Showing posts with label reformation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reformation. Show all posts

Saturday, January 2, 2016

"I love my church" – Oh, really?


John F. McArthur concludes his book “Faith Works – the Gospel according to the Apostles” (a) with the following quote:

“Today’s ‘Christianity’ is in a state of disarray and decay, and the condition is deteriorating year by year. The truth of God’s Word has been watered down and compromised to reach a common denominator that will appeal to and accommodate the largest number of participants. The result is a hybrid Christianity which is essentially man-centered, materialistic and worldly, and shamefully dishonouring to the Lord Jesus Christ. This shameful degeneracy is due in large part to the erroneous gospel that is presented by many today around the world”

The slogan “I love my church” fits exactly into this context with its emphasis on “my church”. The focus of love and dedication is no longer Christ the Lord, but “my” ‘Christian’ club that allows me to live out my lifestyle without offending me. My club offers me professional music, theatre, entertaining speakers, positive thinking messages and a community where I belong and can receive recognition and praise. My club offers me all this and the promise that since I have accepted Christ as Saviour, God loves me, makes no moral demands on me, He is looking out for my best interests, will prosper me  and gives me the assurance of heaven awaiting me when I die. Is it no wonder that “I love my church”?

And that part where Christ is Lord? Well maybe that will happen to some members over time, first and foremost we are seeker friendly – measuring the success of our leadership by the number of members in our club and the number of participants and new visitors on a Sunday.

To be successful at this we do not want to offend anyone by taking about sin, the need to repent, the Judgement that is to come. We just separate sanctification out of the equation – and we meet our obligations in this regard by offering courses for those who are more interested in that type of stuff.

If the Gospel has been watered down in this way, then we are viewing a system where the Grace of God is pedalled for profit. (2 Corinthians 2:17)

Where are the days that the Holy Spirit was present in Meetings to “convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” (John 16:8) If He is allowed in our meetings today, His role is been mainly reduced to giving us goose bumps. In some special situations He may even come and heal someone of some body pain.

“I love my church” tends to ignore the scripture that warns us against such thinking: “For whenever each of you says, “I am of Paulus”, and another says, “I am of Apollo”, behold, are you not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:4) – but then maybe the shoe fits?

Jesus Christ is head of the Church – He said “I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18)

Jesus Christ is Lord! Today and now and for all eternity. His Church are those that listen to His Voice and obey Him!

 We are called to love Him 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' (Matthew 22:37)

I conclude with a quote from Tozer (b):

“Now what is to accept Christ? Well, let me define it for you a little more closely. Acceptance of Christ is to form an attachment to the person of Christ; to the person of Jesus Christ. It's not to fall in love with a tender-faced Jesus. It is to realize that this tender-faced Jesus is also Lord and God! That God has made Him Lord over all things and Head of the Church and that He has the keys of death and hell and that He will sit upon the throne judging all mankind and that God has given all power into His hand - this mighty Lord Jesus! It's to form an attachment to Him that is revolutionary, reversing and transforming the life. If your Christian conversion did not reverse the direction of your life; if it did not transform it then you're not converted at all, you are simply a victim of the 'accept Jesus' heresy!

For me to accept Christ means that I am to accept Him in every part of my being and that I am to form an attachment to Him, an emotional, an intellectual, a volitional attachment which is complete, leaving no part of the life unaffected. If He cannot control you, He cannot save you. And if He cannot control all of you, He cannot control any of you!”

Let us depart from lukewarmness as we heed the Words of our Lord:
“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.  Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”
(Revelation 22:10 - 11)


Sources:
(a)     http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Works-Gospel-According-Apostles/dp/0849908418
(b)     http://www.neve-family.com/books/tozer/AcceptChrist-1.html

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Further insights into the System of Babylon


When Ana Mendez Ferrell visited the island of Patmos in 1999, she received some visions that gave her deeper insight into some aspects of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book in the Christian Bible. In a third vision she received an insight into Babylon, the system of man that attempts to destroy the spiritual life of the believer (Detailed in Revelation Chapter 17 and 18). This vision correlates so closely with insights from other prophetic people (e.g. Patrick Fountaine) that it demands that we should take careful note of it. In this vision a man dressed in white garments appeared to Ana holding a little book in one of his hands and a key chain with many keys in the other. On page 122 in her book titled “Apocalypse: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 2012”, she describes what then happened as follows;

I asked who he was and why had he come, and he answered me, "I am one of the prophets of the Most High and I have been given the keys to open the prophecy. Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy, and many Words have been closed up, and it has been granted us as prophets to open them." He then opened the little book and handed me a key. When I touched his hand to take it, a very bright light lit up my eyes as if they had their own light, and suddenly we were transported to desert plain in the midst of which was a very prosperous city. Although we were at a distance, we could see what was happening inside in full detail


The city had a grotesque and abominable queen living in her palace with her son, and both had cast hexes and spells to ally themselves with the powers of the kingdom of darkness. The greater principalities gave them strength to extend their empire. Kings and peoples from the four corners of the Earth would come to them; big and small were entered into covenant and made to drink from a chalice that would inebriate them and have them believe their lies.


Upon drinking it, they were immediately surrounded by shadows that would speak to them while covering their eyes and ears. They laughed and felt happy because of the beverage that affected their reasoning and gave them great dreams, visions, and strength.


Their empire filled the whole Earth, and men would bring their wickedness as a tribute to them by doing this. Their empire became progressively enlarged and made more powerful. Then an opening above the city appeared as what seemed to be a different heaven from the one we were in; it was like a black hole, and it was horrendous.


In an instant, the prophet and I were there. This place was the same city but seen in another form. It no longer had the splendour and prosperity of the former one. It had turned into an enormous building in the shape of a dark and sinister pyramid; there were birds of prey and ravens everywhere. Inside and out there were prisons filled with millions of persons. The city had what looked like tentacles and highways that that came out of it and reached thousands of cities arranged in a similar fashion. These were the spiritual cities of deep darkness that are above each of Earth's metropolises.


Both above and below the city there were several dimensional planes. Some would sink to a horrid depth, and others appeared to be different levels above. I asked the prophet what those places were and where we were. He told me, "This is the abominable city, the great harlot that has held the nations and the peoples captive. She captivates them through commerce, religion and politics." He then added, "Here the dimensions of the spirit are not like those on Earth where only one apparently solid existential plane in three dimensions is visible. There are many more dimensions here, like the ones you saw in Heaven, the multiple dimensions of the Most High."


There were seven high mountains around the city, which were reflected in each of the different planes, like when you put one mirror in front of another. The roadways joined the mountains of the great city and served as supply routes from the seas, hell, from sinfull men, and from the moon, the sun, and the constelations.


We entered through the city gates, which were cluttered with masonic and witchcraft symbols. There was a curtain at the entrance made of something like a liquid cloud; everyone who entered had to go through it. I saw millions of persons cross it. They came through in chains and in yokes. Others came s0 burdened by demons they could barely walk. As they cross, an aqueous, imperceptible mask that affected their whole reality came over them and covered their faces. The mask enabled them to feel good and to view the abominable as precious. They called evil good and good evil, yet they were nothing more than robots in a system.


Upon seeing this, I was afraid to cross over, but the prophet took one of his keys and extended it in front of the watery door that opened without touching us. I then noticed that a magnificent covering of light surrounded us. The prophet told me, "Fear not for those who have the Spirit of Prophecy can cross through here without being touched. Jesus is the Truth and he who walks in it, walks in His Light."


After crossing, we entered a deep murk. Inside was a city with streets and public squares, but all over there were prisons at differing levels of depth and darkness. We walked a long way until we reached an avenue that led to one of the mountains. The name of this mountain was Religion, and the avenue was Jezebel. An enormous demon was guarding it and directing the people towards the mountain. There were many dining areas along the avenue where people delighted themselves in getting fat. Some never reached the mountain; instead, they fell into the abyss where thev continued getting fat and worshipped a horrible demon whose appearance was like that of a toad whose skin overflowed with food of all sorts. It was the spirit of gluttony that served the queen prostitute next to the other two toads. One was Mammon, the god of riches, and the other was Pharmakeia, the goddess of sorcery.


When we got to the mountain, I was jolted by the sharp resemblance it had to the mountain of God that I had seen in His glory, full of small mountains where all of them comprised Jesus.


The mountain here was a great pyramid and full of small pyramids. Each one had the name of a kingdom, and a man was exalted at the summit. The pyramid was made of partition walls that formed prisons, all of which were grounded from a dark substance full of lettering. All of the prisons were conformed to the image of the man at the summit, and they all wore masks from the water cloud. They were continuously fed contaminated food, but they perceived it as delicious due to the mask and because they yearned to be a pyramid.


Inside the prisons, everyone felt they were dying; they were thirsty and hungry but couldn't leave because they were tormented by demons of fear and guilt. There were pyramids from all religions and unfortunately also from Christianity.


Then the prophet showed me something that filled me with great pain. We were facing the pyramids filled with Christians - children of God -, and in the hands of every man at the summit was an oil lamp, many of which were out. They spoke about Jesus; men and women called by God and anointed by God, but they had allowed their own names to grow more important in their own lives than Jesus'. People inside the prisons clamoured the names of these men and women and relied on them to ease their pains.

I wept because I saw us, millions of Christians there; either one way or another, we had been made captive to Babylon's system. I also saw myself; I was on a throne judging others and covered by the filthiness of my own righteousness. When I saw myself, I fell prostrate before Jesus in deep repentance. I then saw a vision within a vision, and I was taken to another place for a moment. Jesus wanted to show me what would give me the standard by which to never again judge others and to begin my own exit out of Babylon.


I found myself facing a gigantic mouth like that of a whale. From inside it a force would come out and suction me to the inside while I was crying out the name of Jesus. Suddenly, the force stopped and I heard the voice of the Lord speaking like thunder: 
"Tell me, what is more powerful than death and fear?"
I don't know Lord, I don't know" I answered Him trembling.

Then He told me, "It is temptation!" He then added, "If you are still standing, it's because of my grace. I know the heart of every man, and if I caused you to face what you could not overcome, you would fall like the rest of them. All men can fall into the same abomination; no one is better than the next. If they have not fallen, it is because of My grace and My love that sustain them."


I clearly understood how all of us can err and fall. Even having the best of intentions, we can fall victims of Babylon. I began a process in which I asked God to show me how much of Babylon was in me, and how to exit that system, which kills the life of God within us.

I returned from that vision to the city where the prophet was waiting for me. At that moment I heard the voice of the Father pleading, "The doors of Babylon are open to allow all of those who hear My voice to leave. I am calling out from My holy mountain, Come out from there, MY PEOPLE! Only those who humble themselves can exit. Only those who love My name more than theirs can see the way out. Many of them touched my heart deeply as they cried for their cities and their nations. I have next to me a flask filled with their tears, and each one is a treasure to Me. But when I raised them up and gave them a name, they extolled themselves and formed a kingdom for themselves. They laid down laws I did not give them, and they confiscated my flock. They were imprisoned by Babylon who gave them a name to be recognized among the nations. Their lamps have not been extinguished by reason of My love, but not much time is left."


As the Father spoke, I remembered something I had heard inside His heart, in that place like the Holy of Holies where all the wounds against love are. His heart overflowed with intense pain coming from a sore that bled incessantly. My body cramped just by looking at it. I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit telling me, "My people have gotten so accustomed to saying, 'I am from such and such church, or from Apostle so and so, or from the such and such network, or from this denomination or that,’ which seems like something normal, permissible and even blessed by Me, when this is an abomination that hurts Me deeply." The Father then said: "I will not put up with this anymore."


I wept a lot because I am guilty of those wounds. However, ever since that day I decided to dedicate my life to love and to do whatever is required so that God sees His Church united by the bonds of the Spirit and free from the system that separates and destroys us.

AMEN!!!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Five phases of a spiritual migration journey

In his book “The House Church Book” Wolfgang Simson uses the diagram below to describe 5 phases in the spiritual journey from, what Martin Luther called the Babylonian captivity of the church, to an expression of true prophetic and apostolic biblical pattern:

Point -2: Our church is just great!
This is where most Christians are today: content with where they are in their church experience. When you talk to them about the need for a new paradigm, their response is basically, "I have no idea what you are talking about." They view their church and their faith as a safe religious haven. The new choir is great, the last conference was outstanding, the new pastor seems very promising, and the building and parking lot are almost paid off. Any talk of a Babylonian captivity is considered a joke at best.
But this ostrich mentality can quickly evolve into a dance on the tip of a volcano. Once the finances get tight and burnout strikes, people start leaving for the hip church next door; or once something happens to an idolized leader, the cards can quickly collapse. People at Point -2 need to hear a simple message: the days of old-time religion are over. It's time to get up and start moving, or keep drifting into a religious oblivion.
Point -1: The Balancing Act
This second phase in the process of apostolic migration represents people who are no longer satisfied with church as they have known it. These are people who have heard from God about more authentic expressions of church, but although they want something new to happen, they don't want anything to change. Their spirits have begun to move, but their bodies and their money have not. And so they begin to feel stretched as they attempt to maintain a spiritual balancing act. It's like realizing that you've gotten on the wrong bus but you choose to stay on that bus anyway. You see, the seat is nicely warmed, the neighbors are so very friendly, and the ticket has been paid. And after all, what would people think?
People at Point -1 are inwardly torn. A fresh vision has gripped them and left them hungry. With time the tension grows only stronger and stronger—until the pain becomes unbearable and they get up and press that red button to get off the bus. The message for folks at Point -1 is this: be honest with yourself, follow your heart, end the balancing act, and press that button.
Ground 0: Welcome to the desert
This is where people decide to get off the bus and suddenly find themselves in the middle of a desert. Alone and vulnerable, sweating in the day and shivering at night, they may face a time of thirst, dark valleys, and reorientation. Experiencing what the biblical kernel of wheat must feel as it falls into the ground to die (John 12:24), people at Ground 0 realize that the old must die in order to make room for the new. This is where pastors and other leaders start selling shoes and driving taxis again. Yes, they may have migrated from Babylon, but now the Babylon that is in them has to die.
Ground 0 is a place of quarantine: once people are out of the system, the system also has to get out of them. For this very reason God engineers the wilderness as a place of spiritual death to the old, a place of "religious detoxification" for dealing with baggage. In the desert, your religious ego, your fleshly, consumer-oriented Christianity has to be killed. And this cleansing process takes time, more time than most would think. As a rule of thumb, one month quarantine is required for each year of passive participation in traditional Christianity. For active members (like paid church/mission staff), double that!
The message for folks at this waypoint is this: die thoroughly! Don't linger at the oasis and force your survival with gimmicks or tricks. God has arranged for your self to die.
Point +1: The Jordan
This is the point at which people choose to leave the past and the wilderness behind and to cross over the Jordan into the new paradigm of what God is doing. This requires both a leaving (of the old) and a cleaving (to the new). It requires us to "uncovenant" with what has gone before, and to make a new covenant with God's new unfolding paradigm. Jonathan is an example, albeit a bad one, of someone who attempted to make this type of choice. Though he was the son of King Saul and the rightful heir to the throne of Israel, Jonathan covenanted twice with David, the new (apostolic) leader. But "(David) rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city" (1 Samuel 20:42, nasb). Jonathan was unable to "uncovenant" from Saul and his system—and he died with his father. Here at "the Jordan," where we can already smell and see the Promised Land, and where we can hear the cowbells in the "land flowing with milk and honey" on the other side, an ultimate step is required: leaving the old; doing better than Jonathan.
And as an added benefit, you will have met many new friends in the desert, fellow pilgrims and outcasts. After some time you realize that what once looked like a lonely group of losers looks more like a movement of pioneers. The message to folks at Point +1: say your farewell quickly—and get into the water. You will see it will part for you when you do.
Point +2: Apostolic Conquest
Once you have crossed that Jordan, it's time to take up your position along with the others and start taking the land for God.
Here you need to answer three key questions for your life:
·        What exactly is your personal calling?
·        Where (geographically) are you supposed to live and work?
·        With whom has God placed you?
A former question like, "What church is good for me?" begins to fade and is replaced by much more important ones like, "What kind of church can take and possess the land?" "What kind of church is good for God?" Like in the early days of Christianity, questions like these will lead to developing regional strategies, house-church networks, city churches, fivefold ministries, citywide servanthood, and much, much more. As the church is again functioning under God, so also we as individuals and families will find our places of godly destiny. If this is not worth dropping everything else for, then what is?


As the bible calls to us, “Come out of Babylon” – let us embrace the process and return to the kingship of our Lord: 

6 My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray [to favorite places of idolatry] on mountains [that seduce]. They have gone from [one sin to another] mountain to hill; they have forgotten their [own] resting-place.
7 All who found them devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against the Lord [and are no longer holy to Him], their true habitation of righteousness and justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans; and be as the he-goats [who serve as examples and as leaders in the flight] before the flocks.
(Jeremiah 50)

Then I saw another angel descending from heaven, possessing great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his radiance and splendor.
2 And he shouted with a mighty voice, She is fallen! Mighty Babylon is fallen! She has become a resort and dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every loathsome spirit, an abode for every filthy and detestable bird.
3 For all nations have drunk the wine of her passionate unchastity, and the rulers and leaders of the earth have joined with her in committing fornication (idolatry), and the businessmen of the earth have become rich with the wealth of her excessive luxury and wantonness.
4 I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues.
5 For her iniquities (her crimes and transgressions) are piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness and [her] crimes [and calls them up for settlement].
6 Repay to her what she herself has paid [to others] and double [her doom] in accordance with what she has done. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed [for others].
7 To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled in her wantonness [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that measure impose on her torment and anguish and tears and mourning. Since in her heart she boasts, I am not a widow; as a queen [on a throne] I sit, and I shall never see suffering or experience sorrow—
8 So shall her plagues (afflictions, calamities) come thick upon her in a single day, pestilence and anguish and sorrow and famine; and she shall be utterly consumed (burned up with fire), for mighty is the Lord God Who judges her.
(Revelations 18)


And not forgetting, that we need to get Babylon out of us :-)