the Word, or exhorting fellow believers. In open ministry, believers have opportunities to practically help others as needs are expressed. For example, if during this part of the service someone says he is looking for a job and another has some job leads, they will get together. Of if someone has an idea for new ministry outreach, he can explain his idea and ask if others are interested. In an open fellowship, you are not only allowed to share, but prodded, coaxed, and trained to share. A Spirit-driven meeting is an unscripted drama that unfolds before your eyes, and the team players are there to play. In open meetings, God is free to do as He wants. He has, in theory, total control of the agenda and choice of participants. Today there is a rapidly spreading awareness that the real matrix of growth and change is the small group, whether it is the independent house church, a cell (subdivision of a traditional church), or some other goal-oriented task team.

How does an open church look different from a traditional church? Most of them meet in homes, offices, schools, and restaurants. A bigger difference: they aren’t once-a-week affairs. They offer a 24/7 support community that’s somewhere between a volleyball team, college fraternity, etc. They don’t have programs. Projects sometimes, but not programs. Their meetings are highly participatory. The good ones are viral -- what baseball calls expansion teams. Jim promises a network of interactive fellowships meeting in homes worldwide without pastors, programs, or sermons where members will take a giant step up to a whole new level of life. Instead of sitting once a week on Sunday, they can be active participants in what God is doing. They shed their problems. They get a solid, dedicated team behind them, one that will stand by them no matter what, and enable them to reach their goals. They become a key person in the exploding Kingdom of God and have a lasting impact on the world of the future. Most importantly, they will have a much closer heart-knowledge of God.

Where is your covering? [Lumbley]

They told me that if I left...[Henzel]

 

Robbing the Saints of God

ROBBING THE SAINTS OF GOD

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SEED-FAITH DOCTRINE:

"Sow a seed into my ministry by writing a cheque for R1000, and God will give you a 100-fold return."

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MARK 12: 38 - 44, 13: 1 - 2

Then he said to them in His teaching,
'Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.'

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much.
Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which made a quadrans.
So He called His disciples to Him and said to them,
'Assuredly , I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury;
for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, 'Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!'
And Jesus answered and said to him,'Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'

In Jesus' earthly ministry, He came across the abuse of church authority with respect to finances. This always creeps in when the church backslides.

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And if you read about the dark ages, the church became very decadent under some very very apostate popes who led it – some of them – your hair stands on end when you read what some of those popes did and the lifestyles they lived.  It was complete decadent.

What happened – the church was selling indulgences – so if you wanted to sin – say you wanted to commit adultery – then you would go to the local priest and you would pay him and he would give you an indulgence and that would allow you to go and have a sin – so they used to make a lot of money out of selling indulgences.

Not only that – they used to have their little friars going through town with a box and a bell and they would ring the bell and say, O one gold sovereign brings a soul from hell.  O one gold sovereign and a soul gets released from purgatory.  So then you could then buy the salvation of your dead relatives. 

What you could do is throw a gold coin in the box and the moment the gold coin hits the bottom of the box, that soul comes out of hell and of course the church made a lot of money and the church became very apostate – backslidden – and very grievous to God and God started to work with a young man by the name - he was an Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther. 

Martin Luther was very angry when a friar came into his town asking for money, promising spiritual favours so that a lavish cathedral could be built. Although the main thrust was not of this abuse, but that this abuse hindered the common folk from entering the kingdom of God and knowing salvation.

And Martin Luther took his theses - he nailed it to the door of Wittenberg - and a whole reformation took place in the German speaking world - spread through Europe - an incredible revival as God started to restore the church.

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Today the same abuse has crept in.

The most prevalent abuse is in the teaching of seed-faith and Christian television is the most powerful medium to propagate this teaching.

Seed faith and the promise of blessings and breakthroughs if money is first sown into ministries is a common practice today. It is most prevalent in the Word-faith centred ministries.

However, this is not limited to the Word-faith movement. It has spread throughout the charismatic world. Just as the unbalanced faith has spread to all charismatics, so has the practice concerning finances.

Are we not devouring the poor? And what of the widow who gives her mite? Can we justify lavish lifestyles financed from the mites that have been given to God for the furtherance of His gospel?

The context links 'devouring widows' with 'the widow's mite' and with 'buildings'.

This abuse of the saints most often affects the poor. They suffer the most. Jesus used the widow as an illustration of what He meant when He stated that the religious leaders were devouring widows. Afterwards, the glorious lavish temple building came into the spotlight. This was the reason for the devouring of the widows. To build lavish church buildings and auditoriums.

And Jesus answered and said to him, 'Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'

Why? Judgment came not primary because of this abuse, but because they had a wrong foundation. Jesus Christ was not truly their foundation. This is merely fruit of having the wrong foundation.